Clomid

You've probably heard of clomid. It's a synthetic hormone that stimulates increased follicle production (more follicles=more eggs). It's sort of a "baby step" in terms of cost, side effects, risks, etc. My doctor felt like given my age it was an appropriate first step. Some people get pregnant on clomid alone, but one of the side effects is decreased cervical mucus production (sperm need cervical mucus to help them get into the uterus), so comid is more effective when combined with intrauterine insemination (IUI). Please don't call it "artificial insemination" it sounds so much worse--like I don't feel "artificial" enough already.

Our first cycle of clomid was pretty uneventful. On the lowest dose I still only produced one mature follicle that released one egg. We went ahead and did the IUI, but it didn't work. The next cycle I took the clomid at a higher dose with "timed intercourse" instead of the IUI because the we were going to be out of town when I needed the procedure. That didn't work either. This cycle I took clomid at the higher dose but am being monitored more closely. I had a follicular ultrasound today to see how everything was going. So far it looks like there are 2 small follicles on the right side and one larger one on the left. They were all still too small to be ready to release an egg, so I'll have another ultrasound on Tuesday to see if they have continued to grow.

It's a waiting game. I try not to be obsessive about it, but it's hard not to be the way the treatments are set up. Every day I have to think about what day of my cycle it is, am I supposed to be taking a pill, testing my urine, having sex, not having sex, getting an ultrasound?...it seems endless, and this is just the beginning.