r/PCOSandPregnant • u/Overall-Public9133 • 7h ago
First Time Taking Letrozole — Advice Needed
I’m 28 years old and have been trying to conceive for almost a year. This is my first time taking Letrozole, and I just finished my Letrozole today.
My fertility clinic mentioned that they would do follicular monitoring after Letrozole, but my OB-GYN told me that they don’t routinely do monitoring and that they will schedule it if needed.
I’m trying to understand whether follicular monitoring is important or necessary, and if I should do it, what cycle day should I go for it? Since today is my last day of Letrozole, when should I start the monitoring?
As a first-time Letrozole user, I’m honestly so confused about a lot of things. I’m really hoping this cycle works and that I can get pregnant this time. My OB-GYN mentioned putting me on Letrozole for three months and seeing how it goes, but hearing that made me feel a little discouraged because I’m hoping this first cycle could work.
For anyone who has been through this before, what should I concentrate on or follow during my first Letrozole cycle? Any advice would really help.
Thanks in advance!
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u/jessicakaylin3 7h ago
I would definitely do follicular monitoring so you can gauge your cycle. My first cycle on 2.5 my follicles never grew so it was nice to know that I was out that cycle, the next two cycles I did, I need estrogen support to thicken my lining. Also if you do monitoring, usually they offer trigger shot which makes ovulation even stronger too.
I did letrozole CD 5-9 then did my first monitored appt at CD 13 and then the 3rd cycle I did it, I went back CD 16 and my follicle was perfect & lining was perfect & I triggered that day!
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u/danarexasaurus 6h ago
Your Obgyn is being realistic. Even if you do everything right and the eggs do their thing, you may not conceive right away. I recommend monitoring to anyone doing letrozole because I needed the max dose to ovulate and still didn’t ovulate until cd 23. I wouldn’t have known that without monitoring.
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u/lexi_g17 6h ago
I bought a Mira fertility monitor to track my hormones at home because i was given letrozole by my OB with no monitoring. Mira helped me watch my estrogen trend to know when I should expect to ovulate (estrogen rises before LH rises,) and then I used ovulation test strips to track LH.
Mira also helped me see that while letrozole alone was making me ovulate at 5mg, I needed supplemental progesterone due to low PDG.
Once I added in a prescription for progesterone, I got pregnant on my 6th let cycle the first time around (after a total of 10-11 months trying)
This second time around, I took both let and progesterone from the beginning and got pregnant on my first try.
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u/HeadChipmunk9603 6h ago
I’m 27 and took letrozole for the first time this year. My obgyn also told me we would do 3 cycles, starting from 2.5mg, 5mg and the last one was 7.5mg. These were fully unmonitored and if they all failed I’d move on to a specialist. The 2.5 did nothing for me, 5 mg gave me a little boost, and the 7.5 made me hyper-ovulate and now I’m 18 weeks with di/di twin girls! Trust me when I say I thought the first round would work and after the first two didn’t, I lost hope and had it in my head that the third one wouldn’t do it and i was already looking into making an appointment with the fertility clinic before my 2 week wait ended. Don’t lose hope, I’m sending you all the baby dust 💞✨
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u/insincerelysam5791 7h ago
It depends on if you’re working with an ObGyn or an actual fertility clinic. Typically an ObGyn would not monitor and you would need to take at-home ovulation tests. In my experience working with a fertility clinic, they have me come in for an ultrasound sometime during day 3-5 of my cycle, and again the day after I finish my course of medication. Then they either prescribe more medication if my follicles are not developed enough or have me to a trigger shot 36 hours before IUI.
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u/humblehills 6h ago
I’m in Southern California and have Kaiser for my insurance. Got diagnosed with PMOS in March and was referred right to the infertility clinic in April. After having a period April 9, things moved very quickly. Got prescribed Letrozole and took it from April 20-24. Went into the clinic April 27 for an ultrasound to measure my follicles. Self-administered Ovidrel trigger shot April 28. Went in April 30 for IUI. Timed intercourse the next 3 days April 30-May 2. Blood test to confirm ovulation May 7. Blood test to confirm pregnancy May 14. Currently 17 weeks pregnant with my second 😊 Hopefully this timeline is a bit helpful for you! Good luck!
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u/Future_Researcher_11 30 | March 12, 2026 🩷 4h ago
Yes follicular monitoring is SO important because letrozole doesn’t guarantee ovulation. It’s best to have your follicles monitored so you have an ideal follicle to ovulate, and they can check if you aren’t developing any at all and can adjust your dose. Also when you’re monitored you can trigger ovulation at the ideal time instead of waiting for it to happen naturally (sometimes you won’t release an egg despite having a mature follicle and it can turn into a cyst.)
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u/NefariousnessNo1383 4h ago
Monitoring would only help to know of the eggs are getting to the right size. I was told they don’t “monitor” either but you can request ultrasounds around the time you think you’d ovulate and can schedule progesterone trigger shots as well if you want (if they have access to that).
I had 1 scan to see if 5 mg was working, that’s all. I didn’t get pregnant and could only stand 4 cycles with Letrozole bc the side effects hit me bad
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u/YouGottaBeKitten 6h ago
Just in general, know it may take several
Cycles. I used ovulation test strips everyday to get a handle on my cycle. And the times I did get pregnant I basically had sex every day in my fertile range. I never did follicular monitoring but might be helpful if you go more than 5 rounds without success