Best method for TTC pink on Clomid? Advice needed

Hi,

I posted back in October and it's 4th month TTC pink.

I'm confused about the timing / frequency thing while taking Clomid. I managed to get Clomid online and this will be second month using it. Last month did days 5-9, thinking will do 4-8 this time.

I'm 40 and DH 38. I've been on LE diet since Oct and have been losing weight. Unfortunately can't commit to daily exercise due to shift work, so although I usually do brisk walking with the dog or on my breaks at work daily it's not full on cardio and consider myself more couch potato really. We have 3 boys, last one in 2015 and always got BFP on 1st or 2nd month. DS3 was failed sway conceived with DH doing FR twice a day, one attempt at 0-5, hot baths, j&d & used Sylk but I hadn't done the diet which I think was why it didn't work.

Last month (1st Clomid cycle) DH took OLE and licorice root and did FR 2 times a day. We had one attempt at O-2 (got pos OPK day after we dtd). I understand with Clomid I need to get pg quickly but unsure what to loosen up on.

I'm upping calories as had only been eating around 1000 per day and under 20g fat - so going up to 1200 and 30g fat. But there have been some cheats - dinner with friends this week and over Christmas. I'm getting DH to drop the LR but do the OLE from AF to O. I thought perhaps he could do FR once a day instead with one attempt at pos OPK but would you recommend adding second attempt (o+12?) because of the clomid? Or do e4days instead? Would he continue to release between attempts doing e4days? The essay about timing says ONE attempt is such an important factor and I really want to get my girl. I have six months supply of Clomid although I would like to get BFP quickly as did experience some nasty side effects and I'm quite old.

First couple of months TTC we did diet, the supps for DH, him abstaining plus one attempt at o-3.

Any advice much appreciated!

Walking is a fine way to get cardio! In fact it's my preference since people often get injured doing more than that. So that is definitely working for you.

The first thing to drop is FR twice a day. That was way too much and would have cut odds of conception to practically nothing.

Very, very few people (like maybe 3% of all swayers, if that even) should be on 1200 calories a day. Do you even need to eat so little? You've been on diet for quite some time and it makes tiny beads of sweat break out on my forehead to read that anyone has been eating 1200 calories with so little fat. I would very much prefer you on 1500 cals minimum and more like 50 g of fat right away. You are going to need that fat to help your body make a lot of estrogen fast after discontinuing the Clomid on CD 8.

He needs to take OLE all month long and not stop it at ovulation. Only LR needs to be dropped at O.

I do not EVER recommend O+12. It does not work when done correctly (since you have NO chance of catching the egg) and when done incorrectly it ends up being two attempts.

What I would have you do is have DH release every 2-4 days this month and keep one attempt at positive OPK. You CANNOT aim for a 2 day cutoff on Clomid since you don't know when you will ovulate on Clomid, you have to use OPK instead. You happened to get extremely lucky this past month in when you BD because you got the pos OPK the next day, but there's no guarantee that will be the case next month.

If you really can't stand to skip FR all the way (it has not even worked!) then if you MUST, you can give it one more month with the FR just once. I really think you'd be better off going straight to reg. release plus one attempt which will give you a better chance of conceiving with one attempt.

Then, if BFN, in future months we'd go to e4d (without any additional attempts between BD!) and then e4d plus one more attempt at positive OPK and finally in your last month of Clomid, to go to SMEP for best chance of conception. :)

We really really need to see you eating more though. I'm concerned about you having been on diet so long. Are you taking any additional supplements???

Thanks so much Atomic - that’s amazingly helpful. I’m taking folic acid but that’s it for supps. I did the lower calories as I’m quite petite anyway but happy to up the calories as I’m finding the diet hard going now and would happily eat a bit more!

So since you've been on diet for so long what I"d have you do is add in 18-30 mg iron and 8-15 mg zinc 3x a week, and 150 IU iodine (that is measured in IU and not mg!) every day. Don't do the iodine if you have any history of thyroid issues, without checking with your doctor.

