Fertility Drugs - An Overview

Drugs for infertility issues should only be prescribed by doctors who specialize in the treatment of infertility. Just like all medications, these drugs can cause side effects and you will need to be monitored closely by your doctor while you are taking them. Some of the more popular and well-known drugs are: Follistim, Clomid, Repronex, Gonal-F, Brayelle, Menopur, Progesterone, Lupron, Metformin and hCG. The drugs act as hormones and they stimulate the ovaries to release eggs. This enables the eggs to be ready for fertilization, so these hormones basically enable the woman to ovulate. One of the biggest concerns about these drugs is that they have caused many instances of multiple births. This is due to the fact that they stimulate the ovaries to release more than the normal one egg that is usual during ovulation. There are more eggs available for fertilization, which means that more babies are likely to be created. Fertility drugs are considered relatively safe, although some scientists have said that there is an increased chance of a woman getting ovarian cancer while using them. However, this has not been completely substantiated. The chance of becoming pregnant with more than one baby increases the chance of something going wrong during the pregnancy. As the number of fetuses increase per pregnancy, so does the risk for complications, which can lead to miscarriage and premature labor.

Fertility drugs are not just for women. Men who have a low sperm count or who have sperm that are not very potent can be given these drugs as well to treat male infertility. These drugs are used to increase a man's sperm production so that he can then try and impregnate his partner the natural way or so that the doctor can collect his sperm for use in artificial insemination. Infertility in men is usually the result of blocked tubes, low quality sperm, slow moving sperm, not enough sperm, too much prolactin and a few other factors. Most of the time, the drugs can help with these problems and enable the doctor to collect enough usable sperm to fertilize an egg. However, if the man's sperm quality is just too poor or if his partner is not responding well, then further help will be needed.

Researching and learning about the different types of fertility drugs and how they can help your individual case is one of the most important things that you can do for your reproductive health. There are many different fertility specialists and just as many different opinions, so it can be hard to understand all of the information. Make sure that you know the pros and cons to every drug that your doctor recommends to you. This is a lot of work and can be very time consuming, but it is in your best interest.