A fairly large number of couples suffer from infertility. Modern medicine has great potential in solving this problem, but patients should understand that the therapy is long. Menopur is a drug that is also used in the treatment of infertility. In the article we will try to figure out what is its mechanism of action and what indications for use it has.
Form release and composition of the drug "Menopur"
The drug is available in ampoules.
Composition: the main substance is follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) in a ratio of 1: 1.
Additional components:
- Lactose Monohydrate.
- Polysorbate 20.
- Sodium hydroxide.
- Hydrochloric acid.
Also included with the medicine is an ampoule with a solvent, which contains an isotonic solution of sodium chloride and dilute hydrochloric acid to create a normal pH level.
The drug is produced in a cardboard box, where 5 ampoules with medicine and 5 with solvent are placed.
The composition of the medicine "Menopur" contains a special purification of human menopausal gonadotropin. It is obtained from the urine of the female half of humanity after menopause has passed. When the drug “Menopur” is introduced into the woman’s body (reviews and the results of numerous studies confirm this), there is a stimulation of estrogen production and follicle maturation. In addition, proliferative processes in the endometrium occur.
If you introduce the drug to a man, then in his body the level of testosterone rises. Also, this drug stimulates spermatogenesis, due to the effect on the cells of the seminiferous tubules.
Menopur: indications for use
Women are recommended to take the drug for infertility due to hypothalamic-pituitary disorders, as well as for the implementation of additional reproductive technologies for the onset of conception.
Men are also advised to use Menopur. Reviews and treatment results confirm its effectiveness for azoospermia and oligoasthenospermia, which are caused by primary or secondary hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, but only the drug must be combined with another drug of human chorionic gonadotropin - hCG.
Menopur: the right technique for women
For women, the drug is recommended to take a course of injections for infertility, which is provoked by problems in the work of the areas of the brain responsible for the production of female hormones. For each woman, the dosage is selected individually. The optimal amount of the drug and the course of therapy are established only after passing all the studies:
- Ultrasound of the ovaries.
- Determining the level of female hormones in the patient’s blood.
- All necessary analyzes.
- Conversations with the doctor.
To begin the introduction of the drug "Menopur" (reviews and treatment results are evidence of this) with 1-2 bottles per day (75-150 IU). If the ovaries do not react in any way, the dose should be gradually increased until the estrogen level begins to increase along with the growth of follicles. After this, the dosage is maintained at this level until the blood estrogen content becomes the same as before ovulation. If the level of estrogen rises too quickly, the dose is reduced.
In order to induce ovulation, every other day, in extreme cases, two after the last injection of Menopur are administered 5,000-10,000 IU of hCG once.
Menopur for the strong half of humanity
Menopur for men (reviews and application results indicate this) is recommended to stimulate the sperm formation process. The medicine is administered in an amount of 1,000-3,000 IU of hCG three times a week until the level of testosterone in the blood normalizes.
After this, the drug should also enter the male body three times a week, but in the amount of 1-2 bottles (75-150 IU) for several months.
Contraindications
Menopur is an excellent drug, but it has its contraindications for use, which every patient should know about before starting treatment in order to inform their doctor about it and choose the replacement or the right dose with it. It is not recommended to take the medicine with the following pathologies:
- Problems in the adrenal gland and thyroid gland.
- Tumor neoplasms in the hypatalamic-pituitary region.
- Hyperprolactinemia
- An increase in ovarian size or the presence of a cyst that is not associated with a symptom of polycystic ovaries.
- Vaginal bleeding of unknown nature.
- Anomalies in the development of genital organs.
- Uterine fibroids, which is not compatible with bearing a baby.
- Cancerous neoplasms in the uterus, ovaries, and mammary glands.
- Ovarian insufficiency of the first stage.
- Pregnancy and lactation.
Men are not recommended to take the drug "Menopur" (reviews and treatment results confirm this) in case of cancer in the prostate gland or in the presence of other androgen-dependent tumors.
"Menopur" to stimulate superovulation
Before starting IVF, women are prescribed a drug that will help stimulate superovulation. There are a lot of such medicines: Diferelin, Tsetrotid, Puregon and many others.
“Menopur” for men in the IVF protocol is considered one of the most effective drugs, which showed good results after the procedure. The doctor will help you choose the right protocol in each individual case. The specialist will take into account all the studies performed and select the correct course and dosage, which will help to increase the positive result from the IVF procedure several times.
Menopur and its side effects
After the use of the Menopur preparation, the reviews and results of IVF are in most cases positive, this has made many families happy.
However, you need to remember that he has side effects:
- From the digestive system: vomiting, nausea and flatulence.
- From the endocrine system: ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, increased excretion of estrogen in the urine, pain in the lower abdomen. In men, gynecomastia can occur.
- On the part of the body's metabolic processes: blood thickening, water-electrolyte malfunctions, ascites and hydrothorax.
- In addition, during the period of use of the drug, many patients observed manifestations of an allergic reaction, as well as swelling and itching at the injection site.
Menopur: special instructions for use
Before starting treatment, every woman and man should know that there are many restrictions and reservations. All this is described in detail by the instructions for use attached to the Menopur medication. The price (reviews mark it as quite high, but not sky-high) varies within 1,500 rubles per injection. However, the drug is effective and has allowed many families to experience parental happiness.
Before use, it is necessary to exclude the syndrome of exhaustion or ovarian resistance, extragenital endocrinopathies.
Also, every woman who is undergoing stimulation with Menopur (patient reviews emphasize this fact) should know that the result can be a multiple pregnancy.
If the patient has signs of ovarian hyperstimulation, treatment should be urgently stopped. This can be indicated by pain in the lower abdomen, as well as ultrasound. During treatment therapy, it is necessary to monitor the level of hormones every day and do an ultrasound of the developing follicles.
If pregnancy has already begun, the symptoms of excessive hyperstimulation can significantly increase and be observed in the patient for a sufficiently long time, which can be a serious threat to her life.
During therapy in men, with a high concentration of FSH in the blood, menotropins will not show positive results.
Menopur: reviews
Currently, a lot of women cannot become pregnant naturally, which is why they agree to an IVF procedure, which gives a chance to have a baby. But it does not give 100% of the result the first time, so you have to carry out the procedure several times. But not every woman has such an opportunity, since she is not cheap. In order to give women the opportunity to get pregnant the first time as a result of IVF, the drug Menopur 300 IU was developed. Reviews and treatment results are overwhelmingly positive. A medication increases the chances of getting pregnant several times.
The remedy gives very good results after therapy, the patient reviews are only positive, the only thing that scares many of them is a multiple pregnancy, which can occur after a course of treatment with Menopur. There are also many contraindications and side effects, but if you are always under the supervision of a doctor who will monitor the patient's condition and control the dose, then all undesirable manifestations will not be scary.
In conclusion, I want to say: a woman’s desire to have a child is so great that she is ready to do anything to know the happiness of motherhood. Therefore, the therapy "Menopur" with all its side effects is not afraid of her. But it is worth remembering that a rash decision and uncontrolled use of the drug can lead to very serious and irreparable consequences. Only a doctor should go with this woman along this path and do everything possible to get a positive result.