What Is Clomiphene Used For?

Clomiphene Uses: An Overview

Clomiphene citrate (Clomid^®) is licensed as an infertility treatment for women.

 

Using Clomiphene for Infertility

 Clomiphene affects certain hormones in the body in order to stimulate ovulation. This is especially helpful for women who do not ovulate (or who do not ovulate very often). Occasionally, clomiphene can stimulate the ovaries too much, causing multiple eggs to be released, which can result in multiple births, such as twins or triplets (see Clomid and Twins).

 

Clomiphene is one of the least expensive and easiest-to-use fertility drugs. However, it will not work for all types of infertility. Your healthcare provider needs to try to find your cause of infertility before you try clomiphene. Your healthcare provider should also make sure you do not have thyroid problems, hyperprolactinemia (too much prolactin, a hormone, in your blood), or adrenal problems, as these problems require different infertility treatment other than clomiphene.

 

It is important that sexual intercourse be timed to give you the best chance of conceiving a child. This can be done in several ways, including basal body temperature charting or using ovulation monitors. Ask your healthcare provider about when (and how often) you should have intercourse. Usually, ovulation occurs sometime between five and ten days after finishing a course of clomiphene.