Gonal F or Menapur opinions?

Hi ladies we have our first IVF appointment today with the fertility nurse. One m of my key questions is about how they decide between the different drugs for stimulation. I believe it’s usually between Menapur and Gonal F, but I thought I would ask you knowledgeable lot for your views, experiences and opinions! Thank you Xx

[Cinderella5]

My NHS clinic didnt give me a choice, I got put on Menopur and to be fair I did get eggs, no BFP. I was 38 with an AMH of 7.19 and this seems to be the drug of choice for older ladies on the NHS from what I got told at our review appt. I did ask if it would be worth trying gonal f or bemfola and just got brushed off as they're all pretty much the same which Im not sure I believe but as I didnt try anything else I couldnt say for sure. However if you're in the private sector this may well not be the same opinion! Good luck.xx

[Hidden in reply to Cinderella5]

Thank you Cinderella. We are not NHS funded, so I’m wondering if I can be more pushy 😂 I am also 38 and had AMH of 7.7 in December (was then 37). I seem to be reading about more follicles and eggs produced with Gonal F.... and friends who have had multiple IVF cycles had Gonal F for their successful pregnancies.. X

[Cinderella5 in reply to Hidden]

That was the impression I found myself thinking, or not so much more follicles but perhaps better quality embryos. I feel that the NHS is a bit of a one size fits all approach and would hope that the private sector is a bit more tailored to you. We didnt go on to do private OE treatment, just went straight to DE. Would be interested to hear how you get on and what the clinics thoughts were!xx

[Hidden in reply to Cinderella5]

What are the acronyms OE and DE? Sorry still getting used to all the lingo!

I’ll let you know how I get on later... I’m definitely going to probe a lot and push for Gonal F, based on my own self diagnosis 🙈!!

[Cinderella5 in reply to Hidden]

Sorry, OE is own eggs and DE is donor eggs. Ive copied the link for the abbreviations if you want a nosey! I guess unless they have a good argument for you not to use gonal f then I dont see why they wouldnt allow it. Yes I definitely think being pushy (especially when you're paying a fortune for private treatment) and lots of research is he way forward....Im a self confessed googler!! Ha ha ha xx

healthunlocked.com/fertilit...

[Tigr]

I had Bemfola for my first iui cycle that needed to be cancelled as I made too many follicles. They were looking at it and said would look perfect for ivf, so seems to be a good choice. Drugs came as easy to use pens and injections went surprisingly ok (I found it easier to have them not fresh from the fridge). You can take it along for the day as they always need to be injected around the same time and it is possible to do that even in toilets of concert halls No side effects for me apart from light cramping (but that were the follicles growing) and headache that I could keep in check by drinking loads of water. Good luck!

[CAS2]

I’m 40 and AMH is around 8.

Menopur worked better for me and gave me better quality eggs. I had 450iu so a high dose and full 12 day stims. On my 3rd round (first Gonal, second Menopur) we managed to get 13 fertilised eggs, 2 grade a currently in 2ww and 5 in the freezer! Never had a single Frostie before!

I did a lot of research on this and there is so much conflicting info. It’s really down to how you respond. For me it was follicle size affecting the quality. I wish I’d not bothered stressing about it and just trusted my consultant!!

[Littleflower82]

Hi, my first and 2nd cycle I had bemfola ( gonal f) I got 3 eggs first cycle 2 fertilsed and transferred day 3 not great quality bfp but cp few days later. 6 eggs the second cycle on high dose 375. 3 fertilsed one transferred at day 3 another cp none to freeze. My 3rd cycle I switched to menopur on advice of consultant, was 375 increased to 450. Got 10 eggs, 5 fertilsed, 1 transferred at day 5 and had 3 frosties ( 1st time ever for 5dt and frosties ) that was a bfn. Had 2 x fet on 15th march, bfp, waiting on 7week scan on wed. My amh was 17 but a slow responder.. I am 36. For me menopur was a better drug for me. I say trust your consultant x

[Hidden]

Thank you everyone. Consultant has recommended menopur based on all the info they have on diagnosis etc... they don’t even offer Gonal F at my clinic though either ! Thought that was strange. Either way they are starting me on 225iu !

[Shirazlover2013]

This is really interesting reading. I had bemfola very lose dose (112.5iu) for first cycle as was told I’m poly cystic (not syndrome though). Then I responded poorly to the dosage. I’m about to start 2nd cycle and in the follow up from last cycle we discussed change in drug and dosage. I was told gonal f is same drug as bemfola but some people respond better and they don’t know why. I don’t really understand why a different brand of the same drug would make a difference!! So is there an actual chemical difference between bemfola, gonal f and menopur? Anyone?

[Hidden in reply to Shirazlover2013]

I found some blogs and interesting things today - I will send to you. Gonal F is FSH only and Menopur is FSH + LH but I don’t know about Bemfola x

[MofM in reply to Hidden]

Can you share with me as well? Thanks xxx

[Hidden in reply to MofM]

Will do . I can’t remember them off top of my head so will look them up tonight from laptop and send on a message !!

[Hope76]

I had my first cycle NHS funded with gonal f, got 8 eggs, 3 viable embryos and 1 live birth, my now 3 year old 😀

Second cycle, private, attempting for a sibling was Benfola. 5 eggs, 3 viable embryos. BFP but sadly miscarried. Third cycle (as both my FETs failed) my DR put me on Menopur as felt due to my age now(43) it would be best for quality. I had my worst results ever, 1 egg,no viable embryo but £4K down 😕. They are puzzled why I didn’t respond well think it’s age factor but admit some women respond better to certain brands. I feel if I had been given option, with my history I would’ve chosen gonal f. Going forward we are ‘allowed’ to choose. I owe it to my son to try again with the miracle drug that worked for him.... gonal f x

[AliceMoonpie in reply to Hope76]

I've had the same experience. Round 1 at 40 had gonal f, 4 blastocysts, one child. Round 2 trying for sibling at 43 had menopur and 2 blastocysts - BFN. Round 3 no-one even mentioned gonal f/menopur, which in hindsight I'm really annoyed about. Yes at 43 I'm old, but I was no spring chicken when I got pregnant on gonal f at 40. It should at least have been discussed. Went on meopur again, got one blastocyst, one slow moving embryo and another BFN. I get that it's all chance but I think these things should be brought up.

[Hope76 in reply to AliceMoonpie]

Hi, I know exactly what you mean. So since I wrote above we had another fresh cycle where I insisted on gonal f. Huge difference to my previous with Menopur. Had 5 eggs collected instead of 1. Sadly the double transfer failed to implant. I have now complained to my Clinic as to how I felt cheated out of the cycle they put me in Menopur. They have now offered us a free cycle going forward although an over the moon it’s taken a year to get to this point. Defo can’t face another cycle this year so will try next year and pray not too late since I will be 44 in January 🙈

Are you gonna try again & ask for gonal f? They are completely different drugs and my history shows I respond way better to gonal f.

[AliceMoonpie in reply to Hope76]

I think we probably won't do another cycle. You have to stop somewhere. It does make me feel very hollow though. A bit like I'm just collapsing in on myself. Not all the time but it's pretty crippling when it happens - especially at night. Just heard that a 44 year old friend is pregnant with first child through ivf. Very bitter sweet. I'm really happy for her but just crying out internally "why not me?!"

How did you go about complaining? Feel free to pm me if you don't feel you can put the details here.