Friday, July 11, 2008

How Useful Are Fertility Drugs?

Fertility drugs aid people who are not able to produce children spontaneously. If you are one of these people, then you will want to talk to your doctor about your options.

Taking these drugs for infertility problems is usually the first step in treatment. There are several kinds of drugs that are available and you just need to find out which one is the right one for you and your situation. Your doctor will either be able to help you with this or point you in the direction of a specialist that can.

Drugs for infertility issues should only be prescribed by doctors who specialize in the treatment of infertility. Just like all medications, these drugs can cause side effects and you will need to be monitored closely by your doctor while you are taking them.

Some of the more popular and well-known drugs are: Follistim, Clomid, Repronex, Gonal-F, Brayelle, Menopur, Progesterone, Lupron, Metformin and hCG. The drugs act as hormones and they stimulate the ovaries to release eggs.

This enables the eggs to be ready for fertilization, so these hormones basically enable the woman to ovulate. One of the biggest concerns about these drugs is that they have caused many instances of multiple births.

This is due to the fact that they stimulate the ovaries to release more than the normal one egg that is usual during ovulation. There are more eggs available for fertilization, which means that more babies are likely to be created.

Fertility drugs are considered relatively safe, although some scientists have said that there is an increased chance of a woman getting ovarian cancer while using them. However, this has not been completely substantiated.

The chance of becoming pregnant with more than one baby increases the chance of something going wrong during the pregnancy. As the number of fetuses increase per pregnancy, so does the risk for complications, which can lead to miscarriage and premature labor.

Fertility drugs are also being used to treat the causes of male infertility. These drugs usually work, especially if a man has a low sperm count, or slow moving sperm. They can sometimes help to the point that the man is then able to fertilize his partner's eggs the natural way, or if this is not possible, at least allow the doctor to collect his sperm to use to artificially inseminate his partner.

Most of the fertility treatment drugs can help with low quality sperm, slow moving sperm and not enough sperm. However, if there are other factors, such as low quality sperm or just an allergic reaction to his sperm by his partner, then other avenues will have to be explored.

If you think that you are a good candidate for fertility drugs, then you need to discuss this with your doctor. If you do research and have your health care professional help you and guide you though the process, then it will make your life much easier.

There are many different types of drugs available to aid with infertility and it can be a big undertaking to research the pros and cons of each one that your doctor might recommend. Researching is going to be some of the best spent time for you as it pertains to your future reproductive health and pregnancy chances.

Mike Selvon portal offers free articles on infertility. Find out more about fertility drugs, and leave a comment at the pregnancy blog.