Next steps after Clomid?

[Daisy_Blue]

I wanted to see if anyone had advice / been through a similar treatment pathway.

Background: 32 y/o and been trying for two years (on pill / implant before then). No luck after one year so went through standard GP testing as my cycles had been long and irregular after the implant, but tests / scans didn't show anything up. They weren't able to time my bloods 7 days before my period to check for ovulation due to the nature of my cycle, but as they were done late in a long cycle and showed I hadn't ovulated they thought I might have a problem with ovulation. I did have some classic PCOS symptoms such as facial hair, heavy periods when I was young (pre-pill) and back acne but nothing showed up on bloods or scans and as I'm not overweight I think it was ruled out.

I've now been on Clomid for 6 months (prescribed privately due to NHS referral wait) and I'm also under an NHS consultant. I've had positive at home ovulation tests each month and my cycles have returned to a normal length but no pregnancy.

I'm now not sure what to do next. NHS have said they won't see me until June and even then it would be to discuss other medicine (i.e. not IVF yet).

Private clinic have said to maybe look down the iui route, but I know success rates are low.

If you were on Clomid and didn't have PCOS what was your next step? Should I be pushing for IVF? I know I'm still early on as it's only been two years but I'm worried time is ticking.

Sorry for the long post and thank you in advance for any tips or advice.

[Chicky86]

Hi, I was on clomid for 6 months, no pcos and no success with the NHS

When I went back to the hospital, I was told that IVF was the next step for us.

I took a break for a few years as I wasn't sure how I would cope if IVF didn't work following the unsuccessful clomid.

I had IVF with ICSI in December, and a FET in February. Hoping for a 3rd time lucky in April 🤞🏻

Good luck with whatever you decide moving forward xx

[Daisy_Blue in reply to Chicky86]

Keeping everything crossed for you 🤞 thanks so much for sharing your experience. Hoping once I meet my consultant I'll have a better idea about next steps, but I think IVF might be likely.

[Beanybeanz]

I started clomid April 2019, six months of it but it didn’t work. Agreed to go for IVF at a meeting in December 2019.

Meant to begin in March 2020 but cancelled due to covid.

Then was supposed to do it June 2020 but cancelled due to high prolactin!

Finally did IVF starting august 2020 and am now 30 weeks pregnant - very lucky it worked first time. (Age 35) xx

[Daisy_Blue in reply to Beanybeanz]

💗 so happy to hear you're now 30 weeks! Imagine it was tough trying to navigate everything last year with COVID.

[Mycatsaremykids]

I did 6 cycles of Clomid with NHS and then they gave me a choice to try IUI or IVF. The success rate for IUI is lower and I wasn’t getting any younger so I just went straight to IVF.

[Daisy_Blue in reply to Mycatsaremykids]

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's always really useful to hear other people's path. That's was I was thinking about going straight to IVF (if possible). Will see what the consultant says.

[AJJ123]

I’m currently on femara - the alternative to clomid to see if that makes any difference.

Have you had your tubes checked?

If this doesn’t work (I have 2 months worth) then I’m going to do IVF.

I’ve been trying naturally for many years, did IVM in 2018 got a bfp but sadly I ended up with blighted ovum’s.

I gave up after that and have recently decided I want to try again.