Hey TTC Ladies – I have a question for y’all…
My Ob/Gyn’s nurse finally called with the progesterone test results – 8.8. She says “That’s great news – it means you’re definitely ovulating!” … but then proceeds with “are you on 50mg or 100mg of Clomid?” which drives me BONKERS that she hasn’t even reviewed my chart to see that I’m on my 2nd cycle of 100mg (3rd cycle overall w/clomid) and when I tell her 100mg, she says, “well, if you’re not pregnant this cycle, Dr. H will keep you at 100 and do another 21 day draw.”
1) If he didn’t know how long I’d been on 100mg, how does he know that I shouldn’t be bumping up to 150mg next cycle?
2) WHY call it a 21 day draw when obviously I am not ovulating on a normal schedule? I had the test done on CD37 this past time.
3) I was reading Remember All The Way last week and she mentioned that her RE likes to see it be at least a 10, and when I just googled it, I found this: “Most doctors want to see a 7DPO progesterone 15 or above for medicated cycles.”
So yeah, I’m pretty conflicted about how to feel about the 8.8. I mean, yes, at least I ovulated, but from what I see, it was a “weak” ovulation, and I feel like I should be stepping up to the 150mg level next cycle if this one’s a bust.
What do you ladies think? If it’s a BFN on Thursday, should I call them back to go over this and push for 150mg next cycle or at least progesterone supplements?
Okay. To be honest, I don't think my doc (or me) would be happy with 8.8 for a 7dpo progesterone level (maybe it was my blog, but my doc definitely wants to see 10 MINIMUM). You are sure you're 7dpo, right? Because CD21 is not necessarily 7dpo for everyone (you probably know that).And you are right- they should call it 7dpo progesterone, not CD21.As far as I can tell, the dosages are pretty subjective. I'd want to be bumped up a notch, too, if I were you, so I'd just let your doc know that.Sorry about the results (hug)- maybe next month they will be better!!
I am sorry I am not a big help, I cannot remember.However, I do want you to stop saying IF. Consider yourself pregnant until proven otherwise! :O)
It was totally your blog. 🙂 I'll link back to it in a sec. But yes, I'm concerned that 8.8 is okay FOR THE GENERAL POPULATION but not for someone with my issues. I was definitely 7dpo (CD37) and did the test first thing at 7am. Still have a tiny hope for a BFP on Thursday, but most likely I'm going to be calling my doc to really push for a 150mg dosage next month. Did your RE ever put you on progesterone support?
I would fight to go up to 150 for sure, you've already done 2 100 and while you have ovulated, it doesn't seem very strong so maybe 150 will be enough to push you into the "great" area of ovulation. I would ask to speak to your doc and have him/her call you back and explain why he thinks you should stay on 100 vs the 150.
It's been almost a year, but I remember my doc said they want it to be around 14. So I would say 8.8 is definitely low. If you don't get the BFP (fingers still crossed), then push for the 150mg.
My doc puts me on progesterone supplements during my 2WW and then if pregnant for the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. While I know mine was low (I was at a 6 a day before I had falling betas confirmed from a chemical pregnancy) but I still think, can it really hurt?
I would also push for the 150 mg. I never had mine tested, but according to what others said, it does sound lower than normal.
Are they monitoring you on the Clomid with ultrasounds or are you taking it on your own? Before you go up a notch, I would ask to be monitored. Not to scare you, but it can be dangerous to go up in dosage without knowing for sure what's going on in there.As for the progesterone, 8.8 is pretty low for where you are in your cycle. My doc likes to see it over 20 for ovulation.I hope you get some answers soon! xo
Thanks for the advice ladies. To answer a few questions, no, I'm not being monitored. My doc is just an Ob/Gyn and doesn't do anything more technical than prescribe clomid. I actually requested the 7dpo progesterone draw, not him. I really need to talk to him, not his nurse, I'm thinking.As far as the 100 v 150mg levels of Clomid, I've had very little side effects from it thus far (a couple of mild hot flashes this cycle, that's it) and I'm really concerned about "wasting" my Clomid chances by sitting a 3rd time at 100mgs.We'll see…
I think what Katie is referring to is, are there 7 follicles maturing on 100mg and so you will be the next Kate plus Eight? 🙂 (But, for what it's worth, my RE doesn't even require monitoring during clomid, much less my ob/gyn who I'm seeing now during a break from the RE. And, additionally, I myself am not to worried about multiple follicles and becoming the next clomid-poster mom…)And yes, I'm on vaginal progesterone supp's post ovulation 🙂
I think I wrote this exact entry months ago when I was on 100mg. I took 100mg (after 50mg failed) and I did ovulate, but my 7dpo progesterone was also 8 something. My doctor originally said that anything over 3 is ovulation, anything between 3 and 10 meant I ovulated, but it was considered "weak" and then anything above 10 was great.Well, I figured she'd bump me up to 150mg since it was weak, but she kept me on 100mg and then I didn't have any follies the next cycle and I just KNEW it would happen that way. So, long story short, since you O'd both late and "weak", I would definitely ask about 150mg. I think docs are weary of bumping you up if a lower dose works because you could overstimulate.
I haven't done a clomid treatment so I have no knowledge to share but I wanted to say you should make a list of questions to bring with you when you talk to your Dr. that way everything gets covered. Good Luck Josey!!
First, I want you to be cautious about the amount of clomid and how many cycles of clomid you actually take. I know that these dr.s know best but do research on this before you just push push push.Also, from what I had happened to me while on clomid, tamoxifen and follistim, my progesterone was everywhere from 4.5 to 98.5. When it was low, like 4.5 to 15, my nurse always told me that "we just had a girl the other day that had as low as a 1 and still got pregnant." Well nurse, that's fine and dandy but I want to know what I can expect…Anyway, what I'm trying to tell you is just because your nurse is relaying you the information, it's not always exactly what your dr.s know or what they would say to you if you were standing in front of them.Are you going to ORM? If you are, I could talk to you for HOURS about how much I have issues with their practice.Anyway, what they are seeing with your 8.8 is that you are ovulating. The reason they may want to keep you at 100mg for one more cycle is because you're responding and they want to give your body time to adjust and remember what it's supposed to do so that it could do it again, with some guidance, but you just have to wait to see how that works.I suppose if you really think, after all the research that you've done, that you should go up to 150mg, then do it. It's your body and they should listen to you. If they don't agree, they'll just have to give you good reasons why NOT to do that…It's really frustrating when a dr.s office has a hard time remembering your name, let alone your chart number or your history. You might be 1 in 100,000 patients but (nurses) get it together! It's frustrating. So frustrating…Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.I'm done.Good luck! And do some research on the clomid thing. See what you can find on good websites about the side effects of clomid. About how many cycles you should really be on it. About how many cycles might be too much… Just read up. You'll feel better about it if you haven't done this already…:)