Infertility

Generations IVF class

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Your IVF medications

It is important that you make sure you have your shipment delivered prior to the date that your first medication is needed. Even though the medications ship overnight, there can, at times, be weather-related delays.

Pre-IVF consult

Lupron

Injection Training Video: How to Self-Administer Lupron or Leuprolide Acetate

After you start your Lupron, you will be instructed to stop taking your birth control pills. When you stop your birth control pills, you may have some spotting or period-type bleeding. Either is normal and does not represent a problem.

Baseline ultrasound and lab appointment

FSH

The average number of days you will take the Follistim or Gonal-F is generally 10 to 12 days. There is a broad range. It could be anywhere from eight to 14 days.

Menopur

Pay careful attention to the dose of Menopur that is on your protocol sheet. It may be 75 units or 150 units. Each powder vial is a dose of 75 units.

  • If your dose is 75 units of Menopur daily, you will use one powder and one ml water.

  • If your dose is 150 units of Menopur, you will use two powders dissolved into one ml water for each of your injections.
    The dose of Menopur may change in your cycle but is done less frequently than Follistim or Gonal-F.

Potential Side Effects to Medications

Antagon or Cetrotide

HcG Trigger

The HcG gets your follicles ripened so that they will fertilize normally. At the time of the call when we will tell you to take your HcG, we will also give you instructions for your egg retrieval procedure. This will include what time to arrive, whether your partner needs to abstain and for how long, and when to stop eating and drinking.

Once you take your HcG injection that evening, you and your partner will need to remain abstinent.

You will need to bring in your IVF folder in for your egg retrieval along with your filled prescription for Percocet.

Your egg retrieval

Instructions for Your Egg Retrieval

  • Nothing to eat or drink after midnight

  • If you brush your teeth in the morning, you can rinse your mouth but do not swallow the water

  • If you wear contact lenses, do not put them in that morning. You can bring glasses with you if you wear them

  • Do not wear opaque nail polish

  • If you have asthma and use an inhaler, bring it with you

  • The night before your procedure, do not take anything that will thin your blood, such as ibuprofen, aspirin or alcohol

  • You can expect to be at the clinic for two to four hours. The procedure itself takes an hour or less

After your egg retrieval

After your egg retrieval procedure, you will need to start taking Progesterone the next day.

Do not refrigerate this medication; because it is compounded in oil, it will be thicker, and more difficult to inject if it is cold. We recommend warming the medication closer to body temperature prior to use by either tucking it into the waistband of your pants or carrying it in a closed fist for 15-20 minutes. Do not heat it with other methods. You may ice your injection site prior to administration and massage the site after injection.

Because you will be using this medication for up to 11 weeks (if you become pregnant), you will need to re-mark your injection sites. You can do this using a magic marker before the clinic-placed markings fade. Alternatively, you can cut holes in a pair of underwear over the injection sites and put these on just prior to each days' injection. If you need any assistance with re-marking your sites, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Your embryo transfer

Next steps: After your embryo transfer

Helpful hints for your IVF cycle