Fertility Medications

Fertility medications at the Center for Reproductive Medicine

Fertility medications work by stimulating your ovaries to  produce eggs and help prepare your body to receive an embryo. For this reason, they are a key part of treatment for many types of infertility, including in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technologies.

The physicians at the Center for Reproductive Medicine commonly prescribe several different types of fertility medications, including:

Progesterone

Progesterone is a hormone your ovaries make, along with estrogen, to support embryo implantation and pregnancy. After you undergo an egg retrieval, you will likely need progesterone supplements during your fresh or frozen embryo transfer cycle as the egg harvesting process removes some of the cells that produce this hormone. 

Estrogen

Estrogen helps grow and maintain your uterine lining. You need adequate levels of estrogen so the lining of your uterus can thicken and prepare for embryo implantation.

Clomiphene citrate

The oral fertility medication clomiphene citrate (available as Serophene® or Clomid®) works by encouraging your body to produce more follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). This medication is typically one of the initial options for inducing ovulation, as it causes few side effects. It does increase your chances of having twins to 7-8%.

Letrozole

Letrozole (available as Femara®) is an alternative to clomiphene citrate that works directly on your ovaries. It causes even fewer side effects and is less likely to result in multiple gestation.

Gonadotropins

Our reproductive specialists also prescribe several types of gonadotropins, which use highly purified FSH, hMG, and hCG to cause your ovaries to bring multiple eggs to maturity at once. The team at the Center for Reproductive Medicine uses these injectable fertility medications to induce ovulation for both IVF and non-IVF patients.

Follicle stimulating hormone

Follicle stimulating hormone or FSH (available as Gonal-F® and Follistim®) is used to stimulate the ovaries to develop follicles.

Human menopausal gonadotropin

Human menopausal gonadotropin or hMG ( Menopur®) contains both FSH and luteinizing hormone (LH). This medication is also used to stimulate the ovaries to develop follicles. 

Human chorionic gonadotropin

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), available as Ovidrel®, Pregnyl®, and Novarel® is a hormone your body normally releases once an embryo implants itself in your uterine lining. The effects of hCG are very much like those of LH, which triggers the final stages of egg maturation and release. Used in combination with other fertility medications, hCG can trigger ovulation.

It's important to note that hCG is the hormone that pregnancy tests detect. As a result, if you've taking supplementary hCG and perform an at-home pregnancy test, it might produce a false positive. The only way to confirm pregnancy in these cases is to have a lab test to measure your actual hCG levels.

GnRH Analogs

Gonadotropin hormone releasing hormone or GnRH is used to prevent premature ovulation. There are two types of GnRH analogs, GnRH agonists and GnRH antagonists. 

GnRH Agonist

Leuprolide, Lupron®, is a GnRH agonist. In addition to ovarian suppression, leuprolide has other uses in our office including: 

• Potentially stimulating more follicles to develop during an IVF stimulation cycle.

• Suppressing ovaries from growing follicles.  

• Preventing premature ovulation of developing follicles. 

• As a trigger in IVF to induce final maturation of eggs prior to egg retrieval (with or without HCG co-trigger). 

GnRH Antagonist

GnRH antagonists are available as Ganirelix® and Cetrotide® and prevent premature ovulation. GnRH antagonists are also used after an IVF cycle to help prevent OHSS in combination with other medications such as Letrozole and Cabergoline. 

The main difference between the two is the time it takes for the protocol to take effect and your physician will determine which is best for you.