FSH medications

This is to stimulate your ovaries to make the follicles that carry your eggs, the dose will change depending on which FSH medications you are prescribed. Your fertility specialist will titrate this dose as needed throughout your cycle. Often when you first start IVF your fertility specialist will start at a safer dose as each individual responds differently. They will monitor your estrogen levels though blood tests as well. These medications are taken from day 2-3 of your cycle and continued until you do your trigger then they are ceased. 

The FSHs i have used are gonal f, pergoveris, menpour and bemfola. For me the most success I had was with the pergoveris.

LH medications

Luverius is the main one used and it is supposed to improve the egg quality during an IVF stim cycle. I used this and have also used pergoveris which is luveris mixed with your FSH as stated above.

Growth hormones

I took subcutaneous growth hormones from 1 week prior to my day one until trigger for egg collection and again I wish I had used this from much earlier in my IVF journey. I do think it helped with the quality.

Trigger medications 

The two main triggers used are decepectal and ovidrel, I used both of these triggers but more commonly your fertility specialists will use one or the other. 

Progesterone 

3 main types, oral tablets, subcutaneous progesterone and pessaries. The most common used is the pessaries however some people who have trouble with their uterine lining can have a mixture of all of them. I personally have had to use all three options daily. The general rule is that if you get any bleeding in your IVF pregnancy first trimester you can insert more progesterone pessaries. This is taken until 13 weeks pregnant when the placenta takes over and produces it's own progesterone.

The ones I used are prometrium orally, prolutex subcutaneous and oripro pessaries. 

HOT TIP- oripro can be inserted rectally and this is FAR less messy! 

Side effects

Can mimic pregnancy symptoms, sore breasts, fatigue and some nausea.

Estrogen tablets

Depending on which cycle you are doing, IVF egg collection or frozen egg transfer is dependent on the dosing for this. This is covered under the PBS so is not crazy expensive. This is also taken until 13 weeks pregnant.

Side effects 

Nausea, headaches, fatigue and some GI upset.

Immune protocol 

Usually made up some or a mixture of

-prednisolone 10mg, aspirin 100mg, naltrexone 4.5mg, clexane 40mg, tacrolimus 2mg.

The idea of this is to suppress the immunity so that you do not reject the embryo as it implants. You stay on these medications until you are 13 weeks pregnant. 

I personally did the above protocol and have found that since I started this, I had better implantation success. 

Side effects- the steroids can make you feel a bit hungry and give you headaches and you can get bruising and bleed more if you get a cut etc from the clexane and aspirin. 

Intralipids are given IV and they are given fortnightly on your first trimester of pregnancy. Your first one is given at egg collection day. If you are doing a frozen transfer it is given on the day you transfer a frozen embryo.