Clomid Side Effects - Will They Resolve?

[Darwinism]

I'm in the midst of a restart protocol 25mg clomid daily and 200IU HCG twice a week. I know from the plethora of other posts that clomid can have a heavy effect on people. I can easily bear with the jitters and lack of sleep its causing me but for those out with experience on the medication, did you guys find it tough to exercise? I typically either swim, bike or run every day and ever since I began clomid a week and a half ago, whichever body parts I'm using in said exercise quickly grow fatigued and when I continue through the fatigue, they start getting tingly and numb. It's as if clomid is effecting my body's oxygen flow in the blood. Any of you guys experience this?

My main concern is (and I apologize if this is a dumb question as I don't have any experience with with pharmaceuticals) if side effects like that could potentially be permanent after I'm done with my month of clomid? I read a couple clomid stories where guys had permanent eye damage from clomid and it made me wonder whether other side effects could be permanent. It definitely effected my vision when I did my first couple days at 50mg so I'm guessing the eye damage comes from those higher dosages.

 

[CoastWatcher]

Problems with vision are potentially serious and could be long-lasting. Those that you experienced have resolved?

 

[Esq]

It is generally recommended that if you experience ANY vision changes (the most common being "floaters") with clomid that you stop taking it immediately and consult with your doctor. According to the warnings I got when I started clomid, most vision issues are temporary and will go away after stopping clomid, but in some circumstances vision problems can become permanent, thus the suggestion to immediately stop taking it until you can consult with your doctor. I did not experience any vision issues personally, however.
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As to your other sides, I did feel very wired and had some insomnia during my first week on it, but those feelings went away quickly. Basically, I went from baseline to borderline panic attacks to feeling great to a return to baseline over the first two weeks. I did not notice any effects on exercise performance, either positive or negative, and definitely no tingles or numbness. To the extent any of that is being caused by clomid, I doubt it is permanent, but again, you should consult with your doctor soon.
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How long have you been on clomid?

 

[super]

how long were you on clomid? success? if not what point made you throw in the towel? im coming up on 4 weeks and things are not looking good.

 

[Esq]

how long were you on clomid? success? if not what point made you throw in the towel? im coming up on 4 weeks and things are not looking good.

If that question is directed at me, about 5 months on 12.5mg ED. It caused my numbers to go through the roof, but I did not feel any better and in fact started feeling worse over the final few weeks. I also required an AI, first anastrozole and then exemestane, because it caused my e2 to skyrocket. I stopped it last week after consulting with my doctor and deciding that giving it more time likely was futile, even with further adjustments to e2 management.

 

[super]

If that question is directed at me, about 5 months on 12.5mg ED. It caused my numbers to go through the roof, but I did not feel any better and in fact started feeling worse over the final few weeks. I also required an AI, first anastrozole and then exemestane, because it caused my e2 to skyrocket. I stopped it last week after consulting with my doctor and deciding that giving it more time likely was futile, even with further adjustments to e2 management.

Now what are your plans? What was your e2 level?

 

[Darwinism]

Yes, the vision side effects went away as soon as I switched to 25mg. I was on 50mg for 4 days as prescribed by the hormone doctor I found. I then discovered this site and found that nearly everyone was doing 25mg or less. I know my doctor isn't that well known and kind of sketchy so I trusted my instincts and switched to 25mg. I've been on clomid for a week and 4 days total. I consulted with my urologist (who also happens to be a andrologist) today and he said would definitely never recommend 50mg a day as its way too much. He said either 50mg every other day or the way he recommends, 25mg a day. My only vision symptoms were: any time i tried to focus my vision, my eyes would start rapidly shaking up and down so all I could make out were blurred words. Pretty serious but luckily no floaters. FYI my doc prescribed me a month of clomid and 3 months of 200IU HCG twice a week.

Esq, did you doc instruct you to test your E2 levels while on clomid? It seems like my doc isn't doing anything a lot of the forum users docs' are doing. Making me feel less and less confident... lol

 

[Darwinism]

So a little update an hour later.. I hadn't expirienced any floaters until shortly after writing my last post at 9pm. I went reading through the forums afterwards and started getting a black floater with my left eye that wouldn't leave me alone. It is only happening when I'm reading on a white screen such as this forum. Weird, guess I'm going to quit clomid. Oh well, I tried. Although the floater seems inconsistent only happening when I'm reading black on white, still not worth damaging my vision.

I bombed $200 on 12000IU of HCG, is there any use in that without clomid? Should I do the shots alone?

 

[AntCon]

Could it be possible you already had floaters , and didn't notice them? Reason I'm asking is because I'm 28 and already have some floaters ( not sure if age matters when people start to develop them though ) .

