I had a question for you ladies. Have any of you been on clomid and found it hard to loose weight? I know clomid can add a few pounds, and I have heard from other women that it's very hard to avoid. I am waiting to get back on clomid, and I just started low carbing today. Any information would be great. Thanks!
Rachel

hi Rachel
I'm just about to start my first round of clomid (50mg) & looked up on the net the side effects and it doesn't mention anything about weight gain - mind you it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I'm not looking fw to that!

http://www.inciid.org/clomidberger.html
Side Effects

Because Clomiphene binds to estrogen receptors, including the estrogen receptors in the cervix, it can interfere with the ability of the cervical mucus glands to be stimulated by estrogen to produce fertile mucus. Only "hostile" or dry cervical mucus may develop in the days preceding ovulation. If this occurs, adding a small amount of estrogen beginning on cycle day 10 and continuing until the LH surge may enhance cervical mucus production.

Some women taking clomiphene experience hot flashes and premenstrual-type symptoms, such as migraines and breast discomfort (particularly if they have fibrocystic disease of the breasts). Visual symptoms such as spots, flashes or blurry vision are less common and indicate that treatment should stop.

Clomiphene is a very safe medication with relatively few contraindications. Preexisting liver disease is one contraindication since clomiphene is metabolized by the liver. Enlarged ovaries are also a contraindication since clomiphene may occasionally produce hyperstimulation of the ovaries.

The hot flashes are just like the hot flashes women experience at menopause when the level of estrogen circulating in the blood is low. The clomiphene fools the brain into thinking that blood estrogen levels are low.

thanks for replying meredith. well, i have since started clomid, actually last tuesday. well, it's been better than it was back in may when i took it. my hot flashes were awful, but again slightly better than last time. so far this week i have only lost 2 pounds. i am quite disappointed, because my first 2 weeks i lost 10 pounds. so only 2 this week? i wonder if it is from the clomid. i haven't really changed my diet, but i hope that it will go back to normal and i can loose more weight. i took it days 5-9 and day 9 was saturday. so hopefully no more side effects.
i hope that you have a good cycle. feel free to contact me if you want to talk!!

I can say I would be jumpin up and down with joy if I could loose two pounds a week. That is actually only about how much you should loose at a time, more than that can be damaging to your system. You are on clomid so I'm assuming you are trying to have a baby. Just keep doing what you are doing for a healthy body and a healthy baby. I wasn't low carbing the first time I did clomid but I didn't gain weight because I was still exercising very well and eating good foods. Focus on the fact that every loss is still a loss not a gain.
Tanya

tanya,
why wouls you be happy for only 2 pounds? i thought that it was nothing. especially compared to the first 2 weeks. i am not saying that i am mad that i lost weight, but i was just hopeing for more. that's all.
well, my husband and i ahve been trying to have a baby for about 10 months now. but we are getting off to a bumpy start. i wasn't able to get on the clomid after my first cycle with it because i wasn't properly informed on what to do. then the next month i was getting regulaer cycle, so we waited. then in august i had a large cyst, so that brings us to september. well, my husbands in the army and he's gone for the month. so there go our chances for september and even october. then he leaves again in november for japan. so this year is pretty much a waste. but i know... in god's time.
well, enough right? i like to ramble. i think the reason that i gained weight my first try with clomid was because i wasn't excersizing and wasn't eating well. but this time i am determined. no matter what! thanks for writing. i am glad to talkt to you all!

