On Tuesday, August 7th, I went for a
follow-up appointment with my urologist to review my current medications and to
set up a game plan during the next few months leading up to our IVF procedure. One
of the main questions I had for my Urologist was the long term effects of my
use of the fertility medication Clomid.
Clomid is a fertility drug marketed towards women
to help with ovulation disorders. However, it is occasionally used off-label to
help treat hormone imbalances and low testosterone in men.
While taking normal testosterone replacement
therapy might seem like the obvious answer, it actually causes sterility in
men, the opposite of what we are trying to achieve.
Many doctors do not advise women to stay on the
medication for more than 3-6 months, and we were originally told I should not
be on it for more than a year due to possible side effects.
Common side effects include but are not limited
to; vision issues, male breast tissue enlargement, swelling in the extremities,
weight gain, mood swings, etc.
My Urologist must have had an inkling of my
concerns, because he started right off the bat citing a study done recently on
the long-term effects of Clomid use in males. While the study said that long
term use of Clomid is safe, he did take care in checking me for swelling and
enlargements. Hmm, I’m suspicious Lol.
To be honest the appointment was rather uneventful
and in the end we decided that for us the benefit of Clomid for the time being
seems to out weight the possible side effects, as we do not want my sperm count
to drastically drop during the next several months it may take to save for IVF.
On a side note, I have scheduled a bra fitting at
Victoria’s Secret on Monday. Just in case.
Mike
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