Infertility - Conventional Medicine
April 18th, 2009 Posted by: admin
CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE
For Women
• If you are found to have an under active thyroid, treatment with thyroid hormone should reverse the problem. (See HYPOTHYROIDISM.) Any infections may have to be eradicated with antibiotics.
• If you are not ovulating, or if ovulation is sporadic, your doctor may prescribe treatment with clomiphene (Clomid, Serophene) to stimulate ovulation. As long as this is your only problem, this drug can be very effective. However, it has been linked to an increased incidence of ovarian cancer when used for longer than one year, and some women develop ovarian cysts that are painful enough to make them discontinue the drug. Additional prices you may have to pay for the pitter-patter of little feet include abdominal pain, bloating, blurred vision (sometimes permanent eye damage), and depression.
• If clomiphene fails, bromocriptine (Parlodel) may be tried. Your hormone levels have to be just right for this drug to work, and side effects are more common, including low blood pressure, nausea, headache, dizziness, and fatigue. This drug has also been known to cause seizures, strokes, and heart attacks.
• If you have fallopian tubes that are blocked due to earlier infection or tubal ligation, microsurgery to reopen the tubes may be recommended. The rates of successful pregnancy after such procedures are variable.
• Another alternative is in vitro fertilization (IVF). In this technique, a woman is treated with hormones to stimulate the maturation of multiple eggs, which are then removed from her body, fertilized in a laboratory, and reintroduced into her body. Current versions of this practice include gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) and zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT). In these procedures, the egg either before or after fertilization-is introduced into the fallopian tube instead of the uterus, as in earlier techniques, so it is a bit more invasive, requiring an incision. This allows early development of the embryo to take place in its natural site. However, recent statistics have shown the success rate with this technique to be no better than that of regular NF, in which the embryo is placed in the uterus.
• If the cervical mucus is of an abnormal consistency or volume and therefore possibly preventing sperm from passing into the uterus, treatment with female hormones may help the mucus reach the proper volume and consistency. Sperm can also be introduced into the uterus by artificial insemination, thus bypassing mucus that is abnormal or hostile to their passage.
• If conception remains elusive and there is no clear-cut reason for it, examination by laparoscopy and/or ultrasound-and, if any evidence (however minimal) of endometriosis of fibroids is found, surgery to remove or destroy any growths-may resolve the problem.
• Women who have polycystic ovary syndrome may benefit from losing weight if they are overweight. This lowers the total amount of estrogen circulating in their bodies, and may permit ovulation. Fertility drugs such as clomiphene (Clomid, Serophene), or the steroid dexamethasone (Decadron), may be effective as well. Surgery on the ovary in which a portion of the ovary is removed, called a wedge resection, may also restore ovulation (and fertility), though drug treatment is often tried first.
• If a woman with polycystic ovary syndrome does not desire to become pregnant, medroxyprogesterone (Provera), a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone, can be used to cause monthly shedding of the uterine lining. Possible side effects include blood-clot formation, swelling, jaundice, depression, nausea, and acne. Oral contraceptives may also be prescribed for this purpose. These drugs can help with hirsutism as well, though they may take months to help. Electrolysis and depilatories (hair-removing chemicals) can also help with the hair problem. In some cases, removal of the uterus and ovaries, followed by oral hormone replacement therapy, may be recommended. The diuretic spironolactone (Aldactone and others) may help as well. Potential side effects of this drug include blood electrolyte imbalances, headache, nausea, drowsiness, rash, confusion, and gastric ulcers.
Invigorex is one such supplement, which is based on naturally ingredients such as Tribulus Terrestris, Muira Puama, Maca Root Extract, Siberian Ginseng, Horny Goat Weed Extract or Epimedium and Saw Palmetto. However, while some of these ingredients may be well regarded, the product itself has not really scored well on consumer rating sites.
