As metformin can stimulate fertility, if you're considering using it for PCOS and not trying to get pregnant, make sure you use suitable contraception if you're sexually active. Letrozole is sometimes used to stimulate ovulation instead of clomifene. This medicine can also be used for treating breast cancer. Use of letrozole for fertility treatment is "off-label". This means that the medicine's manufacturer has not applied for a licence for it to be used to treat PCOS.
In other words, although letrozole is licensed for treating breast cancer, it does not have a license for treating PCOS. Doctors sometimes use an unlicensed medicine if they think it's likely to be effective and the benefits of treatment outweigh any associated risks. Find out more about unlicensed and off-label use of medicines.
If you're unable to get pregnant despite taking oral medicines, a different type of medicine called gonadotrophins may be recommended. These are given by injection. There's a higher risk that they may overstimulate your ovaries and lead to multiple pregnancies. Medicines to control excessive hair growth hirsutism and hair loss alopecia include:. These medicines work by blocking the effects of "male hormones", such as testosterone, and some also suppress production of these hormones by the ovaries.
This cream does not remove hair or cure unwanted facial hair, so you may wish to use it alongside a hair removal product. If you have unwanted hair growth, you may also want to remove the excess hair by using methods such as plucking, shaving, threading, creams or laser removal.
A minor surgical procedure called laparoscopic ovarian drilling LOD may be a treatment option for fertility problems associated with PCOS that do not respond to medicine. Under general anaesthetic , your doctor will make a small cut in your lower tummy and pass a long, thin microscope called a laparoscope through into your abdomen. The ovaries will then be surgically treated using heat or a laser to destroy the tissue that's producing androgens male hormones.
Most people can tolerate mg three times daily, if they build up to that dose gradually. If the metformin does not result in ovulation and regular periods, the next step is often adding clomiphene to the regimen. Some women will have polycystic ovarian syndrome and irregular or absent menstrual periods regardless of their weight. Others develop polycystic ovarian syndrome when they gain too much weight.
These women are likely to resume regular ovulation if they can get back down to the weight at which they were previously ovulating. Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, or OHSS, is a condition with enlarged ovaries and fluid build up.
Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, OHSS, is a complication that can occur with in vitro fertilization The. Patient Resource Center. Patient Portal. Request a Consult. Fertility Care. How Metformin Is Used for Polycystic Ovaries Polycystic ovarian syndrome is a common cause of anovulation and infertility in women. We start metformin at mg once daily, increase to mg twice a day after one week, then to mg 3 times daily after another week.
If the 3 times daily dose cannot be tolerated due to side effects, we remain on the twice-daily dose. Other Treatment Options If the combination of metformin and clomiphene does not result in ovulation then we move on to other options. Women with PCOS who do not want to get pregnant but who are thinking about taking metformin to control some of the symptoms of PCOS should discuss their contraceptive needs and options with an appropriate health professional.
Advice Information for the public About this information Licensing medicines What is polycystic ovary syndrome? About metformin Summary of possible benefits and harms Prescribing metformin More information. Download PDF.
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