Fostimon & Meriofert (instead of Gonal F)

[Goldilocks2528]

Hi ladies

I'll be starting my 3rd cycle in January, and am changing stimulation drugs from Gonal F 300iu to Fositmon 150 + 75iu and Meriofert 75iu.

I got pregnant on my first cycle with Gonal F, but miscarried at 10.5 weeks. I stuck to the same for cycle 2 thinking well it worked before.... and didn't respond at all. So now I am switching. For background I have very low AMH and DOR. I'm 41.

Has anybody else used Fostimon & Meriofert? I just feel a bit apprehensive because I know how I reacted on Gonal F (luckily, had very little side effects) and now it will all be new again.

I have searched mumsnet and other sites for info but I haven't found very much regarding peoples experiences.

Thank you

I’m taking meriofert only at 225 dosage. It’s my first stims cycle so nothing to compare it to but my side effects are fatigue, bloating and tender ovaries. In my second stims week now and noticing I am much more emotional.

Reading I have done suggests that meriofert might help a bit with egg quality (I’m 39).

Hello @Goldilocks2528 - I remember you from the August ivf thread - I hope you are doing ok
For my august cycle I was on 300 fostimon for i think 5 or 6 days and then switched to 300 meriofert. That cycle I responded really well- good, even growth of follicles so they got more eggs then they were expecting. I think they grew faster in the first half of the cycle when I was on the fostimon only

Unfortunately we only got 2 blastocysts out of 10 fertilised eggs, which is below the average and the transfer didn't work, so for my next cycle they changed things and I was on 300 meriofert the whole way through. I think they were aiming for quality over quantity but unfortunately didn't get either! Didn't respond well at all although not sure if that was down to meds or fact I already had a dominant follicle when I started the stims and it raced ahead while others disappeared

I find it really hard to figure out the thinking behind different protocols and it seems different doctors have completely different approaches. I think that fostimon and gonal f are similar in that they only have FSH, whereas meriofert is FSH and LH combined and there seems to be some school of throughly that the LH can help with egg quality in some women. It's really hard to just trust the protocol and go with it, isn't it?

Sorry I can't be more help, but I guess my own experience has been a good response but questionable quality with the combined fostimon/meriofert protocol. But who can say if the quality was anything to do with the meds really? Also, I had zero side effects from the stims, which was nice, but I don't tend to get side effects from any meds, so may just be me

I was on this protocol for EC but had to have the fostimon upped after my follicles didn’t grow very much and two days later landed in A&e with severe headache and vomiting. Clinic insistent it had nothing to do with meds and it was just coincidence (I’ve never been admitted to a&e before!). A&E unsure as to the cause but think it can’t have been a coincidence I was on a massive amount of fertility drugs at the time. Also very tender ovaries especially after EC and bleeding for over a week post EC. I had 30 follicles but only ended up with 14 eggs for freezing. So I have some concerns this wasn’t right protocol for me. I can’t speak as to the quality as they weren’t fertilized (egg banking right now) but there no were abnormalities seen in the eggs at least. A few weren’t mature enough to be frozen. I will be questioning whether another protocol would be better to ensure we capture all the follicles as I got eggs from less than half my follicles seen on the scans and had a tough time with side effects. But I may just be unlucky! The doses you describe seem a little low. The standard dose for these drugs is 225u I think.

Hi @Phrenologistsfinger @KatRee @BlueSilver23

Thank you very much for your replies, really helpful and useful to read how you all responded to it. I suppose we are all different, so I'll have to wait and see.

I am hoping the same @Phrenologistsfinger as my egg quality must be pretty crap given my age, low AMH and DOR. Fingers crossed for you, I hope this cycle is successful.

The headache and vomiting sounds bad @BlueSilver23, you poor thing! I'm with you, I don't believe in coincidences and surely it must have been a reaction to those drugs.

Hi @KatRee, I remember you too. I am very sorry that those cycles didn't work out for you. Good news that you didn't have any side effects. Will you try again, do you think, on a different protocol?

Hi @Goldilocks2528

I used Fostimon 150 and Meriofert 75 for my first IVF cycle. I was 35 at the time and responded well on this protocol. I got 18 eggs in total, of which 9 fertilised and 5 became blastocysts. However, after testing only one was genetically normal and another was a low level mosaic. My stimulation went well but unfortunately the genetically normal blastocyst resulted in a chemical pregnancy.

I didn't have many side effects, other than feeling bloated for the first few days and a bit spaced out. I also had quite a few twinges in my ovaries, but I welcomed those as it felt like it was working.

Thank you @Goldilocks2528 The last cycle was the first of a 3 cycle package for us, so will be trying again. I'm not sure about the protocol- I have to wait until January for follow up consultation to discuss. It's so hard isn't it? Feels like it could work with lots of trial and error, but there are limits to how many times we can try and when things don't work, hard to know how much was due to the protocol

I'm glad to see you are trying again and really really hoping it works out for you xx