Kourtney Kardashian has women asking questions about IVF medications and menopause
If you like to keep up with the Kardashians, you probably know that Kourtney Kardashian is moving forward with IVF to have a baby with her fiancé Travis Barker. However, the 42-year-old star reported that the IVF medications have caused her to go into menopause. This is scary for anyone who is thinking about IVF to hear, but is there any truth to it?
To give you answers and peace of mind, we’re talking to our own Carrie Bedient MD. Read on as our Las Vegas fertility doctor explains whether IVF medications can put you into menopause.
Can IVF medications put you into menopause?
If you’re exploring IVF, you’ll be happy to know that the simple answer to this question is no. Dr. Bedient explains that IVF medications don’t change a woman’s biology or reproductive timeline. They simply optimize what is already there.
A woman’s body typically releases one egg per month when she ovulates. However, her body has more eggs than that ready during that cycle. The body just matured one of those eggs to release for ovulation, while the rest are reabsorbed by the body. Using IVF medications, we can tell the body to mature all the eggs for that month instead of just one.
“IVF medications cannot help us access additional eggs for release, which means we cannot put someone into menopause with IVF medications,” Dr. Bedient explains. “We’re just recruiting the eggs that were already going to be lost during that cycle.”
What about the symptoms that Kourtney Kardashian is experiencing?
Our Las Vegas fertility doctor suggests two possible reasons why Kourtney Kardashian may have said IVF medications put her into menopause.
“Some IVF medications can make a woman feel like she is in menopause with hot flashes and being hormonal. But that occurs just as commonly with pregnancy,” Dr. Bedient says. “Additionally, many women who need to undergo IVF were already going into menopause. Their ovaries are starting to shut down, which is why they needed fertility treatment.”
Dr. Bedient admits that going through menopause at age 42 is early. As a result, she recommends looking into testing to look for genetic abnormalities or other possible reasons for going into menopause at such an early age.
“When a woman goes through menopause early, there are things doctors can do for her. For example, hormone replacement therapy can help those patients protect their bones and heart health,” Dr. Bedient explains.
So, you can rest easy now if you’re pursuing IVF. The medications for it can’t put your body into early menopause. They just encourage your body to mature all the eggs that are available for that month. If you have more fertility questions, contact us to schedule an appointment and get answers.