What if I don’t respond to the drugs for ovarian stimulation?
A response to ovarian stimulation depends on a number of different factors,
the most important include available eggs, appropriate hormone levels, proper administration of any medications and lifestyle/environmental factors.
In order to respond to ovarian stimulation, a woman must have eggs available to respond; this is sometimes referred to as ovarian reserve.
If a woman has diminished ovarian reserve (identified by a high blood levels of follicle stimulation hormone (FSH), low blood levels of anti Müllerian hormone (AMH) or a low antral follicle count on ultrasound), she may not have response to stimulation.
For these patients, an alternate stimulation protocol may be tried or donated eggs may be used (from a woman known or unknown to the patient).
It is possible that a woman does have the necessary eggs but lacks the appropriate pituitary hormones to respond. In this case, using a different medication- one which may contain both FSH and luteinizing hormone (LH) may allow for an optimal response.
Lifestyle factors can also affect a woman’s response to stimulation. Optimizing weight, diet and stress and cessation of use of tobacco, alcohol and recreational substances can also improve a response to ovarian stimulation.
Speak to your physician regarding improving your particular response to ovarian stimulation.
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