Pregnancy – In Vitro Fertilisation - Administrated Drugs – Part I

The drugs administered in the first stage of IVF override the woman's natural cycle in order to produce more eggs under carefully controlled conditions that make it possible for them to be removed and fertilised in the laboratory. The exact pro¬gramme prescribed for you, and the dosages, will depend on your own individual circumstances and on your consultant. You have to buy a huge quantity of the drugs, which are expensive, so ask your clinic about the best way to store them, whether in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Below are the main types of drugs and what they do:

LHRH agonist
Usually gonadotropin-releasing hormones produced by the woman's hypothalamus act on the pituitary to produce follicle-stimulating and luteinising hormones which in turn stimulate the ovaries to produce follicles. Naturally, these are produced in pulses every 90 minutes. A constant supply of them will make the pituitary shut down and suppress its hormone production completely, so stopping the woman's monthly cycle. This pro¬cess is called down regulation, and is the first step in most forms of IVF treatment.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormones come in several drug forms, often as a nasal spray. Depending on your natural hor¬mone levels and the exact type of drug prescribed, you may have to take it as often as every four hours, either five or six times during 24 hours. It can be hard to keep to a regular timetable, and some women use a stopwatch or a multi-alarm wristwatch to help. If you do forget, you should take the spray when you remember, and then get back to your normal four-hourly schedule. Newer forms of this are available that only need to be taken two or three times daily. With some treatment programmes you start the spray on about the twentieth day of your cycle, then take it for about four weeks. This is known as the long protocol. With a shorter protocol, you may start it on about the first day of the cycle and only take it for about two weeks. Or with an ultra-short protocol, you may be prescribed only a very short course of this drug, lasting just a few days.

Shirley M. Duran is a mother of two and an author of a variety of related lifestyle issues and topics with which has helped hundreds of mothers become pregnant. If you have any pregnancy questions for which you need answers, it is recommended to visit: http://mypregnancyquestions.info/

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