Well, I started out on Clomid 50mg. That month was not too bad,
a couple of mild hot flashes and mild moodiness, but not much worse than normal PMS.
No O that month. So, on to 100mg the second month. That month was great!
Very little side effects at all. I was thrilled. No O that month either.
So, on to month three at 150mg. I was miserable, depressed, extreme fatigue,
terrible sadness, and overall misery. I never felt so terrible in my life.
I definitely did not expect to feel like not getting out of bed for days on end.
That was the worst. I did some research and discovered that my doctor
was not following up with me as well as I felt he should have been, so I changed.
The new physician has diagnosed me with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
So, maybe ask your doctor about this. If the first one would have hit on it,
I may not have started on the Clomid first.
Symptoms can be, carrying weight around your midsection,
having great difficulty losing weight, excess facial hair,
hair around your nipples or on your lower abdomen or back,
fatigue, and many others. There is treatment and
it does not mean you cannot conceive,
but there are other methods of medication to try.
Good luck to all of you and keep us in your prayers. Michelle B.

Here's a success story for you Momma Kath:)

Catherine T
Well it all began in 99 when I had my first m/c, I had been checked for PCOS 2 times before and told 'I was just fat' after the m/c I didn't get a period for over 9 months, towards the end of this period I was diagnosed with PCOS and went to an endocrinologist who put me on metformin to deal with my insulin resistance, my periods returned and I took about 6 months to get pg again(may 01) I also m/c this pg. Went then to an RE who suggested clomid to boost the quality of my ovulation and on my 2nd rd (50mg) I fell pg with Lily and to my joy this pg didn't end in m/c I had spotting at 6 & 11 wks but no cause could be found, my pg was otherwise very uneventful until the week she was born when my BP went up and showed signs of preeclampsia.

I does happen, I believe my faith in God helped me not to give up totally. Now I can hardly belive I'm responsible for this little life, but I thank God for blessing me with her.

Whether its faith or positive thinking or whatever you believe, its the hope that it will happen & I hope it happens for lots of you very soon.

Lily Elizabeth was born at 38 wks 2days weighing 6lb 7.5oz
+++++++++++++++ thoughts
Catherine

Metformin Increases Fertility in PCOS Patients

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) May 14 - In patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), treatment with metformin alone or in combination with clomiphene citrate results in a substantial number of pregnancies, according to a report in the April issue of Fertility and Sterility. Dr. John E. Buster and colleagues, from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, treated 49 anovulatory infertility patients diagnosed with PCOS with metformin. The patients received 500 mg metformin b.i.d. for 6 weeks. If by 6 weeks ovulation had not occurred, the dose was increased to 500 mg t.i.d. If no ovulatory response was observed after an additional 6 weeks, 50 mg clomiphene citrate was added. One patient dropped out of the trial because of side effects.

Nineteen patients (40%) resumed spontaneous menses and showed evidence of ovulation after treatment with metformin alone. Fifteen patients (31%) required additional therapy with clomiphene citrate. Of these, 10 (67%) had evidence of ovulation.

The investigators report that 20 patients (42%) conceived with a median time to conception of 3 months. Of these, seven (35%) had spontaneous abortions. Gastrointestinal-related side effects were observed in 19 patients (39%). Five patients (10%) reduced the dosage of metformin due to side effects.

"Reproductive efficiency with metformin may be superior to traditional therapy with clomiphene citrate but needs to be further tested in comparative trials," Dr. Buster and colleagues conclude.

Fertil Steril 2002;77:669-673.

Hi - My name is Irina and I am writing from Russia. I would like to share my success story -- I have recently found out that I am pregnant with #2!

I am 26 years old, married for 5 years, DH is 32. TTC'd #1 in 1999-2000 for quite a while. Was diagnosed with PCOS and, after several rounds of vitamin/progesteron treatments was put on Clomid. Conceived on the 5th try (2 times 50mg, 3 times 100mg). Gave birth to our wonderful daughter on 1 Feb 2001.

In May 2001 decided to get an IUD - big mistake. Bled and spotted non-stop for 6 months and had the IUD removed. After that experienced several irregular cycles, mostly anovulatory, sometimes as short as 10 days. Decided to try for #2 in Feb-March. I had two PERFECT cycles without any medication -- loads of EWCM for several days, nice long LPs... No luck.

Went to my doctor (he is French) who put me on 100mg of Clomid since it got me pregnant the first time around. To say that I was obsessed would be an understatement. I tried to interpret every single little thing that was happening to me every day. I read TTC Success Stories over and over again trying to find a cycle that would resemble mine... I took Clomid from day 3 to day 7, had pretty bad headaches -- but that was the same the last time around so I just took my Ibuprofen and never gave it another thought. Had to take prescription estrogen pills to improve mucus from day 8 to ovulation. I also followed the TTC advice -- drank green tea, took 1000mg of EPO and for several days preceding ovulation I took baby aspirin. THERE WAS NO MUCUS TO BE SEEN. I took BBT every morning. My doctor did an u/s on day 10 and said that I had two small follicles (about 10mm) -- he expected them to be bigger on Clomid. Since I ovulate very late in the cycle I knew that it simply was too ea! rly to measure for me.

Went to see the doctor on day 15 -- one follicle grew to 18mm so the doctor wished me good luck and told me to take low-dose progesteron pills from the day BBT rises to AF or 12th week of pregnancy to exclude any miscarriage risks. I used an OPK with showed a "+" on day 20. We DTD'd like crazy for about 8 days before the O day and a couple of days afterwards. Then I started watching for SIGNS -- spotting around day 7, cramps, hunger, fatigue, breast tenderness... I HAD NONE! The only curious detail was that my BBT after O was quite even (37,1 - 37,2), same as the last time I got pregnant (I kept the old records which showed that during the unsuccessful cycles my temperature jumped back and forth from 37,0 to 37,4). But I noticed that only in retrospect.

At 11dpo I tested and got a "-". At 12 dpo I let the test lying around for 3-4 hours at which point I noticed something where the second line should be -- I could not even call it a faint line. At 13 dpo a very faint line appeared about 20 minutes after I took the test (same brand -- a cheap German-made test called "Frautest"). And I actually started feeling a bit fatigued (which is a BIG handicap when you have a toddler on your hands). At 14dpo I tested with ClearBlue and the line appeared immediately! This was in the office and I couldnot think about work all day!

We are thrilled and happy and relieved that I do not have to take Clomid again. I am going to see the doctor tomorrow. Now my breasts are getting bigger (but still are not as sensitive as the last time I was pregnant) and I feel tired and cold all the time (even when it's hot outside). I am also slowly getting queasy when sensing strong smells, particularly food. I have also started having bouts of insomnia (which I never have otherwise) and this was the same as in my first pregnancy.

I've loved your site even since I found it in 2000 when I was desperately looking for some support on the Internet. It's so important to know that there can be problems that you have done nothing to create, and that you are not alone.

The conclusions I have made sofar are as follows:
1. You can get pregnant with PCOS and have an uneventful healthy pregnancy without any risks
2. You can get pregnant even if you have no mucus (God knows how)
3. You can be pregnant and not feel a thing until 2 weeks after O
4. The number of early pregnancy symptoms with the second pregnancy can be substantially less than with the first pregnancy. In particular, my breasts really hurt when I got pregnant the first time because they started enlarging and they were not used to that (I had loads of stretchmarks around my nipples...). Now they are simply occupying the territory they left a year ago so I do not feel a thing.
Thanks a lot for your support --
I could have done it without www.TryingToConceive.com.
Sending fresh baby dust:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Irina
EDD 04.03.03