Gonal-F vs. Follistim

[Maybethismonth]

Hi! I've been off the infertility rollercoaster for a couple years and have just got back on. I have my baseline u/s in the morning and will keep my fingers crossed that everything is ok to start a cycle of injectibles w/IUI.

My insurance FINALLY covers all the meds, so now I'm wondering which one to request..Gonal-F or the new (to me) Follistim pen. The last time I tried this I used the old Follistim vials and didn't have success. Gonal-F was supposedly the drug of choice back then and the success rates seemed to be higher using it. The nurse at the RE's office says the Follistim pen now delivers a more highly concentrated dose and is lots better than the old vials.

Any advice?

Luann

[jenmom2myboys]

Luann, I think they are both just as good. My NUrse told me the same thing. I actually did Follistim last month and had a BFP but miscarried. I did gonal-f this month and have a BFP. The only reason I switched is because my office had given me some meds free and last month they had follistim and this month they had gonal-f. HTH! Jen

[wolfjack7]

I used the Gonal-F pen for my May cycle and got BFP. The pen is soooo easy to use!
But I noticed that lots of the ladies in my month got BFP with Follistim; probably more than 50% of the BFP's used Follistim. So I think both are very good, but would definitely use a pen either way.

[jcc]

I used Follistim and got a BFP (IVF#1). I did use Follistim for my IUI's but BFN on all of those - - I honestly think IUI didn't work for me and I needed IVF. Fortunately, from my first inject cycle I found out I responded well to it, so just stayed with it.

[Maybethismonth]

Thanks so much ladies! Well I found out I was COMPLETELY wrong about my insurance covering the meds. The RE had some follistim vials that expire this month that she donated to me. So I guess I'll just need to pay for the HCG oop. Anyone know how much that will cost me?

[jcc]

I get my meds from Freedom Drug. For my IUI's I used the pre-filled Ovidrel and that was about $60. For my IVF I used the HCG you have to mix, still at 10,000 units. I only needed one and it was only $30. Great to hear you got some free meds! Good luck !!