What is Hormone Infertility?

Posted by Administrator on March 5, 2010

I know people talk about hormones a lot – and we tend to blame hormones whenever we snap at our partners, but what are they really? Well, when it comes to fertility, hormones play an essential role. If your hormones are out of whack then you could wind up experiencing problems with hormone infertility.

Generally speaking you can describe hormones as the body’s own built in thermostat. Hormones regulate the amounts of various substances and hormones in your system so that the whole lot operates how it should, and more precisely, when it should. If your hormones act at the wrong moment then you mayhave problems.

Conditions like hyperandrogenism (if you have an excess of male hormones), hypothyroidism (if your thyroid gland doesn’t operate effectively), or luteal phase defect (caused by low progesterone levels) are all causes of hormone infertility. Medical terms are not actually my strong point, but hopefully things will become clearer as we go. You’ll soon notice that all the hormones run together in quite a dynamic way.

For the women:

• Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) (made by the hypothalamus) is believed to instruct the pituitary gland to make LH and FSH. Keep reading if that doesn’t make sense!
• Luteinizing hormone (LH) – This hormone directs the ovaries that they should produce estrogen and progesterone – yup, more hormones! LH instructs the ovary to release a mature egg and tells the cells left behind to form a group of yellow cells called a corpus luteum which produces progesterone.
• Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) makes sure the eggs are prepared to go. It also instructs the ovaries to produce extra estrogen which will result in extra LH.
• Estrogen and progesteronework together to prepare the uterus for the fertilized egg to make its home there. Estrogen also kicks in just prior to ovulation to thin the cervical mucus so the sperm don’t have such a rough time getting through to the egg.
• Progesterone and estrogen get in partnership to make the uterus ready.
• Prolactin – Prolactin tells your system to produce milk and not eggs. This is helpful when you actually have an infant who is breastfeeding, but not so helpful if you want to have a baby. You could have additional prolactin if your thyroid gland isn’t operating effectively.

You know that opening the door before the bread is done can be disastrous; it’s the same with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) because it makes your LH levels stay up while your FSH levels remain low which means that your ovaries release the egg before it’s mature. While flopped bread might still be fit to be eaten, eggs released before they are ready are of no use for getting pregnant. If your body produces too much insulin you may be at risk for PCOS.

If you have luteal phase defect then that means that the corpus luteum isn’t making enough progesterone so the lining of the uterus isn’t properly prepared so the fertilized egg has nowhere to go.

For the guys:

• Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is produced by the hypothalamus and, just like in women, it stimulates the production of FSH and LH.
• Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) & Luteinizing hormone (LH) – These two work in partnership to control sperm production and testosterone.
• Testosterone – enough said.

You will see that hormone infertility is always a possibility if the hormones aren’t functionind together properly.

Some good news: it’s easy to test for hormone imbalances. If the specialist believes that you have hormonal infertility then he (or she) will test your blood or your urine to check hormone levels. Aren’t you amazed that with all the thingsthat can go wrong the human race is still growing? Hormone infertility is not the end of the world, because if the specialist discovers some hormonal problem it is generally easily treated with drugs, or surgery if necessary.

Here is more information on PCOS and Infertility. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Infertility.

 

Infertility Hormones

Posted by Administrator on February 23, 2010

After doing all the blood work, they finally informed you that it’s your hormones causing all the trouble. When it comes to dealing with infertility, hormones are always a method of treatment although there are some side effects associated with taking infertility hormones so make sure you do your homework.

You could not have to take actual hormones, but instead you could have medication to balance your hormones.

These are for the ladies:

· Bromocriptine – Prolactin is necessary for making milk, but suppresses ovulation, so bromocriptine controls prolactin and promotes the release of eggs. You may experience headaches, nausea, low blood pressure and maybe even dizziness as well.

· Clomiphene – FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinizing hormone) are needed to help the ovaries release good quality eggs and this drug stimulates the pituitary gland to produce LH and FSH. It is fairly inexpensive and rather effective, especially if you suffer from PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) or unpredictable periods, although you might experience nausea, tender breastsm insomnia and headaches while you’re on it.

· Metoformin – This is used to treat women with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) or insulin resistance as it lowers the quantities of male hormones in the body and thus assists the body to ovulate.

Actual hormones may also assist ovulation.

· Human Menopausal Gonadotropin (hMG) – This contains FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinizing hormone) which are obtained from the urine of postmenopausal women and is generally prescribed if you have trouble with your pituitary gland and the previous drugs haven’t worked. Unfortunately they are not always effective and are quite costly as additional ultrasound scans are needed to check how the drug is working. Complications include an elevated chance of premature births, enlarged ovaries, multiple births or miscarriage.

· Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) – These operate together with hMGs to promote ovulation and can also help for endometriosis although possible side effects include cysts on the ovaries, increased odds of multiple births and enlarged ovaries.

· Urofollitropin (FSH) – Used if clomiphene is ineffective in stimulating ovulation in women suffering from PCOS.

· Luteinizing Hormone – Releasing Hormone (LH-RH) – These drugs may be used to treat endometriosis or to regulate the pituitary gland. It is quite tricky to administer and it increases your chance of multiple births and infections.

· Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (Gn-RH) – Stimulates the pituitary gland to stimulate ovulation.

· Progesterone – Stimulates the uterus to form a lining for the fertilized egg to implant.

For the gents:

Infertility hormones don’t work for guys as effectively as they do for the ladies, but they can be beneficial in certain situations. Here are some of the medications and hormones that may be prescribed for the men. You’ll notice that some of them are similar to those prescribed for women.

· Testosterone – Controls general reproductive performance by mimicking natural testosterone.

· Gn-RH – Gn-RH stimulates the release of FSH by the pituitary gland which in turn instructs the testes to produce sperm and LH which encourages the production of testosterone.

· Bromocriptine – Testosterone may not be manufactured if you have lots of prolactin so Bromocriptine will help decrease prolactin levels. Just beware of the hallucinations.

· hCG & FSH – Help encourage the production of sperm for men with low sperm count or reduced sperm motility. These are thought to be two of the most effective infertility hormones for men.

Risks

Know what to anticipate from the medication you are taking to prevent any undesirable interactions. A possible hitch with infertility hormones is the high likelihood of multiple pregnancies. That might not sound like such a bad thing to you now. As much as it seems to make sense to get two (or three or four) for the price of one, multiples are more apt to have complications and be premature, thus increasing the chances of further health and developmental problems.

Hopefully this has given you some help in deciding whether you are going to go for the infertility hormones or not. Best of luck to you!

Here is more information on PCOS and Infertility. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Infertility.