Infertility and Hormones
After all the blood tests, they finally informed you that it’s your hormones causing all the trouble. Hormone therapy might be very beneficial in reversing infertility but there are some potential side effects – so ensure that you are educated!
You may not have to take actual hormones, but rather have medication to control your hormones.
The medications described below might be prescribed for the ladies:
· Bromocriptine – Prolactin suppresses ovulation and promotes breast milk production, so bromocriptine controls prolactin to stimulate ovulation. You could experience low blood pressure, nausea, headaches and possibly dizziness as well.
· Clomiphene – Clomiphene encourages the pituitary gland to produce FSH and LH which stimulate the ovaries to release eggs. It is relatively inexpensive and rather effective, especially if you suffer from PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) or unpredictable menstruation, although you might experience insomnia, nausea, tender breasts and headaches while you’re taking it.
· Metoformin – This is used to treat women with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) or insulin resistance as it decreases the concentrations of male hormones in the system and thus helps the body to ovulate.
Actual hormones may also encourage ovulation.
· Human Menopausal Gonadotropin (hMG) – This contains FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinizing hormone) which are obtained from the urine of postmenopausal women and is generally prescribed if you have difficulties with your pituitary gland and the previous drugs haven’t worked. Unfortunately they are not always effective and are relatively costly as additional ultrasound scans are required to confirm if the drug is working. Your risks of spontaneous abortion or enlarged ovaries are amplified, as are your chances of multiple or premature births which have hazards of their own.
· Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) – HCG promotes ovulation and treats endometriosis by functioning in partnership with hMG. Side effects include increased rate of cysts on the ovaries, increased risk of enlarged ovaries and multiple births.
· Urofollitropin (FSH) – prescribed if clomiphene is unsuccessful in stimulating ovulation in women suffering from PCOS.
· Luteinizing Hormone – Releasing Hormone (LH-RH) – Pituitary gland abnormalities and endometriosis can be treated with LH-RH. It is somewhat difficult to administer and it elevates the odds of multiple births and infections.
· Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (Gn-RH) – Stimulates the pituitary gland to promote ovulation.
· Progesterone – Stimulates the uterus to form a coating for the zygote to implant.
For the guys:
For the most part, infertility hormones are not as successful for men as they are for women; although they may be prescribed in some cases. Here is a list of the medications and hormones that could be prescribed for the men. You’ll see that a few of them are very much like those prescribed for women.
· Testosterone – Imitates natural testosterone to assist efficient sexual performance.
· Gn-RH – Gn-RH encourages the release of FSH by the pituitary gland which in turn instructs the testes to manufacture sperm and LH which stimulates the production of testosterone.
· Bromocriptine – Testosterone may not be produced if you have too much prolactin so Bromocriptine will help reduce prolactin levels. Just look out for the hallucinations.
· hCG & FSH – Help encourage the manufacturing of sperm for men with low sperm count or low sperm motility. These are believed to be two of the most effective infertility hormones for men.
Possible dangers
Ensure that you are informed about the possible hazards of each type of medication before you take it, as you might have a condition that might be made worse by the medication. A potential risk of many infertility hormones is the high chance of multiple pregnancies (at once). I know you’re thinking, “You say that like that’s a bad thing!” At first thought it may make sense to get two (or three or four) for the price of one, multiples are more likely to develop complications and be premature, thus elevating the odds of further health and developmental problems.
Once you’ve weighed up the risks and benefits you might 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.