Starting on Clomid

So after my first fertility clinic consult, Behr and I decided we would be starting on Clomid for a few cycles and see how that worked out. 

I had to come in for the dreaded transvaginal scan on the second day of my period, and gosh, I have to say it’s rather awkward getting a probe inserted into your vagina when you’re having your period. In addition to hoping that blood isn’t gushing out, there’s the additional possibility of cramping just with the probe insertion. 

This was a baseline check to see my follicles during the first day of my cycle, and it would serve as a baseline to see how the follicles would grow over the course of the treatment.

I was started on a low dose of Clomid (50mg) to be taken over 5 days, and I’m relatively thankful that I didn’t get much emotional lability, which I’ve heard is a common enough side effect; although I did get a major case of the munchies (the type you get before your period, where you just crave certain foods and just want to each all the time). I have to say I ate quite a bit, but I also increased my exercise regime daily so I would make up for the increased binging (try not to have too many sweet things in the house, I really struggled when I had those cravings)! 

At Day 6, I came in for a scan and was told that my follicles were growing as scheduled, and booked in for another scan. 

The next scan was at D8, and the follicle size at the time was about 15mm (apparently the optimum size for the follicles before ovulation should be 18-25mm), but they estimated that it would grow to 18mm in another two days. I was advised to take the beta-HCG jab on Day 10, and have timed intercourse about 48 hours after the jab. 

I had a bad reaction to the HCG, and ended up being very lightheaded and having my blood pressure drop as a reaction to the injection. I suppose it could have been worse, but since it was the first time I’ve ever felt that way, it wasn’t something I was entirely looking forward to. 

I’ve got a couple of weeks to figure out whether we’re successful this cycle, but in the meantime, it was interesting to have scheduled intercourse with the possibility that we were actually actively trying to have children. 

I suppose it was something that never seemed very real to me, but now we’ve started on this journey, it’s only starting to seep into the edges of my consciousness, almost as if my mental state was separated from the automated cognitive processes that we had undergone to kickstart the pregnancy journey. 

In the meantime, please keep us in your prayers and wish us luck!