Drugs used in women who don’t ovulate and in the Ericsson Method:
The only drug that may be used is Clomid (clomiphene citrate). Dr. Silverman’s study in the 2002 issue of “Human Reproduction” indicates that the chances of having a girl using the Ericsson Method increased significantly by taking Clomid.

Clomid stimulates the portion of the brain, called the hypothalamus, to produce increased amounts of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH). GnRH which travels to the pituitary, stimulates the release of FSH which causes egg recruitment and development.

Drugs used in women who don’t respond to Clomid as well in IVF / PGD:

Fertility drugs are used in this procedure to stimulate the ovaries to obtain multiple eggs. Several embryos must be produced so that proper selection using PGD can be accomplished. Only embryos of the appropriate sex, or those lacking the specific sex linked genetic disease of concern, are transferred to the mother’s uterus. The most commonly used fertility drugs are FSH (Gonal-F or Follistim), Lupron or Antagon, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and progesterone.

The hormone, FSH, which is produced by the pituitary gland, naturally induces egg development. We administer FSH in excess of what is normally produced by the body, to stimulate egg development in the ovaries. Side effects are minimized when FSH is administered by a trained fertility specialist. Patients receiving ovarian stimulants such as FSH must come to the office for regular monitoring with ultrasound and blood tests (estradiol levels).

We have patients take Lupron to prevent spontaneous ovulation (which occurs after the release of the hormone LH). This is critical in IVF cycles because spontaneous ovulation would result in cancellation of the cycle. After egg maturation, an injection of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is administered to initiate egg release, and egg retrieval is scheduled 36 hours later.

Once retrieval occurs, the corpus luteum (the remaining structure that the egg was released from), begins to produce the hormone, progesterone. Progesterone stimulates the development of the endometrium, which is necessary to accept and support a developing embryo. Progesterone is usually administered in IVF cycles to insure adequate endometrial support of an early pregnancy.