Ovulation Induction: Advanced Infertility Treatment

Many women having trouble conceiving turn to an infertility specialist, or Reproductive Endocrinologist for help. If you are in this situation and have been diagnosed with ovulatory problems, then your infertility specialist may have suggested ovulation induction as a possible solution. Ovulation induction can be very effective for women who do not ovulate or who have irregular ovulation patterns.

Ovulation induction is a treatment that stimulates your ovaries into ovulating. There are a few medications that are commonly used to induce ovulation. Your infertility specialist will work with you in determining which medications will help you reach your goals. Careful monitoring is essential to improving your odds of conception. Working with an experienced and skilled infertility specialist could prove invaluable on your quest to achieve pregnancy.

There are a few different types of ovulation induction therapies that your doctor will discuss with you. Having a basic understanding of each one should help you make an informed decision about how to proceed with your ovulation induction. Drugs that stimulate the ovary and help to produce mature eggs include injectable gonadotropins, clomiphene citrate, gonadotropin releasing hormone, among others.

Clomiphene citrate is commonly used to treat women experiencing ovulatory problems. This is usually the first step that you will take in trying to make your ovaries release one or more eggs. Most women experiencing little or no ovulation have only a slight rise, or no rise in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and/or luteinizing hormone (LH). Clomiphene citrate lowers or blocks estrogen receptors in the body. Your pituitary gland should produce more FSH and LH to try and bring the estrogen levels back up. In a normal menstrual cycle, the estrogen drops, FSH and LH stimulate the ovarian follicles to mature and release eggs until the estrogen levels are brought back to a normal level. By blocking estrogen receptors, clomiphene citrate tricks the body into releasing additional FSH and LH.

Occasionally, the clomiphene citrate will not produce a high enough or long enough FSH level to encourage ovulation. If this is the case with you, then injectable gonadotropins may be recommended by your infertility specialist. Basically, injectable gonadotropins are injections of FSH. This can help you keep the levels of FSH in your body higher and for longer periods of time. Your doctor will monitor you to determine the correct amount of stimulation that you need without over-stimulating your ovaries into the production of many eggs.

When your doctor says that the eggs have matured in the follicles of your ovaries and are ready to be released, an HCG injection may be administered, which acts like LH in the ovaries. An LH surge usually happens naturally in a menstrual cycle to release an egg. It usually does not happen in an ovulation induction treatment and your doctor may choose to do the HCG injection.

All of this information should be used for familiarizing yourself with ovulation induction treatments and should not replace advice given by your infertility specialist. Ovulatory problems should be dealt with by a professional, experienced Reproductive Endocrinologist. Ovulation success rates are fairly high for these types of treatments, but not all will conceive. Other problems could be affecting your infertility, so find an infertility specialist that is willing to work with you to find your best infertility treatment options.

About the Author/Author Bio

Eric Daiter is the medical director of The NJ Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine, LLC, a leading NEW JERSEY INFERTILITY CENTER that offers a complete range of MALE INFERTILITY AND FEMALE INFERTILITY TREATMENT. For more information on The NJ Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine and Dr. Eric Daiter please visit www.drericdaitermd.com

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