Ovulation Testing with Femara

[candie429]

Hi.  My husband and I have been trying to conceive for about 2 years now.  I was prescribed 50 mg of Clomid and took that for 4 months.  For the first time ever, I was getting positive OPK's, but not until day 16 of my cycle.  I had ultrasounds 2 months that showed follicles, but my doctor felt I was ovulating too late.

She prescribed Femara for me, and I am now in my first month.  I took 5 mg on cycle days 3-7.  She told me I should ovulate earlier with the Femara, so I started my OPK's on day 10.  On that day, I got a very faint line, but yesterday, day 11, it appears that I got a very positive test.  Does this seem reasonable?  I've been charting my temperature too and it went up a little today, but not as much as usual after ovulation.  If anyone out there has taken Femara or knows what to expect, I would really appreciate your thought and/or advice.

Thank you so much!  I know infertility is a long, hard road for everyone, so my thoughts and prayers are with you all

[bny807]

well i wasnt able to find one particular website that had great info on femara used as fertility drug (of course there were lots of warnings about the birth defects - however it said that the birth defects weren't more numerous than the control group!) But there was a lot of info as using femara constantly for 3 months (like lupron) but it had less side effects and they re-lapped patients at the end and the endo was gone!  So i'm sure if it works that great used like that then its gotta be a good choice over clomid!  humm, i wander how many dr's use it since its black label for fertility..  Here is one of the articles i found that is interesting http://women.webmd.com/endometriosis/news/20040213/breast-cancer-drug-may-ease-endometriosis

[candie429]

I'm not entirely sure about the link between endo and Femara, but it almost seems to me that I read something on the internet saying that Femara is a better option with that condition.  Reason being is that sometimes I worry that I may have a touch of that based on some of the symptoms I get, so that fact caught my eye.  I honestly can't remember where I saw that though.  Maybe try Googling that.

To Heather Jo:
I'm glad you didn't mind me sharing your information.  It is a good feeling to share as much info as you can to try to help others.  I saw that you have a lot of follies and are going to have an IUI, so best of luck to you.  Thanks again for all of your help.

[HeathJo]

Candie, thanks for passing that info along! I was fortunate that my doctor had this handount from some Assisted Reproductive Technology Society organization, as there is little info online because femara is used "off-label" for fertility. As in, it's primary use is for breats cancer. My point is that paying it forward is the best feeling, and I am so glad you and these other ladies found this info valuable.

jen_KE, bny807--I don't know if femara is better for endo patience, but I WOULD like to know, out of curiousity. Can you ask your RE about it?

SSBD to al!

[jen_KE]

I was thinking the same thing about endo and Femara.  I'm on Femara and had endo, so I'm crossing my fingers that your theory is right!!

[bny807]

WOw, that was really helpful! thanks so much!!  i wander if femara is better for people with endo?  from what i've read one of the theory's of endo is estrogen dominance, so if it blocks real estrogen, it sounds like it wouldn't essentialy double the estrogen in your body like it sounds like clomid kinda does.. Anyone know if femara is a better choice for endo patients?  This stuff is all amazing, now if they could just gauantee to get everyone pregnant that would be perfect!!!

[candie429]

Thanks G_S for your input.  Unfortunately, AF showed up today (12dpo), so I guess it didn't work this time.  I was thinking about requesting an ultrasound next cycle to make sure it's working the way it should.  Do you think that's a good idea?

To answer your question bny807, Heather Jo shared this info with me and I think it would be helpful to you: "Clomid works by binding to the estrogen receptor and acting sort of as a "pseudo"estrogen.  This binding makes your body "think" estrogen level is low (although it really is not) and causes a cascade of events that lead to ovulation.  Femara is not a new drug...it is actually a breast cancer drug and they discovered it could be used for fertility because many of these breast cancer patients were  getting pregnant.  Femara acts in a different way than clomid.  It actually inhibits an enzyme that makes the real estrogen in your body.  In this way it actually reduces the level of estrogen and like clomid this induces a cascade of events that lead to ovulation.  This is why femara works better in some people than clomid does (maybe in people resistant to clomid the drug does not bind the receptor very well and hence the clomid does not induce ovulation as it should).  Clomid also has a very long half life, so that if you take it one month some of it is still around the next month and so on.  This can lead to a thin lining.  Femara has a very short half life and therefore does not lead to a thin lining.  Femara DOES cause birth defects if you take it when you are ALREADY pregnant.  If you are NOT already pregnant when you take femara it does not cause any more birth defects than clomid or general infertility.  So if you take it on days 3-7, it is gone by the time implantation occurs (due to it's very short half life) and theoretically it cannot cause birth defects because it is not even around anymore.  Therefore it is very important for your doctor to verify by ultrasound that you are NOT ALREADY pregnant before prescribing this drug for fertility."