Injectable fertility medications can help patients achieve pregnancy

Sometimes, women cannot conceive without a little help from injectable fertility medications like gonadotropins. These powerful drugs help stimulate the development of the egg-containing follicles in the ovaries, which is helpful when patients visit our Las Vegas fertility doctors for IVF. Our doctors may also use these medications as part of an egg freezing cycle.

What are injectable fertility medications and how do they work?

Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) are two types of gonadotropins. The pituitary gland naturally makes these hormones and normally releases them at specific times and in specific amounts so that only one follicle grows and ovulates each month.

When our Las Vegas fertility doctors prescribe injectable fertility medications, these doses allow multiple follicles to develop and ovulate. This is ideal for IVF and egg freezing.

What does treatment with injectable medications look like?

Typically, a patient will visit our Las Vegas fertility doctors for an ultrasound at the beginning of her period. If there are no cysts in her ovaries, she can begin taking injectable fertility medications. After receiving training from our team, the female patient will administer these simple injections herself.

Because gonadotropins are powerful, the woman will come to our office every two to three days for bloodwork and ultrasound monitoring while she takes these drugs. When the ultrasound shows that the woman’s largest follicles are mature, she will receive a specific injection to trigger ovulation. The patient will come back about 36 hours later for an egg retrieval procedure.

After the procedure, our lab will either freeze the healthy eggs or fertilize them with sperm from the woman’s partner or chosen donor to create embryos for an IVF cycle.

Do these medications have side effects?

Like any medication, gonadotropins can have side effects. They may include bloating, pregnancy with multiples and a very rare condition called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. However, safety is our top priority, so our Las Vegas fertility doctors provide comprehensive monitoring to help avoid these side effects in our patients.

If you have questions about injectable fertility medications, contact us to schedule a consultation. The Fertility Center of Las Vegas provides an Oasis of Hope on your journey to parenthood.