If you're doing a full vegan diet you should add in the lowest dose Vit. D and B12 you can find 2x a week but if you've been eating dairy and eggs (or meat occasionally) you don't need to do that.

Hi Again,
Thanks so much for your previous advice. The good news is that we did conceive at the last cycle. However, I’ve sadly just had a miscarriage at 6 weeks. I’m fortunate as this is my first experience of miscarriage and it seems to have been quick and complete in just a few hours.
Given my age (41) and the length of time we were trying we are keen to try again as soon as possible, but I’m not sure how to continue the sway as some of the things I was doing (LE / Clomid / coffee) have slipped in last couple of weeks following the bfp.
In the end to conceive I relaxed the diet a bit and ate more fat and protein as advised (keeping within limits). BMI is 19. I did also have a few cheats. I continued to skip breakfast, never eating before 1230 and drank 3 cups of coffee a day. I took Clomid days 3-7. We conceived doing E4 days with attempts that worked out at O-4 and O day though I don’t know which was the successful one. I believe I may have had a chemical pregnancy the previous month as had v strong implantation pain on O+6 (bit early) followed by heavy and painful period that month.
Now I’ve miscarried, am I right in thinking I should ovulate in around 2 weeks? Do I restart the Clomid or start after next AF if unsuccessful in conceiving before? Should I go harder on the diet now to make up for going off it in the weeks after bfp? I plan to take the supps you recommend above and in your essay on trying again after miscarriage. What timing would you suggest we go for once bleeding stops? Should I add in exercise now? (Previously only fast walking as can’t fit in gym or running around work).
I also wondered if the Clomid may have had anything to do with the miscarriage given my age? Could it result in a poor lining? I have 2 months supply left over and it worked in drying up all EWCM so I was feeling reasonably confident about the sway and possibility it may be our longed for girl.
Thanks for reading and any advice gratefully received!

Can anyone offer advice on post above?

I'm trying to work out the best way to restart my girl sway following a miscarriage & when & if I should restart Clomid?

I'm not sure if Clomid could have contributed to the miscarriage?

Also, im trying to work out if this miscarriage is normal as it didn't seem to last very long & it's my first experience of a loss.

Started with brown spotting last Friday which turned to pink with cramps. Saturday morning I passed the fetus in the sack but then only had light bleeding and again brown for rest of the day. Cramps went away. Light brown bleeding Sunday, nothing by Monday, and nothing since. I did HPT on Wed and got v faint line, assuming residual hormones. I did opk today as want to TTC asap and got a v strong positive result. No idea what's going on!

Please help with some advice or insight!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joeyk44

Can anyone offer advice on post above?

I'm trying to work out the best way to restart my girl sway following a miscarriage & when & if I should restart Clomid?

I'm not sure if Clomid could have contributed to the miscarriage?

Also, im trying to work out if this miscarriage is normal as it didn't seem to last very long & it's my first experience of a loss.

Started with brown spotting last Friday which turned to pink with cramps. Saturday morning I passed the fetus in the sack but then only had light bleeding and again brown for rest of the day. Cramps went away. Light brown bleeding Sunday, nothing by Monday, and nothing since. I did HPT on Wed and got v faint line, assuming residual hormones. I did opk today as want to TTC asap and got a v strong positive result. No idea what's going on!

Please help with some advice or insight!

---

I’m so sorry for your loss, I’m sure someone can offer you advice on your situation. I really hope you get your sticky bean soon


https://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/35220b

Unfortunately I've got your answer. Following my m/c, i still tested positive on my hcg. Even if there is a very faint line, your opk will be very positive. There's something about LH and hcg being hormone cousins. You won't actually ovulate until your hcg is way low, undetectable by tests.

I'm sorry for your loss [emoji17] and agree your pos opk is likely caused by residual hcg still in your system.

