Egg donation - Medication and side effects for egg recipients

The Private Healthcare UK guide to infertility treatment contains articles on infertility and IVF treatment which are aimed at improving your knowledge of treatments for infertility, their benefits and potential risks.

The guide is sponsored by The London Women's Clinic, leading fertility specialists who have been involved in fertility management since 1984.

The London Women's Clinic (LWC) delivers a full range of diagnostic and treatment programmes for fertility disorders  and operate one of the most successful IVF programmes in the world.

The LWC in Harley Street is rated in the top three amongst all UK licensed centres for women aged up to 35 and the HFEA has published the centre specific IVF success rates for the period 1st January – 30th June 2007 showing verified results of 55.7% success.

For more information about The London Women’s Clinic:

The London Women's Clinic London, Harley Street.

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7487 5050 E-mail: info@londonwomensclinic.com

 In this section

Cycle Manipulation:  Recipients with menstrual cycles may need to take a low dose contraceptive pill for a minimum of two weeks to ensure that their period arrives at the correct time to overlap with the donor.

Down Regulation:   Recipients with regular menstrual cycles may occasionally be asked to take a drug to temporarily “shut down” their body’s own natural cycle.  This is taken in the form of a daily subcutaneous injection.

Endometrial Stimulation:  In order to prepare the womb lining for implantation, tablets are used which contain oestrogen.  These are taken until the day of a pregnancy test and for a further ten weeks if positive. After embryo transfer,   progesterone is also taken twice daily in the form of a pessary. Alternative forms of oestrogen such as patches are occasionally used.

Side effects:  Not all women will experience any or all of these side effects and they vary greatly in their degree of severity.  They can include:

• Hot flushes
• Mood swings
• Restless sleep
• Pre-menstrual changes and discomfort
• Fluid retention
• Headaches

Careful monitoring of treatment using vaginal ultrasound is carried out and hormone assays are of value in selected situations.  Any patient who is worried about side effects that she may experience should telephone the clinic.

In this guide

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