Converting HCG units - mcg to IU

[paco]

My wife and I are doing a round of IUI this month, so she was recently prescribed Ovidrel (brand name HCG). The dose is 250 mcg, and the cost will be $75. I'm guessing that's way overpriced, given that I take compounded HCG that costs $75 for 11,000 IUs. So, I'm thinking of just giving her a bit of mine, but I want to ensure we get the dose right.

Does anyone know how to convert mcg to IUs? Or, is it even possible? We will just ask the doctor if noone here is sure, but I figured someone here would know the easy math.

Thanks!

 

[Nelson Vergel]

6000 IU is 3000 mcg (3 mg)

Have her get the same HCG as you.

 

[paco]

Thanks, Nelson! So, 250 mcg would equal 500 IU, correct?

 

[Keith Willse]

I think that math might be wrong. I believe it would be 2.5 IU, Correct ?

 

[Keith Willse]

Here is a good online pharmacy calculator.
http://smartools.pharmdev.org/iu.html

 

[paco]

That seems like it would be a TINY dose. Hmm...

 

[Keith Willse]

Ovidrel is pre-filled recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin (r–hCG)

 

[Keith Willse]

One mg of Ovidrel is equivalent to 26,400 IU, making one 250 mcg vial of Ovidrel equivalent to 6,500 IU

http://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/14386/SPC

 

[paco]

Ok, I think that makes sense. Maybe the $75 price tag isn't that excessive. I will see if we can go with a compounded version for her anyways, as it will likely save us about $30.

 

[jacb]

The values in IU terms for Ovitrelle 250 Micrograms (mcg) 0.5 mL Pre-filled Syringe seem to be very variable in the thread above … which value is correct?

Ovitrelle is recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin (rHCG) not urinary derived hCG and some users might prefer that in order to avoid any possible contaminants. A study was done on exactly that issue LINK and it was found that “urinary‐derived batches have high presence of contaminant proteins beside the active substance. The relative amount of contaminant proteins and hCG differs strongly between different batches”.

If KeithWillse is correct and 250mcg of Ovitrelle is equivalent to 6,500 IU then for those of us taking 500 IU of hCG twice a week this might be an option. Since it would seem to avoid possible contaminant proteins and offer a more consistent/standardised dose of HCG.

If 250mcg = 6,500 IU then 500 IU would equate to approximately 19mcg … I doubt that the quantity selector knob on the pre-filled syringe device would let you select that amount …. Does anyone know if this would be possible?

Is it possible to buy recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin (rHCG) in powder form (as per pregnyl etc)?

 

[tareload]

The values in IU terms for Ovitrelle 250 Micrograms (mcg) 0.5 mL Pre-filled Syringe seem to be very variable in the thread above … which value is correct?

Ovitrelle is recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin (rHCG) not urinary derived hCG and some users might prefer that in order to avoid any possible contaminants. A study was done on exactly that issue LINK and it was found that “urinary‐derived batches have high presence of contaminant proteins beside the active substance. The relative amount of contaminant proteins and hCG differs strongly between different batches”.

If KeithWillse is correct and 250mcg of Ovitrelle is equivalent to 6,500 IU then for those of us taking 500 IU of hCG twice a week this might be an option. Since it would seem to avoid possible contaminant proteins and offer a more consistent/standardised dose of HCG.

If 250mcg = 6,500 IU then 500 IU would equate to approximately 19mcg … I doubt that the quantity selector knob on the pre-filled syringe device would let you select that amount …. Does anyone know if this would be possible?

Is it possible to buy recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin (rHCG) in powder form (as per pregnyl etc)?

No you have to take the r-hCG and dilute in bacteriostatic water.

 

[jacb]

No you have to take the r-hCG and dilute in bacteriostatic water.

Hi Readalot

Are you saying that unlike urinary derived hCG (which comes as powder and needs to be diluted in bacteriostatic water to form an injectable solution) r-hCG only comes as a liquid and needs to be further diluted in bacteriostatic water?

Or are you saying they share the same format? Ie powder and bacteriostatic water?

 

[tareload]

Hi Readalot

Are you saying that unlike urinary derived hCG (which comes as powder and needs to be diluted in bacteriostatic water to form an injectable solution) r-hCG only comes as a liquid and needs to be further diluted in bacteriostatic water?

Or are you saying they share the same format? Ie powder and bacteriostatic water?

r-hCG comes in the pre-filled single use syringe as you state. Get a sterile vial and bacteriostatic water and dilute as per mcg to IU conversion below. u-hCG is lyophilized powder that is reconstituted with bacteriostatic water.

OVIDREL® PreFilled Syringe(choriogonadotropin alfa injection)

Comments from my experience:

Is HCG enough to backfill pathways?

For me, it depends on the brand. Pregnyl raised my total testosterone level, my DHEA went from around 400, to around 800 (was not supplementing with DHEA or pregnenolone), testicles were a little bigger than pre-TRT, and loads were bigger than pre-TRT. On compounded HCG, it doesn’t do any of...

www.excelmale.com

 

[jacb]

Thanks readalot

I see that in the linked thread above, you said:

I went to the trouble of diluting Ovidrel into a 5000 IU bottle (5000 IU per 5 mL) with bacteriostatic water and it never matched the same subjective or quantitative benefit of urinary derived hCG. I did this because u-hCG is a biologic soup even after chromatographic separation and the use of r-hCG addresses the potential risk of prion contamination.

Very relevant, we have been down the same thought path.

How did you do your calculation? The Ovidrel syringe contains 0.5 mL. Ken Willse believes that equates to 6,500 IU (See above). Did you therefore transfer 0.385mL of Ovidrel to an empty vial and add 4.615 mL of bacteriostatic water thereby giving you 5000 IU per 5 mL or ?

I note your subjective review of Ovidrel, in that it never matched the same quantitative benefit of urinary derived hCG.

That is surprising, any thoughts as to why that might be?

 

[Nelson Vergel]

HCG Dosage Calculator

Even though it is a simple calculation, some men struggle calculating IU and cc doses of HCG. Here is a simple site to help. Before we start, why is hCG measured in IU's instead of mg? What is an IU? When measuring testosterone we speak of milligrams. HCG is measured not by weight but in IU’s...

www.excelmale.com