Some couples who are trying to have children may experience infertility issues. If you are among them have no worries, there are still ways to have children thanks to the miracles of modern medicine. One of these miracles is fertility drugs.
Clomid (clomiphine citrate)
Among the various fertility drugs that your fertility specialist may prescribe to you are drugs that are intended to stimulate ovulation. Usually the first medication the doctor will prescribe is called Clomid. This drug is used for known ovulation dysfunction and for unknown fertility issues. It can be used by itself or in conjunction with other drugs. Clomid is administered orally.
Femara (Letrozole)
An alternative drug to Clomid, it is also used to treat ovulation issues. This medication is also administered orally but is used with patients who may have had negative side effects from Clomid or did not experience success with Clomid. Femara is also used with women who suffer from PCOS as it has shown greater effectiveness than Clomid for these patients. Femara can be used by itself or along with other medications.
Gonadotropins (Gonal F and Follistim)
These classes of drugs are injectable rather than oral. They are the strongest drugs available for ovulation stimulation. Gonadotropins utilize either FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) or LH (lutenizing hormone, or both. The odds of having twins or triplets are greatly increased with gonadotropins than with drugs like Clomid or Femara. The risk of ovarian hyperstimulation can be higher with gonadotropins than with the orally administered drugs.
There are several gonadotropins that your doctor may prescribe. Gonadotropins are also prescribed for men with fertility issues to improve semen health and testosterone levels.
This was part 2 in our series of Top Pregnancy Helpers of prescribed Fertility Treatment Drugs (part 1 is here). Please join us this week for this 5 part series on prescription fertility medications at IVFPrescriptions.com. We offer the Top Pregnancy Helping medications for up to 70% off current US pricing in our online pharmacy.