I would not attempt to use clomid the same cycle as miscarriage. If you are wanting to include clomid in your sway wait until your first af following loss, but wait for Atomics advice as she will know best [emoji4]

Again I'm very sorry for your loss and hope you're able to conceive your rainbow in the near future [emoji173]

As for the reason for the loss and the possibility that clomid had something to do with it, unfortunately it will remain unanswered. I think most losses are contributed to chromosomal issues especially at your age (and mine) and its far more likely to result in loss than any other reason. I too conceived and lost a pregnancy whilst taking clomid (my 2nd loss of 3) I conceived my rainbow baby after 3 cycles in a row using clomid then giving up (so conceived on a non clomid cycle technically but it remains in your system for 6-8 weeks)

Perhaps you could try one cycle on/one cycle off clomid if that makes you more comfortable as it will still play some part on the off cycles. Again though, wait and see what atomic advises [emoji4] All the best to you [emoji173]

OH I'm so sorry I don't know what happened there. I am so sorry to hear of your loss)

You have to wait for the Clomid till your first AF bleed. It's up to you if you want to try to catch the first egg; at 41 time is not your friend and personally I'd have you try (with doc's ok) before taking the Clomid and then start the Clomid at your first period.

We can't tell when you''re going to ovulate, some people will O in 14 days and others will o sooner (less likely) or later (more likely)

Do NOT go harder on the diet, that will simply make it take longer for your cycle to come back.

I would do OPK strips and aim at one attempt at pos OPK. Then, after that, start having sex every 4 days in case of false positive OPK.

Walking fast counts as exercise and Id have you start that at your earliest convenience.

The Clomid likely did not have anything to do with your loss. But is there any way to get Femara instead? That is better for older moms and will have less negative effect on your lining.

Give me a list of everything you're planning to take so I can go over it.

I just wanted to send condolences and ((((hugs))) - so sorry for your loss.

Yes the positive OPK is from the still positive HPT hormones.

If the entire sac comes out, it's not at all unusual to have relatively light bleeding. Sometimes things come out in stages and this can contribute to heavier bleeding. I would consider, though, having several cups of red raspberry leaf tea to see if there is anything left - it can stimulate your uterus a little to get rid of any lining that has remained behind. Also a spicy meal may help in case anything was left behind but I"d try the RRLT first as it's much more effective.

Thank you all for your kind posts & good wishes.

Thanks so much too for the insight and advice which I’ve found so reassuring as - never having experienced this before - I had been wondering if it was normal or not. Pleased it seems normal and that there is an explanation for the pos opk so soon even if it means I’m not ovulating just yet.

I’m on holiday this week so the diet has gone out of the window a bit, we’re in France so seafood has snuck in but will go straight back to it next week when home. On the plus side 20km or so cycling every day here so definitely getting the exercise in!! Am hoping the m/c will also sway pink if we can catch opk?

I will try to get the Femara instead - I ordered the Clomid online and seems Femara is also available. Is it Letrizole - also used for breast cancer patients? The other supplements I’m taking at the moment after reading the essay on swaying after miscarriage are 1 x iron pill per day / 1 x zinc pill per day / 1 x iodine pill per day / 800mg folic acid per day & 1 x co-enzyme q-10 per day. Diet basically vegetarian apart from on this holiday (where seafood & fish has come in-1 week only) 3 x cups coffee per day, alcohol, no eating before 1230 & dh taking daily olive leaf extract.

I do hope that sounds ok still. We plan to dtd at pos opk then every 4 days as advised.

Thanks, jo

Yes it's letorozole. Was originally used for cancer but then it was shown to act very much like Clomid and now it's in widespread use for fertility.

Don't worry about going off your diet a bit with all that exercise! :agree:

I would increase folic to 1600 (take one in the morning and one at night). Eventually you may want to reduce the iron + zinc to 3x a week but I'd continue with them daily for at least the next few weeks. Everything else is looking great!