My 6th cycle of Clomid resulted in yet another BFN. Disappointing given all the hype surrounding the cycle you have an HSG resulting in a higher rate of pregnancy but I lost faith in hype a long time ago where ttc is concerned. They do also say though that the 3 cycles after an HSG, you are more fertile too. Pah I say!
Oh and because you know that I'm never without drama - I got a very convincing evap on an IC pregnancy test - as shown above. It was pink, in the right place and appeared within less than a minute. Everything pointed towards it being a BFP, at least I didn't allow myself to get excited and believe it because I've been here before albeit with a less obvious 2nd line on a HPT. It was cruel though to be honest and I wish I had the willpower not to test early in the 2ww but I reach a certain point and cannot help it! In fairness, the tests had come with my OPKs.
So back to the failure of cycle 6 - I also began Clomid after a 6 month break and so it was like starting it from scratch again and it's known that Clomid has a cumulative success rate, where your chances increase the longer you take it and it builds up in your system.
There was a bit of uncertainty where to go when AF arrived because taking lots of cycles of Clomid isn't good for you. There's a slightly increased risk of ovarian cancer if you take more than 12 cycles but upon reading, that's in a row. However, I have no had 2 cycles of Clomid in my lifetime but with a gap of some 9 years between them so I feel OK about taking another 6 cycles now and then that being the 12 limit.
As I mentioned before, I did look at Femara as an option but when I looked at the NICE guidelines (National Institute for Clinical Excellence), I found that Femara is not indicated in the treatment of infertility here in the UK and so knew that I would have a hard job convincing a general practitioner to prescribe it. NICE place a high emphasis on Clomid as the treatment for ovulatory disorders, probably because it's the cheapest option.
So, I am taking Clomid again this cycle and I'm currently on CD4. I'm back to taking it as prescribed, on days 2-6 of my cycle. As you know, I took it later last cycle due to illness and it was supposed to mean a stronger ovulation. In fact, what happened was it screwed everything up!I ended up ovulating the day after I normally do when I take it 2-6, which was fine BUT I had almost no ewcm, horrendous PMT, a shorter than usual LP (just 11 days, instead of 12-14) and then a horrible AF just to rub salt into my not-pregnant-again wounds.
The last 2ww was quite simply, awful. I just felt completely different to how I normally feel in the 2ww and that obviously made me wonder if I had got pregnant. I've not really had that feeling before now during a 2ww so it was a total mindfuck. I was thankful when AF arrived because at least the wondering and waiting had stopped.
My temperature chart was all over the place last cycle too, mainly because a sickness bug swept through my house, leading to lots of broken sleep and my husband is working some strange hours at the moment and I'm not sleeping consistently. That didn't help in the 2ww as I was always 2nd guessing the temps or discarding them altogether because it didn't make sense that they would be right and so of any use.
So, wiping the slate clean and drawing a line under cycle 6, cycle 7 of Clomid has now begun and I'm approaching it with positivity and optimism. I know that we did everything right and that a BFN is not a personal failure by me or my body, after all, we know that there is no medical reason why I can't/won't fall pregnant. It just wasn't our time I guess. Nope, onwards and upwards because I really want to get pregnant this cycle, I want my Christmas baby!
OASN, my baby turned 4 today! Although technically no longer a baby, he'll always be one to me. Hard to believe I was last pregnant nearly 5 years ago.
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