 

[Darwinism]

A good thought but no, I've never had floaters. It could've easily been a coincidence but I've read forums/books for a long time and never had an issue with floaters so that experience totally threw me off. I kept with it for about 4 minutes and had the floaters for the entire time; only noticed it with my left eye. I just feel like it isn't worth the risk currently. Yes I did have 200-350 Testosterone from age 13-19 but now I'm at 450 at age 21 and I can handle that. Maybe if I had stuck through it with Clomid, I would've made it to my 800+ goal, but to me, it isn't currently worth risking my vision quality. I'll be patient and see what medical technology comes out in the next decade

 

[Darwinism]

Still curious if anyone out there has any experience in this subject, would there be any benefit in continuing my 200IU HCG shot twice a week for 3 months if I quit Clomid? I spent $200+ on it so hopefully it isn't all going to waste lol

 

[Esq]

Now what are your plans? What was your e2 level?

I have stopped all clomid and AI a week ago and will retest levels in about 5 weeks. I'll consult with my doctor in about 7 weeks, and we will re-evaluate. I may transition to traditional TRT, but am not sure yet. I also am having testing done to rule out sleep apnea as a potential cause of my symptoms. The sleep study was completed this week, and I'll meet with the sleep specialist in about 2 weeks to discuss.

Still curious if anyone out there has any experience in this subject, would there be any benefit in continuing my 200IU HCG shot twice a week for 3 months if I quit Clomid? I spent $200+ on it so hopefully it isn't all going to waste lol

I missed from your OP that you were on clomid AND HCG. I can't really fathom why your doctor would put you on both. There was a thread on this issue a few months ago, and AbsoluteZ3RO said it nicely:

I'm sure there is a more comprehensive answer than this out there, but the short answer is no. You can take them together but HCG will ultimately render the clomid useless because it will inhibit your body's production of LH through negative feedback. Clomid works by tricking the hypothalamus into thinking that it needs to release more Gonadotropin-releasing hormone, which in turn signals the pituitary to produce more LH and FSH. HCG essentially replaces your body's LH, which means that the pituitary will eventually ignore the signals from the hypothalamus due to negative feedback from the HCG, which it perceives as LH. It may work at first but over time you'll wind up with very low LH due to the HCG. To make matters worse, not only will HCG nullify the testosterone-boosting benefits of clomid, but many of the estrogenic/anti-estrogenic side effects from clomid will remain since the isomers also function independently from their action on the hypothalamus.

Can HCG and Clomid Be Taken Together?

I suggest also reading the thread linked in the above thread for more info. To answer your question, HCG monotherapy is prescribed at times, but from anecdotal accounts rarely seems to accomplish much.

 

[Esq]

Esq, did you doc instruct you to test your E2 levels while on clomid? It seems like my doc isn't doing anything a lot of the forum users docs' are doing. Making me feel less and less confident... lol

Missed this from my earlier reply. Yes, Dr. Saya at Defy tested sensitive e2 before starting clomid and twice while on it. And I'll test it again in a few weeks now that I'm off. E2 management is crucial when on clomid - my sensitive e2 went from 30.2 pg/mL pre-clomid to 68.3 pg/mL after about 6 weeks on it. Adding an AI (0.25mg anastrozole EOD) only brought it down to 53.2 pg/mL about 8 weeks after that. Everyone is different, but clomid had a huge effect on my e2.

 

[super]

I have stopped all clomid and AI a week ago and will retest levels in about 5 weeks. I'll consult with my doctor in about 7 weeks, and we will re-evaluate. I may transition to traditional TRT, but am not sure yet. I also am having testing done to rule out sleep apnea as a potential cause of my symptoms. The sleep study was completed this week, and I'll meet with the sleep specialist in about 2 weeks to discuss.

Do you have a progress thread? I to have sleep problems not sure if it's caused by low t or low t caused by sleep. I see a sleep doctor on July 27.

 

[Darwinism]

Thank you Esq, I have since stopped both HCG and Clomid. I wanted to stick with Clomid but it was definitely affecting my eyes. Never had floaters before it and now getting them with my dominant eye but they're definitely manageable. I'm now trying the more natural way and going to see what it does to my T. Quit drinking, better sleep pattern, heavy exercise daily, sorghum in my morning smoothie everyday, boron morning and night to prevent T to E conversion, butea superba daily. Going to see where that takes me in a couple weeks and will update if it T levels changed dramatically. Good luck in your quest for T!

 

[Esq]

Thank you Esq, I have since stopped both HCG and Clomid. I wanted to stick with Clomid but it was definitely affecting my eyes. Never had floaters before it and now getting them with my dominant eye but they're definitely manageable. I'm now trying the more natural way and going to see what it does to my T. Quit drinking, better sleep pattern, heavy exercise daily, sorghum in my morning smoothie everyday, boron morning and night to prevent T to E conversion, butea superba daily. Going to see where that takes me in a couple weeks and will update if it T levels changed dramatically. Good luck in your quest for T!

Good luck to you too! Nothing wrong with improving your lifestyle. It may or may not do anything to your T levels, but it certainly will improve your overall health.
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I actually feel a bit better since stopping clomid (at least back to my pre-clomid baseline). I meet with the sleep specialist on Tuesday and then will have my next consult with Dr. Saya/Defy in early September. I really hope to have a positive plan in place heading into the fall.