Options for Treating PCOS Infertility

Options for treating #PCOS Infertility

#TealEggsforPCOS 

The infertility rate with polycystic ovaries #PCOS is very high. Women with PCOS usually will have difficulty getting pregnant and usually require treatment to improve chances for pregnancy

In most cases, fertility problems in women with PCOS result from the absence of ovulation (anovulation), 

Lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, changing nutrition and exercise regimens, supplements, can trigger body changes that facilitate conception in women with #PCOS

However, some may require a more targeted approach when #TTC requiring specialists and specialized treatments....

If you have PCOS-related infertility, your health care provider may prescribe one of the following medications to help you get pregnant:

Clomiphene 

(pronounced KLOM-uh-feen), 

or clomiphene citrate

This is the most common treatment for infertility in women with PCOS.1 The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that clomiphene should be the primary medication for PCOS patients with infertility.

Clomiphene indirectly causes eggs to mature and be released.

Women treated with clomiphene are more likely to have twins or triplets than women who get pregnant naturally. One in 10 women who conceive with the aid of clomiphene will have a multiple pregnancy, most commonly twins.

Metformin (pronounced met-FAWR-min)

Although this insulin-sensitizing drug is normally used to treat diabetes, it may also be used as an adjunct to increase or regulate ovulation in women with PCOS.

Metformin can be used alone8 or used with clomiphene when clomiphene alone is not successful.

Evidence shows that metformin—both alone and in combination with clomiphene—increases ovulation, but it does not increase the rate of pregnancy.9

Metformin is not approved by the FDA for treating PCOS-related infertility.

Letrozole 

(pronounced LET-roh-zohl)

This drug transiently slows estrogen production and causes the body to make more follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), a hormone needed for ovulation.

Letrozole is as effective as clomiphene in causing ovulation,11 but it is still not known whether it improves pregnancy and live-birth rates.

The NICHD currently is doing studies to compare the safety and effectiveness of letrozole with clomiphene for treating infertility related to PCOS.

Studies of letrozole in animals have shown that it causes birth defects if used during pregnancy, but there have been no studies of this drug in pregnant women.

If you do not get pregnant with these first-line medications, your health care provider may suggest one of the following treatments

Gonadotropins 

(pronounced goh-nad-uh-TROH-pins)

These hormones, given as shots, cause ovulation.

This treatment is costly and has a higher risk of multiple pregnancies than does treatment with clomiphene.

Your health care provider may need to use frequent laboratory tests and ultrasound exams to watch how your body responds to this treatment.

Ovarian drilling

This surgery may increase the chance of ovulation and may be considered if lifestyle changes and medications have been used without success.

In ovarian drilling the surgeon makes a small cut in your abdomen and inserts a long, thin tool called a laparoscope (pronounced LAP-er-uh-skohp). The surgeon then uses a needle with electric current to puncture and destroy a small part of the ovary. The surgery leads to lower androgen levels, which may improve ovulation.

This surgery may be less costly than treatment with gonadotropin,14 and it does not seem to increase the risk of multiple pregnancies. However, it does carry the risk of scarring the ovaries.

This treatment is not recommended by all professional societies. It is unclear whether the process is more effective than medications for treating PCOS infertility.

If you do not get pregnant with the treatments listed above, your health care provider may suggest in vitro fertilization, or IVF. In this procedure, sperm and an egg are placed in a dish outside the body, in which fertilization occurs. Then a doctor places the fertilized egg into the uterus. IVF may offer women with PCOS the best chance of getting pregnant, and it may give health care providers better control over the risk of multiple births. But it can be expensive and may not be covered by health care insurance.

There are many options to help women with #PCOS ..... It is not impossible it's just sometimes finding the right combination that works for you and your body....

Join us through April for #NIAW and our #TealEggsforPCOS event to raise more awareness for #PCOS and #Infertility 

With live chats with experts, blogs, vlogs and contests tgat provide products, treatments, inspiration and services for women with PCOS who are trying to conceive 

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