Menopur, LH/FSH ?

[BondletMom]

I've been reading posts on the use of Menopur for the last couple of hours...I'm about to go cross-eyed. It seems it is commonly used yet I've also read that high doses (150iu) early in a cycle can "overcook" the eggs. I've also read that it isn't necessary as a woman's natural LH output is not affected unless she is on Lupron. So my question is.....

The ideal ratio of LH:FSH is 1:1 early in the cycle, yes? If that is the case, wouldn't it make sense to add LH while also putting FSH into one's body, particularly if the FSH was in enormous amounts? Wouldn't the added LH serve to bring the ratio closer to 1:1 and, if so, why isn't as much LH given as FSH?

My RE agreed with me (love it when I'm right) that my last cycle I stimmed way too fast (only 8 days of stims) and egg quality was affected. He's added 150iu Menopur starting same day as Gonal-F. I'm concerned about the high dose of Menopur especially after 2 hours of research yet at the same time it doesn't make sense to me why balancing FSH w/smaller doses of LH would be detrimental to egg quality. I'm also concerned because Menopur also contains FSH and with as fast as I stimmed last time, it doesn't seem right to be adding more FSH to my protocol.

UPDATE: I ended up sending my RE a letter detailing my concerns (mainly that adding Menopur increased the FSH level and would make me stim faster - the exact opposite he was hoping for! The nurse finally cornered him (literally) and had him read the letter, spread out my charts from my last cycle and guess what? I WAS RIGHT!!! He said adding Menopur in a high dose was the worst protocol for me!!! I am so glad I challenged this, so glad I stuck with it even after two phone calls that were "dismissed".

Thoughts from anyone not as confused as I am about meds/protocol?

[smittygirl]

I try not to look into too much when it comes to the IVF process. I do what the Doc tells me to, not looking up anything, especialy side effects. When the nurse calls with numbers, I ask if they are good. I know there's probably alot of girls that are reading this post, thinking "What a dumb ass", but I make myself CRAZIER with too much info!
So, I have no answers for you!

[BondletMom]

lol, I think what you do is smart and definitely not dumb. I have questioned my RE's protocol for me before and not had him change it yet got the very results I was afraid of getting (too many eggs of low quality) so I'm trying to figure out the Menopur thing as it is new this time for me. What I've found is that there are way too many views on the use of Menopur and women respond to it differently, so I guess I just go on and trust (a bit untrustingly, lol) what he has me doing and hope for the best.

[tdg119]

I was on somewhat of a different protocol, but can tell you that my RE didn't add Menopur till the end, after I'd already had several follies growing and we needed to make them mature faster. Even then, they closely monitored me and increased/decreased my dose accordingly. I tend to think that a slower process is better for the eggs, but that is just what I've heard - I have not researched it to back it up.

I think it's important, either way, to bring it up to your RE if you're uncomfortable with it.