Overweight fertility patients may need higher medication doses

Most Reproductive Medicine specialists know that our overweight patients often need higher doses of fertility medications, whether that is pills (clomiphene or Femara), or injections (Follistim, Gonal-F, Bravelle or Menopur). When we do IVF cycles, we also add a medication to prevent ovulation such as Lupron, Ganirelix or Cetrotide, and for the most part, the doses are not adjusted based on a patients weight. It turns out that doctors in Colorado looked at one of these drugs, Cetrotide (Cetrorelix) and found that overweight women actually metabolize the drug faster, meaning that the currently used dosing may not be sufficient in these patients. So, what does that mean? If the cetrotide does not last in the system long enough, premature ovulation may occur, and your IVF cycle could be cancelled. It may mean that we need to use higher or more frequent dosing in heavier women.