What are the Symptoms and Side Effects of Orgalutran?

Orgalutran is a drug used in assisted reproduction treatments to achieve a pregnancy. Specifically, this drug is used in the ovarian stimulation phase during in vitro fertilization (IVF) and artificial insemination (AI) treatments.

The active ingredient of Orgalutran is the hormone ganirelix, a GnRH (gonadotropin releasing hormone) antagonist, which can lead to some side effects.

The different sections of this article have been assembled into the following table of contents.

Side effects of Orgalutran

Not all women who take Orgalutran have adverse effects during or after treatment. In addition, Orgalutran is used in so-called short stimulation protocols. This means that the time of administration is shorter than with the other GnRH agonists and, therefore, there are less symptoms.

However, some side effects of the stimulation can be attributed to Orgalutran more or less frequently.

Common disorders

They are those that take place in 1 out of 10 people.

As for Orgalutran, the only frequent side effects that have been identified are those related to the injections. For example, the local reaction in the skin where the drug has been injected, which can be red, itchy or swollen.

These effects usually disappear within 4 hours of administration.

In clinical trials of this drug, these adverse reactions were observed at a frequency of less than 12% after multiple injections.

Rare disorders

Rare adverse reactions are those that can affect up to 1 in 1,000 people.

The symptoms that have been associated with Orgalutran in this group are as follows:

• Nausea (in 0.5% of patients)
• Headache (in 0.4% of patients)
• General discomfort

These symptoms can be treated with pain relievers and rest under the supervision of your doctor.

Rare disorders

These side effects occur in 0.01% to 0.1% of patients, i.e. in very few cases.

The only disorders of this type that have been identified are related to the immune system:

• Hypersensitivity reactions, with various symptoms such as hives, facial swelling and dyspnea
• Worsening of pre-existing eczema

These alterations appeared in some patients after the first dose of Orgalutran.

Other adverse effects of stimulation

It is possible that, after all the controlled ovarian stimulation treatment, the woman will present side effects as a consequence of all the medication, not only by Orgalutran.

In this section, we will list these possible adverse effects:

• Pelvic pain
• Abdominal distention
• Weight gain from water retention
• Breast discomfort
• Diarrhea
• Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS)

Of all these, the one that can become more serious is OHSS due to an excessive response to the hormones used in stimulation. This causes the ovaries to swell, which can cause great pain.

For more information on OHSS, you can read about it in the following article: What is Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome?

FAQs from users

What is the purpose of Orgalutran?

It is a "gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist" drug and acts against the action of this hormone (GnRH) produced by our hypothalamus.

Orgalutran is used to prevent the premature release of LH, which can cause spontaneous ovulation. It is used in IVF cycles to prevent ovulation because without its effect the risk of ovulation is high and would produce a significant reduction in the number of eggs retrieved in a follicular puncture.

Does orgalutran make you gain weight?

Orgalutran does not make you gain weight. Some people gain a little weight, between 2 and 3 kg, after ovarian stimulation due to the hormones called gonadotropins, which cause water retention.

Does orgalutran cause tiredness?

Tiredness is not one of the side effects of Orgalutran. However, it is possible that the woman feels more tired during the ovarian stimulation and feels more sleepy because of all the hormones administered.

Suggested for you

Orgalutran belongs to the group of GnRH antagonists, which have contributed to the simplification of ovarian stimulation treatments in recent years. If you are interested in knowing more about this topic and how the administration protocols are, we recommend you read the following post: What is a short protocol with GnRH antagonists?

This is one of the medications used during stimulation in an assisted reproduction treatment. In addition, the woman will inject other drugs according to the protocol established by the gynecologist. You can consult all this information in the following link: Medications used in controlled ovarian stimulation.

References