HMG

Key points

• HMG (menotropin) contains follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH) activity, purified from urine.
• It is a licensed, prescription only medicine in the UK, used mainly to stimulate the ovaries or testes in fertility treatment.
• It is prescribed and given under specialist supervision as part of a monitored treatment plan.
• Using it in bodybuilding, often alongside steroids, is off the licensed use and prohibited for male athletes in sport.

Quick facts

What it is

Human menopausal gonadotropin (FSH and LH activity)

Licensed use

Fertility treatment; certain hormone deficiencies

UK status

Licensed, prescription only medicine

In sport

Gonadotropins prohibited for male athletes

How it works

FSH and LH are the pituitary hormones that drive the ovaries and testes. In women, HMG stimulates the ovaries to develop eggs for fertility treatment. In men it can stimulate the testes to produce sperm and testosterone when the body's own signals are low. Because it is a potent hormone treatment, it is given with careful monitoring.

What the evidence shows

Gonadotropin treatment is well established in fertility medicine, with decades of use in assisted conception and in certain hormone deficiencies. Its use outside fertility, such as in bodybuilding to restart the body's own production, rests on far weaker evidence.

What it does not settle

• Uses outside licensed fertility and hormone treatment are not well supported by controlled trials.
• Self directed use without monitoring carries real risks.
• Long term outcomes of such off licence use are not well documented.

Side effects

Common

• Injection site reactions, headache, bloating and mood changes.
• In fertility treatment, there is a risk of overstimulating the ovaries, which needs monitoring.

Less common but serious

• Ovarian hyperstimulation can be serious and is one reason treatment is closely supervised.
• Products from unregulated sellers are of unverified strength and sterility.

Report any suspected side effect through the MHRA Yellow Card scheme.

UK legal status and access

HMG is a licensed prescription only medicine in the UK, prescribed and monitored by a specialist, usually in a fertility setting. Products sold online for research use are of unverified quality and sit outside that supervision.

Common questions