Clomid

So I am going to take Clomid.  I am excited about this, and if it works I am going to be a LITTLE annoyed with the midwife I went and saw last year who wouldn't give it to me because Michael has bad counts.  Because if it works that would mean that it probably would have worked before and then I should be having a baby around now instead of paying loads of money to get pregnant.  But that is besides the point.

Clomid is only 5 pills, taken over the course of 5 days.  You would think they would be rather side-effect free.  They are not.  I have not started taking them yet, but I had to read up on them of course.  Well I mean they put the information in the package with the medicine, I think you should read it.  The fact that I then went online and spent hours reading the same things over and over again is irrelevant.

List of side-effects:

• Hot flashes - 10% of women get them on Clomid I guess.  YAY a menopause preview!
• Bloating and cramps - I love feeling fat and in pain
• Weight gain - Oh wait, I might not just feel fat, I might actually get that way.  Super.  Luckily my source says only 1% of people experience that.
• Mood swings - Look, Michael gets a side-effect too LOL
• Nausea and dizziness - Menopause and early pregnancy preview.  Clomid is like getting to the movies early!
• Headaches
• Abnormal menstrual bleeding - Well, I wouldn't know the difference so for me I guess this one isn't that bad.
• Breast tenderness - Isn't it funny how tender can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on its use?
• Vaginal dryness or thick cervical mucus - So the medicine they give me to help get me pregnant might make it so the spermies have nothing to swim in.  Gee that sounds awesome.  I guess that would be a good time to move onto insemination.
• Blurred vision - Super.  Luckily I don't drive very often so this won't be dangerous, just terrifying.
• Ovarian cysts - Like the abnormal bleeding I get these anyways, so its not to bad.
• Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) - the ovaries become dangerously enlarged with fluid. This fluid can leak in to the belly and chest area, leading to complications.  Luckily this is rare and can be mild.

You can avoid noticing some of these side-effects by taking your pills at night, so I wrote to the doctor and asked if that was okay.  Luckily I work at home, so its not to big of a deal if I am miserable.  But still I would prefer not to to super sick.

Multiples are also a "side-effect" of Clomid.  One that you can't sleep through.

This is the one of which I am most terrified.  I love babies.  But I would really prefer them one at a time.  See I also like sleep.  And making money.  Neither of which I can do with twins.  Or triplet.  Or quads.  At least with twins its 2 babies, 2 boobs, 2 arms, 2 parents.  But anything more seems impossible.  I guess the average chance of having twins is 4%.  That is a 1 in 25 chance.  With Clomid it goes to 10%.  That is a 1 in 10 chance.  There is a one in ten chance that if the Clomid works I will have twins. 

Of course that is if the Clomid works.  The rate of sucess for that is 40-45% in six months.  If it doesn't work after six months they move onto something else.  Of course if it doesn't work in the first couple of months I am hoping we will move onto insemination so I don't use up all 6 of my clomid cycles with out attemting the IUI. 

The best part of Clomid?  The cost.  Its only $8.99 a cycle.  I mean it is only 5 pills, but still its really cheap when you consider the 30% success rate in the first cycle :)