Can you just use Femara without monitoring?

[Anonymous]

Can you use letrozole/Femara every month just to try to superovulate and give yourself more chances? (like clomid). Is that recommended, has anyone done it?

I'm not sure if I want to go through more IUIs and IVFs but also want to bolster my chances of conceiving naturally month to month.

[Anonymous]

No reputable doctor would allow this. You have a very high chance of multiples with drugs like Clomid and Femara.

[Anonymous]

Have you taken it before? Do you know how you responded? Typically I think drs don't want you to go unmonitored because of the risk of multiples. According to my dr it's also not something to be on for a long time because the risks go up the longer you are on it. I was on femara for 5 months (3 with IUIs) and the last two months I had very strong cramps and intense bloating. If the last IUI had not worked my dr would not have let me stay on it another month without a break

[Anonymous]

You can buy Femara in Mexico if you decide to go down that path.

[Anonymous]

There are OB/GYNs will prescribe clomid (I'm not so sure about femara) - so you might consider that route, just so you have someone you can go to easily for any issues.

If you've done a bunch of cycles already and you know how you respond to the meds, it's a calculated risk. If you're older, multiples are a lower risk, but if you're younger, that alone would make me nervous. Most of the people I know personally who had twins had serious complications (incl still birth), so I'm disposed to being adverse to that. Multiples aren't the only thing they monitor for, though. They look at whether you have any cysts, other hormone levels. It certainly doesn't seem like a good idea to do it for too many cycles. You also need to be aware that ovarian torsion is possible if your ovaries get too enlarged, which is why they tell you to hold off on higher impact exercise during ivf stimming.

I didn't do it myself, but I definitely thought about it. We needed IVF with ICSI, so it likely wouldn't have helped us, so not sure what I would have decided if I thought I had a better shot.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I have DOR so I make 3 follicles or less on high stims of follistim and menopur. So I'm not too concerned with getting too many follicles with something like clomid or femara. Just am trying to up my chances without spending a fortune on mostly ineffective interventions.

[Anonymous]

In your case, i think it would be ok. Calculated risk.