I'm so sorry about your frustrations, infertility is so emotionally distressing.
The reason why I would be happy with 2 pounds in a week is that I'm lucky to loose 2 pounds in a month. I'm a very slow looser so I have had to look for other methods of motivation. That is all. I also work out nearly every day and I try to make it hard and worth every movement to maximize my time. Even with your hubby gone I might would suggest to keep taking the clomid, it often doesn't work the first few cycles so still taking it may help you get to a point where you will ovulate. Talk to your doctor about it.
Tanya

tanya,
have you been through infertility? may i ask? how long did it take you? honestly, it is discouraging, but i have new found optimism about the whole thing. all i do is try to tell myself that we are still young and we have time. in the begining i was happy just to know what was finally wrong with my after years of irregularity and so forth. i am still happy that we can treat it. even though PCOS is very scary to me. some people don't understand what it really is. i try to explain it, but they just ask.. why don't they just remove the cysts? then i have to go into the whole thing. they just don't understand.
anyway, i can't imagine loosing 2 pounds a week, all the time. it must be hard to keep going huh? i wasn't about to give up, but still it's discouraging isn't it?
i plan on staying on the clomid. even if it's just to keep me regular and ovulating. so when he does get back, maybe it will happen. but we don't stress about it. when i first got on the clomid i was on baby center and everything was baby, baby, baby!!! i stressed so bad. now it's not bad. i want a baby, but i don't cry about it all the time. i don't think about it constantly. what's bad is that 3 girls that i work with all got pregnant within a month of each other. the other killer, none of them were married or trying. i am happy for them. 2 of them got married and are thrilled about the babies. but it's hard for me to stand by and watch.
i hope that i am not depressing you! i sometimes can do that. let me just say that you have been such a great support. just to come home and see that you have written me is great. thanks!

Yes I have been through it.
My first child was a little miracle. I ovulated as soon as I came of the BCP that I was on. I had to go off of it because it caused my bp to sky rocket. We were trying to prevent a pregnancy at the time so she really is a miracle. We were moving to a different state and I was concerned about preexsisting insurance clauses not covering a pregnancy. Utah happens to be a state that is bad about that so I was worried about that moving to another state. Luckily Wisconsin laws are different.
My second son I was on clomid for 3 cycles on the 50 mg dose. My doctor had me doing ovulation tests to see if that dose would work and the plan was to increase the dose every three cycles until I ovulated. Luckily that didn't need to happen. At the time I was trying to eat very sensibly. It was a higher carb diet than this one, but good whole foods so I think that was a big factor.
I have tried clomid one other time. This was with a different doctor because of insuranc. Each cycle we increased the dose. I only went through 3 cycles with it, each time my progesterone levels would not go up, and I got so depressed that it was like having sevier post partum depression all over again. I figured I needed to stop the pill and be grateful for the family I had. I grieved alot for not being able to have any more children, I wanted a large family. So I do know the feelings that come with it.
I'm in my 30's now, but I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 22, and have been battling this for many years. The best way to explain it to people is that it is an endocrine disorder that effects many systems of the body, the ovaries just happen to be one area that can show a physical symptom.
Talk to you later.
Tanya

thanks for sharing you story with me tanya. it's always nice to know that i am not alone. and it's great to hear suuccess stories.
i do talk about this whole thing quite often, but i am happy to say that lately i haven't been so unhappy about that whole thing. we plan on moving sometime in the begining of next year, and so there is so much that still needs to be done. plus i am thinking about going back to school, so there's that decision too. my parents keep telling me that it will be right when god is ready to give you a baby. i have a friend going through the same thing. she was on clomid for like a year. she finally decided to giver her body a break, and boom she got pregnant! that was really exciting, but also a little depressing.
well, i just hope that i will be strong enough for all of this. my husband doesn't ever worry about it. even when i tell him that i have an incurable disease! everyone always tells me that i am so strong, but i sure don't feel like it. yeah, i moved thousands of miles away from family to a new place. i am alone all of the time without my husband. but they just don't understand what goes on in my head! especially with all of this baby nonsense! stressful. and yet another reason that i am fat! haha!
thanks for listening to me. this is good therapy. i appreciate you! have a great day!

