Hi Jo - I'll try to address you questions one at a time:
- Hydrochloric acid - not a worry. The amount is miniscule, and it's the same acid your body produces in your stomach. Just not an issue.
- respiratory distress and cardiovascular problems - female hormones such as birth control pills can be associated in rare cases with blood clotting problems - DVTs and pulmonary emboli and the like - just as pregnancy itself can. Actually, the risk from BCPs is less than the risk from pregnancy. Presumably, the fertility drugs have a similar effect - probably greater than on no hormones, but less than being pregnant.
- I doubt your prolactin levels are high enough to be an issue, but I would make sure the doctor's office knows you just finished breastfeeding - it might mean your fertility is still suppressed.
- migraines can definitely be triggered by hormonal shifts - many women get them monthly with their cycle. The rapid shifts up and down with the drugs certainly might trigger a migraine. If, however, your migraines have never been cyclical, or you've taken birth control pills without an increase in migraine frequency or severity, it's probably not as big a risk.
- as for the VS, what has your response to hormones been in the past? Did it get better or worse while you were pregnant? Does it get better or worse during your menstrual cycle? If it has been unaffected by hormones in the past, it probably won't react to this. If it has been very sensitive to hormonal changes in the past, it might flare up (or get better, depending) while you go through this hormone shift.
Hope this helps. You might also try to find a forum for women undergoing fertility treatment or for egg donors to ask about their experiences with the drugs.
