# Menopur or Merional???



## Val74 (Jan 3, 2015)

Hi anybody know what the difference  (apart from price!) is with these two drugs please? xx


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## Michimoo (Oct 13, 2011)

As far as I'm aware they are exactly the same composition just named different. 

However I think they do contain the same hormone but  Merional is harvested from women going through the menopause therefore it is natural, Menopur is taken from mice. (I think!) 

But I know women who have responded better to Merinol after Menopur failure. 
I just think different clinics prescribe different drugs. They are the same hormone though.

Hope that helps? 

Good luck. 
x


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## Val74 (Jan 3, 2015)

Thanks michimoo it's a nightmare trying to work out what to do for the best.  In an ideal world there would only be one drug so at least we wouldn't be tormented with what-ifs? if it didn't work huh!? I've been googling like mad and info I've found is that both are taken from urine of menopausal women and have LH and FSH,  Gonal F is synthetic and only has one (forgotten which already!). So doesn't make my decision any clearer. Some people are saying that they're extremely similar,  just brand names. But the doctor I'm thinking of going with prefers it as it's what she's used to using. Merional is a lot more expensive though, £600 more for my doseage and apparently Gonal F is more expensive again. Minefield!  xx


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## Michimoo (Oct 13, 2011)

I don't want to throw another confusing drug into the mix but there is also Fositimon which is the same concoction as Gonal F = pure FSH only.
It depends on what your body needs or is lacking. 
The ARGC test your blood on a daily basis and depending on your LH / FSH levels depends on which drug you have to take that specific day.  
ARGC only use Merional & Fostimon. 
I guess you could just buy the Menopur instead of Merional and use that as it's the same concoction. But if your cycle failed would you kick yourself by not taking the Merinol?
I have known women respond better to Merional than Menopur. There has to be a reason for the £600 increase, not just branding. Maybe it's a purer drug?


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## Rosalind73 (Apr 25, 2012)

Have you tried Pharmasure for Merional? They are the main supplier in the UK and charge £14 for 75IU or £28 for 150IU.

I was talking to a Greek clinic last week who said Menopur is better, but my London clinic (the Lister) prescribed me Merional (as did CRGH and another consultant I saw before that). So it's very hard to know what to think.

What is the cheapest price you've found for Menopur?


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## Val74 (Jan 3, 2015)

Unfortunately michimoo I'm too totally at the mercy of my budget and there was no way I could afford ARGC as much as I loved how tailored their approach truly was. I will need 450iu dosage Rosalind73 so the cheapest quote I've got so far for 10x 450iu MMenopur, plus Cetrotide plus Ovitrell was approx £1300.xx


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## Rosalind73 (Apr 25, 2012)

Hi Val - do you mind me asking what the unit price for Menopur is (the cheapest one you've found) and where it's from? I'm also having to decide between Merional and Menopur.

I got Merional from one place at £28 per 150IU and Cetrotide from another place (Alcura) at £14 per 0.25mg vial


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## Val74 (Jan 3, 2015)

Course not Rosalind, not sure I had a unit price though just had them for the whole thing, will check for you now.xx


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## Val74 (Jan 3, 2015)

My quote was £1883.43 for Merional and £1192.23 for Menopur. That's 10 days' worth of 450iu, either 5 or 6 Cetrotide injections, 1 Ovitrell pen and includes needles and delivery. That was from Stork Fertility Services.  Fertility2U and PPharmacy 2U were a lot more expensive. Apparently Asda pharmacy sell fertility meds at cost price so I'm going to contact them too. If I can't get the meds in at a decent price I'm not going to be able to proceed abroad,  will have to decide between own and donor egg here.xx


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## Rosalind73 (Apr 25, 2012)

okay, well it's hard to compare different places without knowing the unit prices, but Merional is obviously a hell of a lot more expensive from Stork Fertility Services.

You don't need to get all your meds from one place - I got my clinic to do separate prescriptions for the high cost items. So one for Merional, and another for Cetrotide (which also had Pregnyl on it).

So if you got your Merional from Pharmasure that would cost you £840 (3 x £28 for each day x 10 days), and your Cetrotide from Alcura would cost £70 (£14 x 5), and you could use Pregnyl instead of Ovitrelle (which you can get from Alcura for £8.10 for 10,000IU). Which comes in at £918.10.

You may be able to get Menopur cheaper than £14/75IU but when I asked my local hospital pharmacy (who sell Merional at £15/75IU) they were quoting £15.12/75IU for Menopur, so I don't reckon you'll get it much cheaper than that, although someone else might know of a cheaper source. I never really looked into it that much as had found such a cheap supply of Merional.

Pharmasure supply needles and disposal bins for free and don't charge for delivery (if you spend over a £150). Alcura don't charge for delivery if you spend over £50 and they don't charge for cold chain delivery either (needed for Pregnyl).


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## Rosalind73 (Apr 25, 2012)

Also, if you are going to a clinic abroad, can you not get them to supply the drugs at a cheaper price?

I've just found a note of some Asda prices (as of Dec 2014):
Menopur - £16.38/75IU 
Merional - £27.90/75IU 
Pregnyl 5000IU - £3.15 (most people use 10,000IU so need 2 vials)


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## Val74 (Jan 3, 2015)

Thanks Rosalind that's really helpful, will have a look on pharmasure. Have asked the clinic abroad for their prices to. They're so much cheaper,  it's a shame DH can't get more time off and we can't go for three weeks and get it all done out there.xx


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