My story: trying for 4 years. i am 30 and married 5 years. i decided 4 years ago that it would be a good time after i finished graduate school. i have a friend who inthe time i tried to get pregnant has divorced husband #1 and met and married #2 and then gave birth last month to their first child. talk about the luck. i have done the clomid thing and now on glucophage with possible clomid with glucophage. i think the weight gain was more so emotional. the stress and hopeful anticipation causes weight gain. i was eating more and not exercising. plus this whole ordeal resulted in emotional eating. I was 150 when i married and gained so much weight over theyears. I understand your situation. It does seem like the whole world is pregnant and it is easier said than done to "relax and bepatient". People say things to be helpful, but what do they know?

If you stick to your program and not get frustrated over the rate of loss (2 pounds a week is good!), you will be ok.

it's funny. i weighed 150 when i got married too! crazy. i just blew up! anyway, get this. guess how many people that i know who are pregnant? guess... 6! i think that is crazy! absolutly crazy. it sure sucks. i hate the feeling that i get from other people being pregnant. i have lost all happiness for others. i feel bad about that. anyway, enough.
i just think it is nice to have someone who is in my same situation. i don't know if i mentioned it before, but my husband and i have been not preventing for 2 1/2 years now. we have only been seriously trying for about a year. 5 years is a long time. i feel for you, and i hope that your time is soon. but don't you hate when people say that. there is really nothing to say to make someone feel better about the whole thing. honestly. i know. i am sick of people telling me that they feel it is soon. i will get pregnant soon. blah, blah, blah. unless it is my doctors, i don't want to hear it.
enough, ahhhh! i hope that all goes well for you. in everything. if you need any support, you have me!

g'day ladies
well back to the original subject re: clomid & weight
and well I have finished my first round of clomid and felt like I may have been turning into a hormonal werewolf - but it looks as though I did ovulate on the drug - so that part IS encouraging. However I did not lose a pound(or gram in my language) for a the whole cycle and I countinued my diet exactly as for the previous couple of months (when I lost 10kg - I think that is a bit over 20 pounds). It was particularly discouraging because I increased my exersize to 1 hour a day. Anyhow my gyno said that this was perfectly normal on Clomid. I just feel torn at whether to get in there and 'try' and forget about the weight thing - or lose the weight and then go on clomid. AHHHHH!

Has anyone got tips on a weight stall that may be from clomid?

hey meredith. i am not an expert at all. and i have no tips at all. but, when i was on clomid before i started LCing i gained weight from the clomid. i don't know if it was the clomid now. it was probably me just eating junk!! i was on clomid last cycle and i didn't gain anything. i do think that it hindered my weight loss, but i didn't gain anything.
hopefully someone else can be more helpful!

I start my second month of clomid tomorrow, and my dosage just doubled. I don't think it really affected my weight loss at all last month, but I am wondering what this new dosage will do. I enjoy reading about all of your experiences. It makes me not feel quiet as alone.

hey kris, sorry it took me so long to reply. i was wondering about your side effects from the clomid. my side effects were diefferent the 2 times i took them. my first cycle was in may at 50mg, and they side effects were horrid! crazy hot flashes, which eventually made me sick. sweating at night, throwing off the covers and getting cold from being wet. so on and so forth! the mood swings were bad. the headaches were bad. but when i took it in september at 100mg, my side effects weren't that bad. the hot flashes sucked, but they didn't even compare to before. even my moods were better. i wonder now if it was from the LCing. hmm, thought to ponder.
anyway, i know that taking clomid means that you are trying to get pregnant. how long have you been trying, if you don't mind me asking. i am pretty open about my situation. i share with people that probably don't want to know. i go off on PCOS and stuff! anyway, my husband and i have been 'not preventing' since we got married in may 2000. so almost 2 1/2 years. we got serious about in january of this year, but didn't go to the infertility doc until april. i always knew that i had something wrong with me, but it never comes up until you want babies! i wish that weren't so. i wish i knew about this when i was a teen, so it could have been treated! i shouldn't be rambling like this, sorry. that is why i have a journal!
feel free to stop by if you want!