Injectable Medications

Medication and Injection Intructions and Videos

What are they and how do they work?

Gonadotropins (Gonal-F, Follistim, Menopur, Bravelle) are fertility medications containing follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and/or luteinizing hormone (LH). Your physician may prescribe these medications to you if you fail to ovulate or fail to achieve pregnancy with clomiphene citrate therapy. Gonadotropins help to stimulate follicular (egg) development within the ovaries.

How are these medications administered?

These medications are not available in oral form and must be administered by either subcutaneous (in the skin) or intramuscular (into the muscle) injections. These medications are potent. Typically, patients prescribed this medication must undergo careful monitoring by ultrasound and bloodwork to evaluate follicular development. Gonadotropin therapy is often combined with intrauterine insemination to maximize pregnancy rates

What are the risks and side effects of these medications?

Potential side effects of gonadotropin therapy include ovarian enlargement, abdominal bloating, and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. Also, multiple gestations, including high order (triplets and higher) gestations are more common with injectable therapy. Cancellation of your injectable medication cycle to prevent multiple gestations is not uncommon. Our goal is for you to achieve a healthy singleton pregnancy so patients considering injectable therapy may also want to consider of in vitro fertilization (IVF), which allows for greater control over the risks of multiple gestations.

Common Side Effects of Injectable Medications Fact Sheet

What happens if injectable medications don’t work?

If you fail to achieve pregnancy after gonadotropin therapy combined with intrauterine insemination, it may be recommended that you meet with your physician to discuss moving on to more advanced fertility treatment such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF).