Medications That Interfere With The Pill
Some medications can make the pill less effective. Medications include certain antibiotics, such as rifampicin, and anti-fungal drugs, such as griseofulvin.
A person should use backup contraception while taking these medications and for 48 hours after finishing the course.
Other more long-term medications and supplements may also affect how well birth control pills work. These can include:
- epilepsy drugs, such as phenobarbital, phenytoin, and carbamazepine
- anti-viral medications used to treat HIV
- St. Johns Wort, which is a herbal remedy
Birth control pills are very effective if a person takes them correctly and does not miss any pill days. The following tips can help prevent unintended pregnancies while taking the pill:
- reading the packaging and following the instructions carefully
- taking the pill at the same time every day
- using an app that tracks periods and provides pills reminders, such as one of the apps from our review article
- always getting a new pill pack at least 1 week before the last pill pack is due to run out
- always taking missed pills as soon as possible
- using a backup method of contraception, such as a condom, if a person misses taking two or more pills in a row
If a person is concerned about not being able to take their pills consistently, they should speak to their doctor or gynecologist about other birth control methods. There are several options available that do not require taking a pill daily, such as an intrauterine device, or IUD.
How Will Doctors Find Out If A Woman And Her Partner Have Fertility Problems
Doctors will do an infertility checkup. This involves a physical exam. The doctor will also ask for both partners’ health and sexual histories. Sometimes this can find the problem. However, most of the time, the doctor will need to do more tests.
In men, doctors usually begin by testing the semen. They look at the number, shape, and movement of the sperm. Sometimes doctors also suggest testing the level of a man’s hormones.
In women, the first step is to find out if she is ovulating each month. There are a few ways to do this. A woman can track her ovulation at home by:
- Writing down changes in her morning body temperature for several months
- Writing down how her cervical mucus looks for several months
- Using a home ovulation test kit
Doctors can also check ovulation with blood tests. Or they can do an ultrasound of the ovaries. If ovulation is normal, there are other fertility tests available.
Some common tests of fertility in women include:
Finding the cause of infertility can be a long and emotional process. It may take time to complete all the needed tests. So don’t worry if the problem is not found right away.
Overview Of Common Fertility Treatment Drugs
Rachel Gurevich is a fertility advocate, author, and recipient of The Hope Award for Achievement, from Resolve: The National Infertility Association. She is a professional member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and has been writing about womens health since 2001. Rachel uses her own experiences with infertility to write compassionate, practical, and supportive articles.
Leyla Bilali, RN is a registered nurse, fertility nurse, and fertility consultant in the New York City area. She works in house at a reputable private clinic in New York City while also seeing her own clients through her concierge fertility consulting and nursing services business.
During fertility treatment, the drugs you may take fall into one of four general categories:
- Medications intended to stimulate ovulation
- Medications intended to suppress or control the menstrual cycle
- Medications intended to treat an underlying medical condition impacting your fertility
- Medications intended to treat other aspects of fertility
Medications alone may be used, or they may be used alongside intrauterine insemination , IVF treatment, or surgical interventions.
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What Causes Infertility In Women
Most cases of female infertility are caused by problems with ovulation. Without ovulation, there are no eggs to be fertilized. Some signs that a woman is not ovulating normally include irregular or absent menstrual periods.
Ovulation problems are often caused by polycystic ovarian syndrome . PCOS is a hormone imbalance problem which can interfere with normal ovulation. PCOS is the most common cause of female infertility. Primary ovarian insufficiency is another cause of ovulation problems. POI occurs when a woman’s ovaries stop working normally before she is 40. POI is not the same as early menopause.
Less common causes of fertility problems in women include:
- Blocked fallopian tubes due to pelvic inflammatory disease, endometriosis, or surgery for an ectopic pregnancy
- Physical problems with the uterus
- Uterine fibroids, which are non-cancerous clumps of tissue and muscle on the walls of the uterus.
Do Fertility Drugs Work
Fertility enhancing pills are medications that cause the body to release hormones that initiate and control the process of ovulation. Ovulation is the egg releasing process from the ovaries. The success rate depends on the drug itself.
For example, the success rate of Clomid
About 80 percent of women who take clomiphene ovulate in the first three months of treatment. Of them, 30 to 40 percent conceive by their third treatment cycle.
Most non-prescription pills are based on clomiphene .
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It’s Easy To Get The Care You Need
See a Premier Physician Network provider near you.
One of the most significant medical advancements of the mid-20th century may have been the development of fertility drugs. Since then, these medicines have made it possible for countless people to fulfill their dream of becoming parents.
Unfortunately, solving fertility problems doesnt always begin, or end, with taking a pill, according to Jeremy Groll, MD, SpringCreek Fertility. First and foremost, he says, its important to determine the underlying cause of the problem, including whether the problem lies with you, your male partner, or both.
Prescribing fertility drugs without a proper diagnosis can be like putting a cast on an arm when its the leg thats broken, Dr. Groll explains.
If, however, its determined that the infertility is due to a problem with your ovulation , then fertility medications may help, Dr. Groll says. These drugs usually fall into one of two categories: oral or injectable.
Prescribing fertility drugs without a proper diagnosis can be like putting a cast on an arm when its the leg thats broken, Dr. Groll explains.
Not Starting A New Pack Right Away
It is essential to start a new pack of pills the day after finishing the previous one. However, sometimes a person may not have their new package yet. Missing a few days between packs can make the pill less effective at preventing pregnancy.
According to the , anyone who misses two or more pills in a row should use a backup contraceptive method or avoid sexual intercourse until they have taken the birth control pill for 7 consecutive days.
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Lifestyle And Fertility Treatment Options For Pcos
Rachel Gurevich is a fertility advocate, author, and recipient of The Hope Award for Achievement, from Resolve: The National Infertility Association. She is a professional member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and has been writing about womens health since 2001. Rachel uses her own experiences with infertility to write compassionate, practical, and supportive articles.
Meredith Shur, MD, FACOG, is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology, as well as a certified medical examiner.
Polycystic ovarian syndrome is one of the most common causes of female infertility, affecting an estimated 5 million women. But you can get pregnant with PCOS. There are a number of effective fertility treatments available, from Clomid to gonadotropins to IVF.
Most women will be able to conceive with a combination of lifestyle changes and fertility drugs. While some women with PCOS will need IVF, the great majority will get pregnant using lower-tech fertility treatments.
Cassanovum Original Root Extract & Folic Acid Capsules
Also known as folate, folic acid has great fertility benefits. Folic helps the body produce new cells. It plays a major role in the conception and also prevents the baby from suffering any tubal or brain-related congenital disabilities.
Folate is available as an antenatal vitamin but can also be taken by women who would love to boost their fertility with an OTC fertility drug or medication.
Other options that may need prescription include:
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How Much Does Fertility Treatment With Clomid Cost
Clomid itself is relatively inexpensive, at least as infertility treatments go. But without insurance, you may have to pay about $100 a month for the pills.
Be aware that other medical costs will also factor into the full price per cycle depending on your doctor and your region, the treatment could cost anywhere from $500 to $2,000 per month.
Some insurance plans will cover all aspects of infertility treatments , while other insurance plans dont. Youll want to call your insurance company to find out if Clomid is covered by your plan.
Take A Pregnancy Test
The earlier you confirm the pregnancy, the sooner you can see your doctor and start prenatal care. Home pregnancy tests work by detecting levels of human chorionic gonadotropin in your urine. Levels of this hormone, produced by the placenta, continue to rise in early pregnancy.
Tests marketed as “early results” or “early response” may be more sensitive at detecting lower levels of hCG, but you’ll still get the best results if you wait until the day you expect your period. Testing too early is more likely to yield a “false negative” resultwhen the test says you’re not pregnant, but you really are. What’s happening is that your body isn’t producing enough hCG yet to be detected by the test. Waiting and testing again a few days after your missed period will give more accurate results.
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How Does Femara Work
Femara works in a similar way to Clomid, suppressing estrogen leading to an increase in FSH production, which stimulates the ovarian follicles to mature and triggers ovulation.
Youll take 2.5 mg of Femara per day on days five through nine of your cycle .
Women who havent had ovulation luck using Clomid may find more success with Femara, especially if they have polycystic ovarian syndrome .
Many doctors are finding significant success with Femara, and prefer to use it over Clomid because it has a lower risk of side effects and a reduced chance of conceiving multiples.
Can Taking Prenatal Vitamins Help You Get Pregnant
Im sure you already know the wonderful benefits of prenatal vitamins.
They are one of the simplest to make sure you and your baby are off to the best possible start.
They do a thorough job at bridging any nutritional gaps you might have in your diet.
This helps ensure that both of you are well taken care of and free from harmful nutrient deficiencies.
Prenatal vitamins are best utilized before, during, and after pregnancy.
The reason theyre so useful before getting pregnant is because they set you up with the proper amount of vitamins and minerals and safeguard you against any deficiencies.
That being said could they help you get pregnant in the first place?
Lets take a look!
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Get A General Health Check
Planning a pregnancy is a good chance for both parents to get a full health check. If your doctor plans to prescribe you new medications or antibiotics, remind them that you are planning a pregnancy.
If there is a family history of medical conditions on either side, such as cystic fibrosis or diabetes, let your doctor know. You may need genetic counselling with a trained specialist or referral for diabetic specialist preparation to pregnancy.
Some sexually transmitted infections can be passed on to your baby during pregnancy, so make sure you have both been treated for any infections before planning to conceive.
If the mother has a medical condition such as diabetes or epilepsy, or is being treated for depression or other mental illness, medications for these will need to be checked before conceiving to make sure they will not affect the baby.
Getting Pregnant While On Birth Control Pills
The birth control pill is popular with Canadian women. According to the Canadian Health Measures Survey released by Statistics Canada in 2015, some 16 percent of non-pregnant Canadian women aged 15 to 49 had taken either the combined pill or the progestin-only pill in the month before they were polled. And it is quite effective, though definitely not perfect. Amanda Black, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at The Univeristy of Ottawa, notes that both the combined and the progestin-only pill have an eight percent failure rate with typical use. The main reason for failure? People dont take it consistently. For those taking the combined pill, its especially important to take it every day during the first week of your pack, says Costescu. If you miss any, even a single pill in that first week, there may not be enough estrogen to keep you from ovulating, and then theres a risk of getting pregnant, he says, explaining that the lull in hormones during the previous week off already begins the process of making an egg, so missing a pill in the first seven days can trigger ovulation. Theres even less room for error with the progestin-only pill, where being more than three hours late with your dose is a risk for pregnancy.
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Prenatals: Boosting Your Chances Of Getting Pregnant
Okay, so youre ready to have a baby and want to know how to get pregnant ASAP.
Besides using ovulation predictor kits and making sure you know when your fertile window is, what else can you do to get there faster?
Well, thats where prenatals come in!
Perhaps the first study to seriously look into fertility and the use of prenatal vitamins is a large Hungarian study from 1996.1 Almost 8,000 women participated in this study and results are definitely promising: women who took prenatal multivitamins had higher odds of conceiving and do so faster.
The researchers show that women who were trying to get pregnant and were given a multivitamin with 800 micrograms of folic acid managed to conceive 71.3% of the time. And those 71.3% got pregnant at some point within 14 months.
In the same study, another group of women did not receive a prenatal multivitamin. Instead, they were given a placebo-like trace element supplement containing only copper, manganese, zinc and vitamin C, but no folic acid and no other vitamins. In this group, 67.9% got pregnant.
We know that 1 in 8 couples struggle to conceive, thats 12.5%! If youve been trying to get pregnant and havent had any luck so far, taking a prenatal could be really important. So lets take a look at the evidence of taking prenatal vitamins among women with fertility problems.
What Medicines Are Used To Treat Infertility In Women
Some common medicines used to treat infertility in women include:
- Clomiphene citrate : This medicine causes ovulation by acting on the pituitary gland. It is often used in women who have polycystic ovary syndrome or other problems with ovulation. This medicine is taken by mouth.
- Human menopausal gonadotropin or hMG : This medicine is often used for women who don’t ovulate due to problems with their pituitary gland. hMG acts directly on the ovaries to stimulate ovulation. It is an injected medicine.
- follicle-stimulating hormone or FSH : FSH works much like hMG. It causes the ovaries to begin the process of ovulation. These medicines are usually injected.
- Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog: These medicines are often used for women who don’t ovulate regularly each month. Women who ovulate before the egg is ready can also use these medicines. Gn-RH analogs act on the pituitary gland to change when the body ovulates. These medicines are usually injected or given with a nasal spray.
- Metformin : Doctors use this medicine for women who have insulin resistance and/or PCOS. This drug helps lower the high levels of male hormones in women with these conditions. This helps the body to ovulate. Sometimes clomiphene citrate or FSH is combined with metformin. This medicine is usually taken by mouth.
- Bromocriptine : This medicine is used for women with ovulation problems due to high levels of prolactin. Prolactin is a hormone that causes milk production.
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What Is Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation
Controlled ovarian hyperstimulation is a kind of fertility treatment that uses medicines to help your body ovulate . If youre having COH, your provider can adjust your treatment if she thinks youre likely to release more than one egg. The medicines used for COH include:
- Clomiphine citrate . This medicine comes as a pill. Its the most common medicine used to help women ovulate. You may have side effects from the medicine, like feeling sick to your stomach, feeling moody and having hot flashes and sore breasts.
- Gonadotropins. You get this medicine in shots. Side effects include feeling bloated or having pain in your lower belly.
If youre getting COH, have sex a few days before and the day that you ovulate. The more often you have sex during this time, the more likely you are to get pregnant. Your provider may recommend that along with COH you also have a treatment called intrauterine insemination . In IUI, your provider places sperm inside your uterus when you ovulate.
Other Medications Used To Enhance Fertility Treatments:
Medrol: A steroid provided daily for four days during the cycle to assist with pre-embryo implantation.
Doxycycline: An oral antibiotic provided to the male partner during the females stimulation cycle to reduce the levels of bacteria which may be found in semen. This medication is also given to the female partner to decrease the risk of infection after aspiration of the follicles at the time of egg retrieval.
Progesterone: Intramuscular injections provided daily beginning two days after retrieval and finishing when the placenta is creating appropriate amounts of Progesterone. Progesterone may be administered through a vaginal gel, suppository or in a pill.
Fertility Supplements: Many couples opt for natural, non-prescription fertility supplements containing vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and/or herbs to help improve their reproductive health.
Our Ultimate Fertility Resource Guide provides the information you need on fertility, tips on how to get pregnant faster, and how to boost fertility through sometimes simple tweaks to your lifestyle and approach. The guide is easy to read and meant for anybody wanting to increase their ability to conceive. Its a free download and includes coupon codes for essential products. Even free Nightfood Nighttime Ice Cream.
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