Clomid (Clomiphene Citrate)

You've undergone your fertility work-up and your healthcare provider believes that you're not ovulating regularly or you're ovulating early or late in your cycle. If this is the case, you're not alone. It's estimated that that 33% to 50% of all infertile women have problems with ovulation.[1]

Your healthcare provider may recommend taking clomiphene citrate as an initial treatment. Clomiphene citrate, an oral prescription medication, is the most commonly used drug for Ovulation Induction (OI). Clomiphene citrate is used to stimulate FSH, correct irregular ovulation, help increase egg production, and correct luteal phase deficiency. The EMD Serono brand of clomiphene citrate is Serophene® (clomiphene citrate tablets USP).

Clomiphene citrate has been shown to induce ovulation in roughly 80% of women who have trouble ovulating on their own. About half of these women achieve pregnancy during treatment. Clomiphene citrate is generally less effective in older women and in women with a higher body mass index (BMI).

There's a limit to taking clomiphene citrate

Before you begin treatment with clomiphene citrate, your healthcare provider should first rule out other potential causes of infertility like male and tubal factors. These factors will make conception difficult (if not impossible), even if a woman is ovulating.

Once you begin taking clomiphene citrate, you should be aware that that the American Society for Reproductive Medicine recommends that patients generally be limited to no more than six ovulatory cycles of this medication.[2]

At that point, your healthcare provider may recommend pursuing another treatment. And if you're over 35 years of age, you may consider seeing a Fertility Specialist, also called Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE), at an earlier stage.

As with all medications, talk to your healthcare provider about possible risks and side effects if you are prescribed clomiphene citrate.