Fertility medications, notably ovulation induction medicines, are one of the most used treatment options in conventional medicine (allopathic medicine) to tackle female infertility. Ovulation induction means to stimulate the ovaries to produce and release eggs.
The reason for this is that an important part of fertility problems of women are ovulatory disorders (about 25% of the cases of infertility), that is, the situation where normal ovulation fails or is irregular.
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Fertility medication is also used in In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatments in order to prepare the woman’s body for IVF and to increase the chances that more healthy eggs are produced by the ovaries.
One of the most commonly used medications is Clomiphene Citrate, known under brand names like Clomid® and Serophene®. They work by increasing the amount of Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) by stimulating the pituitary gland.
There are some common possible side effects reported when using such medication, like increased multiple births, increased miscarriages, hot flashes, nausea, and breast tenderness, headaches, blurred vision, depression, mood swings, and the development of ovarian cysts, to name some issues.
Apart from the above mentioned medicines there is a range of other allopathic treatments used which are also mainly aimed at stimulating the ovaries to produce eggs (or produce and release them at the right time). Here we need to think of medicines like Synthetic Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, directly injected Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Human Menopausal Gonadotropins, Bromocriptine, Cabergoline, Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone, Steroids, Antibiotics, and Progesterone.
For men there’s very little medication available compared to the options for women, but testosterone therapy may be used or Clomiphene Citrate to stimulate the testes and a healthy sperm production.
Additionally, both men and women often turn to natural fertility supplements using vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and herbs to help increase their fertility.
