Medications Used In Treatment

Ovary Stimulating medication

It used to stimulate the ovaries to get more eggs. There are intramuscular and hypodermic types of application. Hypodermic injections are more commonly used because of their ease of use, which enables the patients to use the injections by themselves. There are two types regarding the content of the medication:

1) Containing FSH (Follicle stimulating hormone)

2) Containing FSH + LH (Luteinizing hormone)

These exist under different brands.

They are used only as injections, which last more or less 10 days. The type and dosage of the medication is determined based on examinations.

Suppressant Medications

These medications are used to prevent the ovaries from ovulating prematurely during the stimulation stage.

There are two types:

1) GnRH (gonadotropin releasing hormone) agonists

2) GnRH antagonists

Agonists are used before the stimulating injections, while the antagonists are used together with the stimulating injections after the follicles reach a certain size. They are hypodermic injections.

HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) Injections

While the ovary stimulating medication is on going, if 3-4 follicles that are 17-18mm in diameter are detected with the ultrasound, stimulating medication is stopped and hCG injections are administered. Approximately 35 hours after the hCG injection, egg retrieval is performed. The hCG injection is done to finalize the maturation of the eggs, and the timing of this injection is very important. Early or late timing will negatively affect the number and quality of the egg cells. This injection has intramuscular and hypodermic types.

Medications used after Egg Retrieval

These medications are used after ET (Embryo Transplant) to facilitate the settling of the embryos into the womb (endometrium). Most important of these medications are gels or pills containing progesterone. The patient starts to take them on the day of the ET and continues to use them for 3 more months if pregnancy occurs. The dosage gets determined by the doctor.

In some cases, bands or pills containing estrogen might be used. Also, 4 days of cortisone and antibiotics following the ET are advised due to their positive effect in establishing pregnancy.