Understanding Fertility Problems: Improving Ovulation with Medicine

Hormones are chemicals that your body makes naturally. Each type of hormone has its own function. In some cases, hormones are used for assisted reproductive treatment (ART). Hormone medicine can help:

• Make more eggs. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) causes the ovaries to make more mature eggs each month. Normally 1 egg matures each month. Note that this does not make you run out of eggs faster.

• Trigger ovulation. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is used to cause ovulation. This can help by controlling the timing of when an egg can be fertilized after sex. It may also be used for ART.

Hormone medicine can also help change the levels of other hormones. To help you ovulate, you may be given medicine to treat:

• Anovulation or oligovulation. This is when you don't ovulate or don't ovulate regularly.

• High levels of the hormone prolactin. This can stop ovulation from occurring.

• An imbalance of thyroid hormone levels. This can cause problems with fertility. It can also cause miscarriage.

This chart shows some hormone medicines that can help with fertility. Talk with your healthcare provider about how they work. Be sure you know how and when to use them. Know about the possible side effects. Some medicines carry a small but serious risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). This needs treatment right away.

Medicine	How it works	How it is taken	Possible side effects
Clomiphene citrate	Causes eggs to develop	Pills	Hot flashes, blurred vision, breast tenderness, nausea, mood swings, ovarian cysts, and increased chance of having twins
Follicle-stimulating hormone or FSH	Causes the ovaries to make more mature eggs	Injections	Increased chance of multiple births. Small but serious risk for OHSS.
Human menopausal gonadotropin or hMG	Causes eggs to develop	Injections	Increased chance of multiple births. Small but serious risk for OHSS.
Human chorionic gonadotropin or hCG	Triggers ovulation	Injections	May make enlarged ovaries worse when combined with hMG or FSH medicines
Dopamine agonists	Decreases prolactin, a hormone that can prevent ovulation	Pills	Nausea, nasal stuffiness, dizziness, and headache
Levothyroxine	Restores thyroid hormones to a normal level	Pills	Nervousness, irritability, headache, insomnia, diarrhea, weight loss, and changes in menstruation
Progesterone	Helps the endometrium get ready and helps maintain a pregnancy	Pills, vaginal cream	Breast tenderness, mood swings

Note: This chart is not a complete list. It does not endorse any type or brand. It does not show every side effect or reaction. It does not show every precaution or interaction. Only your healthcare provider can advise or prescribe these types of medicine.