Clomid Ovulation Calculator and When to Have Sex During a Clomid Treatment Cycle

If you're taking Clomid to promote pregnancy, you might wonder how to calculate when you'll ovulate on this medication. This is an important question if you want to boost your odds of pregnancy success during treatment. If you have an idea of when you'll ovulate, you can time sex for your most fertile days.

Learn more about the Clomid success rate for ovulation and pregnancy—and how to calculate when you're most likely to ovulate.

Clomid Ovulation Calculator

There isn't an exact day that everyone ovulates when taking Clomid.

That said, there are average ovulation days. Also, there are ways you can time sex to increase your chances of getting pregnant during treatment.

Clomid Protocols for Pregnancy

Some health care providers recommend taking Clomid on Days 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of your cycle, while others recommend taking Clomid on Days 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

If you're on the Day 3 to 7 protocol, this would mean you're most likely to ovulate (on average) sometime between Day 14 and Day 17 of your cycle. To conceive, you want to have sex before you ovulate. So, you might want to have sex every day or every other day starting on Day 11 and ending on Day 18.

If you're on the Day 5 to 9 protocol, you're most likely to ovulate (on average) between Day 16 and 19. In this case, you'd want to start having sex every day or every other day starting on Day 13 through Day 21.

These are just averages. You may ovulate earlier or later than the average. This means you could theoretically miss your most fertile time if you start having sex too early or too late.

Ovulation Predictor Tests on Clomid

Using an ovulation predictor test is the best way to tell when you're ovulating. If you've never tried an ovulation predictor kit (OPK), they work a lot like pregnancy tests. You pee on a stick, and the test will indicate whether you're in your fertile window or not.

You can start taking the OPKs the day after you finish your Clomid pills. Keep taking the tests until you get a positive result. A positive result indicates that you're nearing ovulation and should have sex in the near future.

Consider Charting Your Temperature

One thing to keep in mind: a positive OPK doesn't mean you ovulated. It just means the hormone LH was detected in your urine. While LH does surge before ovulation, this doesn't guarantee that you actually ovulated. 

If you want to be more sure that you ovulated, consider charting your basal body temperature. This will let you know when and if you actually ovulated.

Using Clomid With Injectables for Pregnancy

Sometimes, Clomid is used together with injectable medications. The most common injectable medication is the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). This is sometimes called a trigger shot because it triggers ovulation to occur within 24 to 48 hours after injection. That means your most fertile day will be the day of the trigger shot injection.

Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, start having sex on the day of your trigger shot. To optimize your odds of conception, keep having sex every day for the next three days. 

Have Sex All Month Long on Clomid

If you'd rather not bother with ovulation test kits, you can simply have sex every one or two days, all month long. If you have sex every other day or every two days, you're bound to have sex during your fertile time. Start after you finish taking your Clomid pills.

There are other advantages to having frequent sex. It's better for your partner's sperm; research shows that more frequent ejaculations result in higher-quality sperm. And it's healthy for your relationship to experience more emotional and physical intimacy.

Possible Challenges of Pregnancy Sex on Clomid

If you or your partner are struggling with having sex "on the clock," you're not alone. This is a common struggle for couples trying to conceive. For one thing, you may need to have sex when you're not in the mood. Don't feel bad for not feeling it.

Secondly, it can feel weird to have sex knowing that your doctor knows you're having sex on particular days. (Just so you know... your doctor isn't even thinking about you having sex. Honestly.) Having sex frequently throughout the month—instead of only on your ovulation days—can help with this tension.

Another thing to keep in mind is that sex on demand during a fertility treatment cycle isn't forever. It's only during these cycles. This time will eventually pass.