Fertility Pills & Injections

Fertility Pills :

• Clomiphene citrate pills are the most common fertility medication, which works by stimulating the pituitary gland to produce adequate hormones needed for ovulation to be restored.
• Letrozole pills, also known as aromatase inhibitors, work by temporarily lowering the levels of progesterone so that the body increases the levels of FSH, thus stimulating more abundant egg maturation and ovulation. It is used off-label for fertility, especially in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), as it was originally used to treat breast cancer.
• Metformin pills work by lowering high levels of androgens in women with insulin resistance or diabetes as well as PCOS. This medication is sometimes used in combination with FSH or clomiphene citrate. It is also used off-label for fertility as it is a diabetes medication.
• Bromocriptine pills are used to resolve abnormal ovulation caused by high levels of prolactin, or hyperprolactinemia.

Fertility Injections :

• Human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) injections are used to stimulate the maturation of eggs in the ovaries when the pituitary gland fails to do so.
• Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) injection is also known as a trigger shot because once administered, it will trigger ovulation to take place in the next 24 to 36 hours. This medication often follows fertility pills, such as clomiphene citrate, when eggs are mature enough for ovulation.
• Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogs and antagonists can come as injections or a nasal spray. These medications, which are used often during in vitro fertilization (IVF), stimulate the pituitary gland to halt ovulation so that the uterus is prepared for an embryo transfer.
• Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) injections stimulate the ovaries to mature numerous eggs. FSH shots can be used alone or in combination with other gonadotropins.

• Generally, women need three to six treatment cycles before achieving pregnancy.
• Rates of live birth after using clomiphene citrate have shown about 23% and 18% when using letrozole.
• Pregnancy rates using gonadotropins tend to be higher than when using pills, about 32%.
• Fertility pills have been found to induce ovulation in about 60% of PCOS women.
• Bromocriptine has been shown to induce ovulation in 85% of women, up to 80% of which successfully conceive.

Fertility pills cost from $10 to $100 per cycle. The cost of fertility injections, on the other hand, is much higher and can range between $1,000 and $6,000 per cycle.
This cost only covers the medications without doctor’s visits, blood work, and other medical services, such as IUI or IVF. Insurance coverage depends on a woman’s individual plan. In many cases, fertility treatments are not covered at all or only partially.

Fertility pills and injections can be a tremendous help for women who cannot get pregnant naturally due to infertility. They work by stimulating the ovaries to mature eggs for ovulation, and they can be administered as pills, such as clomiphene citrate, letrozole, or metformin, or as injections, including hMG or FSH. Though generally effective in stimulating ovulation and achieving pregnancy, fertility drugs and shots put women at an increased risk of multiple pregnancies, among other side effects. Stimulating ovulation with pills costs up to $100 per cycle; whereas, the cost of fertility injections can be as high as $6,000 per month.