The 7 Most Common Fertility Drugs

By now you’ve probably heard of Clomid, the most commonly-used fertility drug in the United States. But do you really know how it works and what the possible side effects can be? If fertility drugs are your next step in the attempt to get pregnant, then here is a quick rundown of the seven medications your doctor is most likely to prescribe.

Clomiphene Citrate: Clomid; Serophene
Follicle Stimulating Hormone: Follistim; Gonal-f
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist: Antagon
Heparin: Hep-Lock; Liquaemin
Human Menopausal Gonadotropin: Pergonal; Repronex; Menopur
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG): Pregnyl; Profasi; Novarel
Leuprolide: Lupron

Clomiphene Citrate
Common names:
Clomid, Serophene

How it works:
It tricks the body into thinking estrogen levels are low, which in turn stimulates the production of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). These hormones are essential for conception: FSH causes follicles in the ovaries to ripen, and LH triggers the release of an egg(s).

Possible side effects:
Vaginal dryness, hot flashes, breast tenderness, nausea, vomiting, moodiness, and irritability. Between 4 and 10 percent of women who use clomiphene citrate become pregnant with twins and up to 1 percent conceive triplets. If you experience headaches or visual disturbances, call your doctor immediately.

Follicle Stimulating Hormone
Common names:
Follistim, Gonal-f

How it works:
FSH is a natural hormone that helps eggs mature, and the drug is a synthetic version of the hormone. FSH can be prescribed to help induce ovulation, or to help stimulate the development of multiple eggs for IVF.

Possible side effects:
Headaches, irritability, breast tenderness, and muscle aches, as well as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), in which the ovaries become very enlarged. OHSS occurs seven to 10 days after starting treatment and affects 5 to 10 percent of women, though less than 1 percent will experience severe OHSS. Symptoms include bloating, discomfort, pelvic pain, swelling of the hands or legs, shortness of breath, reduced urination, diarrhea, vomiting, and in the most severe cases, blood clots and kidney dysfunction.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist
Common names:
Antagon

How it works:
When ovulation needs to be regulated for treatment or because of chemotherapy, this injectable is used to trigger the production of more luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which causes the pituitary gland to temporarily shut down and therefore stop ovulation.

Possible side effects:
Hot flashes, vaginal dryness, insomnia, and headaches. A condition similar to menopause can occur when it is not taken paired with ovulation stimulating treatment.

Heparin
Common names:
Hep-Lock, Liquaemin

How it works:
The injectable blood thinner lowers the risk of miscarriage in women with blood-clotting disorders that are linked to recurrent pregnancy loss.

Possible side effects:
Back pain, stomach pain, skin rash, heavy bleeding, hair loss (with long term use), high blood potassium levels

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Human Menopausal Gonadotropin
Common names:
Pergonal, Repronex, Menopur

How it works:
This injectable combination of LH and FSH is designed to either induce ovulation in women who don’t ovulate (or do so rarely), or, in women who are ovulating,

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG)
Common names:
Pregnyl, Profasi, Novarel

How it works:
hCG is a hormone that helps stimulate egg maturation and release from the follicle.

Possible side effects:
Pain and slight swelling at the injection site, as well as abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, and OHSS.

Leuprolide
Common names:
Lupron, synthetic gonadotropin inhibitor

How it works:
Typically used in women undergoing IVF, the medicine suppresses the hormones LH and FSH to keep a woman from releasing immature follicles and eggs.

Possible side effects:
Hot flashes, sweating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, an increased need to urinate, breast tenderness, and vaginal dryness are the most common.