So they worked out that it’s your hormones that are making you infertile? With regards to sorting out infertility, hormones are always an alternative although there are some hazards linked with taking infertility hormones so be sure to do your homework.

Some medicine can balance the levels of hormones in your body to help your system to sort itself out.

The medications listed below could be prescribed for the ladies:

· Bromocriptine – Prolactin prevents ovulation and promotes breast milk production, so bromocriptine controls prolactin to stimulate ovulation. Side effects include headaches, nausea, low blood pressure and possibly dizziness as well.

· Clomiphene – Clomiphene encourages the pituitary gland to make FSH and LH which stimulate the ovaries to release egg cells. Benefits are that it is rather affordable and useful in women with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) or unpredictable menstruation although side effects may include headaches, tender breasts, nausea and insomnia.

· Metoformin – Stimulates ovulation by suppressing the male hormones in the body (usually a side effect of PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) or insulin resistance).

If you (presuming you’re the woman) aren’t making eggs then some infertility hormones can help.

· Human Menopausal Gonadotropin (hMG) – This contains LH (luteinizing hormone) and FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) which are obtained from the urine of women who have stopped menstruating and is generally prescribed if you have trouble with your pituitary gland and the previous drugs haven’t worked. Regrettably they are not always helpful and are fairly expensive as additional ultrasound scans are required to confirm if the drug is working. Complications include an increased chance of premature births, enlarged ovaries, multiple births or miscarriage.

· Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) – These operate together with hMGs to promote ovulation and may also treat endometriosis although possible side effects include cysts on the ovaries, elevated risks of multiple births and enlarged ovaries.

· Urofollitropin (FSH) – This can help stimulate the ovaries to ovulate and is normally used for women suffering from PCOS if clomiphene doesn’t work.

· Luteinizing Hormone – Releasing Hormone (LH-RH) – These drugs may be prescribed to treat endometriosis or to regulate the pituitary gland. It is rather difficult to administer and it raises your chance of multiple births and infections.

· Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (Gn-RH) – Stimulates the pituitary gland to encourage ovulation.

· Progesterone – Helps production of a healthy endometrium lining to receive the fertilized egg.

For the guys:

Infertility hormones don’t work for men as effectively as they do for the ladies, but they can be effective in certain situations. Below are some of the hormones that may be given to men, and it is interesting to see that a number of them are quite similar to those given to women.

· Testosterone – Mimics natural testosterone to assist effective reproductive function.

· Gn-RH – Gn-RH stimulates the release of FSH by the pituitary gland which in turn instructs the testes to manufacture sperm and LH which encourages the production of testosterone.

· Bromocriptine – Testosterone will not be produced if you have too much prolactin so Bromocriptine will help decrease prolactin levels. Just look out for the hallucinations.

· hCG & FSH – Help encourage the production of sperm for men with low sperm count or reduced sperm motility. These are thought to be two of the most successful infertility hormones for men.

Risks

Know what to expect from the medication you are taking to avoid any undesirable interactions. A possible risk of many infertility hormones is the increased chance of multiple pregnancies (at once). That might not seem like such a negative thing to you when you’re desperate to conceive. Having multiples results in far more difficulties than single pregnancies including an elevated risk of premature birth and the complications that follow.

Once you’ve considered the benefits and risks you may decide that infertility hormones are the way to go. Good Luck!

Here is more information on PCOS and Infertility. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Infertility.

  

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