Medications

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Medications in an Egg Donor Cycle

As a company, we place a high emphasis on education and so, we want you to be prepared for what medications you might take in an IVF/Egg Donor Cycle. The previous donors on our team have been through this and we are here to support you. Please take the time to review the medications and the videos. If you have questions, do not hesitate to reach out to our team.

Please Note:

The following medications are the oral and injection medications we typically see prescribed during a cycle. There is always a possibility that your clinic will follow a different protocol with different medications depending on how your body is responding.

Birth Control

On Day 2 or 3 of your period, the clinic will instruct you to start birth control.

  • You will take it for approximately 2-4 weeks.
  • Your clinic will give you a date to stop the birth control and a few days later you will go in for your Baseline
  • Appointment where you will have an ultrasound and blood work completed.
    If all looks good in this appointment, you will be given a date within a day to a few days to start your injection medications.

Stimulation Medications

Once instructed by the clinic, you will begin daily injection medications of Menopur with Gonal-F OR Follistim

Reason for Use: Stimulate Growth and Maturation of the Eggs

Common Side-Effects of the Above Medications: headache, breast tenderness, bloating, fluid retention, mood swings

To view videos of mixing and injecting the above medications, watch the videos linked below.

Ovulation Prevention Medications

After 4-6 days of administering the stimulation medications, Cetrotide OR Ganirelix are added with the previous injections you are already administering.

Reason for Use: Prevent Ovulation

Common Side-Effects: headache, nausea, abdominal pain, skin reaction

To view videos of mixing and injecting the above medications, watch the videos linked below.

OPTIONAL

Travel to Retrieval City

If you are a traveling donor, you will travel to the retrieval city around day 7 or 8 of administering the injection medications and you will be there until your Egg Retrieval takes place. (You will be traveling for approximately 7-10 days.)

Trigger Shot

Around day 10 of injections, you will be getting close to taking the trigger shot which could be Lupron (Leuprolide) OR Novarel (Pregnyl, Ovidrel, HCG)

Reason for Use: Stimulate LH Surge and Trigger Ovulation

Common Side-Effects for Lupron (Leuprolide): headache, fatigue, hot flashes

Common Side-Effects for Novarel (Pregnyl, Ovidrel, HCG): pelvic discomfort, bloating

To view videos of mixing and injecting the above medications, watch the videos linked below.

Retrieval Day Medications

Exactly 36 hours after the trigger shot, the Egg Donation Retrieval will take place.

Retrieval day, you will be put under anesthesia and given an IV.

You will be fasting (no food or drink) before your procedure.

Drink as much water as possible the day before your procedure to aid in getting your IV started since you will not be able to eat or drink anything the day of the procedure.

OPTIONAL

Travel Back Home

If traveling, you will typically be able to go back home 36 hours after your retrieval.

OPTIONAL

Post-Retrieval Medications

Depending on your bloodwork levels at the time of retrieval, your physician may order you medications for post-retrieval. Any single or a combination of the following medications could be prescribed.

Reason for Use: Help bring Estrogen levels back to normal

Cabergoline

Typically one pill per day for 8 days post-retrieval

Cetrotide

Typically one injection per day for 3-5 days post-retrieval

Ganirelix

Typically one injection per day for 3-5 days post-retrieval

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