Ovulation Induction: Advanced Infertility Treatment

Many women having trouble conceiving turn to an infertility specialist, or Reproductive Endocrinologist for help. If you are in this situation and have been diagnosed with ovulatory problems, then your infertility specialist may have suggested ovulation induction as a possible solution. Ovulation induction can be very effective for women who do not ovulate or who have irregular ovulation patterns.
Ovulation induction is a treatment that stimulates your ovaries into ovulating. There are a few medications that are commonly used to induce ovulation. Your infertility specialist will work with you in determining which medications will help you reach your goals. Careful monitoring is essential to improving your odds of conception. Working with an experienced and skilled infertility specialist could prove invaluable on your quest to achieve pregnancy.
There are a few different types of ovulation induction therapies that your doctor will discuss with you. Having a basic understanding of each one should help you make an informed decision about how to proceed with your ovulation induction. Drugs that stimulate the ovary and help to produce mature eggs include injectable gonadotropins, clomiphene citrate, gonadotropin releasing hormone, among others.
Clomiphene citrate is commonly used to treat women experiencing ovulatory problems. This is usually the first step that you will take in trying to make your ovaries release one or more eggs. Most women experiencing little or no ovulation have only a slight rise, or no rise in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and/or luteinizing hormone (LH). Clomiphene citrate lowers or blocks estrogen receptors in the body. Your pituitary gland should produce more FSH and LH to try and bring the estrogen levels back up. In a normal menstrual cycle, the estrogen drops, FSH and LH stimulate the ovarian follicles to mature and release eggs until the estrogen levels are brought back to a normal level. By blocking estrogen receptors, clomiphene citrate tricks the body into releasing additional FSH and LH.
Occasionally, the clomiphene citrate will not produce a high enough or long enough FSH level to encourage ovulation. If this is the case with you, then injectable gonadotropins may be recommended by your infertility specialist. Basically, injectable gonadotropins are injections of FSH. This can help you keep the levels of FSH in your body higher and for longer periods of time. Your doctor will monitor you to determine the correct amount of stimulation that you need without over-stimulating your ovaries into the production of many eggs.
When your doctor says that the eggs have matured in the follicles of your ovaries and are ready to be released, an HCG injection may be administered, which acts like LH in the ovaries. An LH surge usually happens naturally in a menstrual cycle to release an egg. It usually does not happen in an ovulation induction treatment and your doctor may choose to do the HCG injection.
All of this information should be used for familiarizing yourself with ovulation induction treatments and should not replace advice given by your infertility specialist. Ovulatory problems should be dealt with by a professional, experienced Reproductive Endocrinologist. Ovulation success rates are fairly high for these types of treatments, but not all will conceive. Other problems could be affecting your infertility, so find an infertility specialist that is willing to work with you to find your best infertility treatment options.

About the Author: Eric Daiter is the medical director of The NJ Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine, LLC, a leading NEW JERSEY INFERTILITY CENTER that offers a complete range of MALE INFERTILITY AND FEMALE INFERTILITY TREATMENT. For more information on The NJ Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine and Dr. Eric Daiter please visit http://www.drericdaitermd.com/.

Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET)

If you have considered in vitro fertilization (IVF), then you may have questions about what will happen to the extra embryos during the process. If you have extra embryos after the fresh cycle of an in vitro fertilization procedure, then you may choose to have the embryos frozen. This enables you to save the embryos for future attempts at conceiving. Embryos can be cryogenically frozen for up to ten years.
Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) is considered a non-invasive or minimally invasive type of procedure. Frozen embryos can be thawed and then implanted into your uterus. If you have ovarian or ovulation problems, then FET might be a good option for you when you are considering your infertility treatment options. If you have uterine based problems with carrying out a pregnancy or other disorders, then FET may not be for you. Consult your infertility specialist about what infertility treatments might help you conceive.
Many couples are very concerned with what happens to their extra embryos during an IVF procedure. Educating yourself on how FET works can be very comforting and informative. When pursuing IVF, the man donates sperm and the woman donates eggs. The two are combined in a lab under special environmental and clinical circumstances to create as many embryos (fertilized eggs) as possible. The embryos are studied for viability. The ones that develop the most normally are selected as the ones that will most likely implant. You and your doctor will decide how many embryos to transfer and how many will be cryopreserved.
After viable embryos are chosen, they will be placed into glass tubes. A cryoprotectant is added to the tube. This keeps the embryo safe during the freezing process by not allowing ice crystals to form inside of the embryo. The embryos and cryoprotectant tubes are placed in a special freezer cooled by liquid nitrogen. They are slowly cooled down to one -196 degrees Celsius.
When you are ready to use your frozen embryos, they will be thawed to room temperature, usually the day before the transfer. The cryoprotectant will be completely washed away during a series of solution soakings. Next, the embryos are warmed up to body temperature and mixed with a solution medium.
Your body will be monitored for optimal implantation timing. Normally, three to four embryos will be transferred at once to increase the chances of implantation. You will need to discuss how many embryos to transfer with your infertility doctor. Your ovarian follicles will most likely be suppressed with medications, and your uterine lining will be developed with other medications. Ultrasounds will help your doctor determine the best time to transfer the embryos.
Embryos are easily transferred through your cervix and directly into your uterus. This is a minimally invasive, only slightly uncomfortable procedure. Your cervix will most likely allow entrance of the transfer catheter without difficulty or pain. You may experience some mild discomfort and cramping during and after the procedure. Success rates depend on your individual condition, so you should discuss your chances of a successful pregnancy through FET with your reproductive endocrinologist before you begin any type of infertility treatment.

About the Author: Eric Daiter is the medical director of The NJ Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine, LLC, a leading NEW JERSEY INFERTILITY CENTER that offers a complete range of MALE INFERTILITY AND FEMALE INFERTILITY TREATMENT. For more information on The NJ Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine and Dr. Eric Daiter please visit www.drericdaitermd.com.