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Fertility Drugs

There are a number of drugs that are often administered to overcome infertility. Below you will found a brief explanation of the main drug treatments used today.

Progesterone Supplementation

This is mainly used in situations of luteal deficiency where there is a decreased natural production of progesterone.

Ovulation Induction Agents

Clomiphene citrate (Clomid or Serophene) is most often used to induce ovulation. It is typically taken from day 5 to day 9 of the cycle. It causes ovulation in about 3/4 of young, anovulatory women who take it but only about 35-40% of them actually become pregnant and carry a baby to term.

These induction agents can take up to 6 ovulation cycles. If there is poor cervical mucus or if the mail partner's semen analysis is abnormal in addition to other ofulation issues, intrauterine insemination may be used in combination with clomid.

Gonadotropins

Gonadotropins include Gonal-F, Follistim and Repronex. They stimulate the development of ovarian follicles. They are commonly used in conjunction with intrauterine insemination.

GnRH Agonists

Lupron Depot (LD) is the most commonly used of the GnRH Agonists. It suppresses the ability of the pituitary gland to stimulate the ovary at the wrong time. LD increases pregnancy rates in In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) cycles because it is used to prevent ovulation before eggs can be retrieved from the ovaries.