Fertility

Five main types of patients come to the clinic for help.

1. People that want to increase the successful rate and effectiveness of ART including IUI and IVF.
2. Unexplained infertility patients who are naturally trying to be conceived and to increase the odds of a healthy pregnancy and child; recurrent miscarriage prevention
3. People that have been diagnosed as infertile and for a variety of reasons, such as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, blocked fallopian tubes; imbalance hormone with irregular menses;
4. Women with complicated reasons of infertility, such as low ovarian reserve; poor egg quality; intractable thin lining; aged issue…
5. Male infertility, such as abnormal Semen Analysis (sperm count, motility, morphology…); imbalance hormone, high stress level, low libido, unsuccessful sex drives…

Please don’t hesitate to contact us 289.812.5518, if you need more information.

IVF and Acupuncture

As many of you know. IVF has been covered in Ontario from December, 2015.

Because of the lower costs, there are more people choose to do IVF. Of course, there is a long-line for services in the western fertility clinics. As you know only 1 IVF will be covered at a limit of 1 embryo per transfer.

What better way to maximize the chance of that single transfer working than by allocating some of the money you save towards acupuncture.

We suggest you to start TCM (traditional Chinese medicine), such as acupuncture or/and TCM herbs 3 – 5 months before the embryo transfer is the best way to maximize the quality of the single egg you will be transferring.

Doing acupuncture in the 9 weeks leading up to your transfer is the best way to improve your chances of the embryo transfer turning into a successful implantation.

Especially, acupuncture sessions for pre egg-retrieval and post egg-retrieval are suggested in 24 hours to help improving egg quality and ovary recovering.

Highly suggested to do the acupuncture sessions for pre embryo(s) transfer and post embryo transfer in 24 hours to help higher the successful rate.

Common diseases and reasons connect with infertility:

Unexplained Infertility

Unexplained infertility is infertility that is idiopathic in the sense that its cause remains unknown even after an infertility work-up, usually including semen analysis in the man and assessment of ovulation and fallopian tubes in the woman. Perhaps it is the most frustrating diagnosis for those trying to conceive because it does not come with a treatment solution or clear insight into its causes.

1 in 10 experiencing infertility will be diagnosed with unexplained infertility.

Treatment

For western medicine, couples with unexplained fertility are either told to go home and keep trying or they are subjected to different clinical procedures. Many of these patients are referred immediately for Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) which includes cycle-monitoring, drug controlled cycles, IUI, and IVF.

In general, Chinese Medicine excels in the treatment of illnesses or medical conditions that cannot be diagnosed by modern medicine. Unexplained fertility is a good example of this. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are successfully used all over the world to help couples who have been given the diagnosis of unexplained fertility to get pregnant and give birth to healthy babies. In fact, a large proportion of the patients we treat at the Family Fertility Clinic come to us with this diagnosis.

According to TCM, there is no such thing as unexplained infertility. Therefore, we believe infertility is an indication that your body is currently out of balance. According to the principles of TCM, all of our patients will get unique and customized TCM assessment to make TCM diagnosis.

In cases of unexplained infertility, there will be indications where the problems and this will manifest as various signs and symptoms.

Possible indications of fertility problems include:

• Menarche time
• Regular or irregular menstrual cycle
• Vaginal discharges and ovulation
• Severe PMS
• Premenstrual breast pain and headaches
• Premenstrual low back pain, bowel movements, acne
• Menstrual flow: heavy or scanty
• Clotty, color of menstrual blood
• Menstrual pain
• Luteal phase
• Follicular phase
• Medications taking

Each of the above indications is a physical manifestation of imbalance in the reproductive system. Reproductive functioning is maximized once the entire body is brought back into balance. This imbalance always stems from an underlying root cause. The infertility is not longer unexplained after our TCM practitioners figure out what energetic imbalances are causing the menstrual irregularities to appear. In addition, when we have an explanation, we have a diagnosis, a treatment, and a remedy. The treatments used to treat unexplained fertility in our clinic are acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, dietary therapy and lifestyle counseling. When your energy is rebalanced, your body is restored to its natural state of health. At this time your organs systems, including your reproductive system, will function as they were designed to, and your ability to conceive will be enhanced.

Thin Uterine/Endometrial Linings

Thin endometrial/uterine linings are a common reason for women to have fertility, and specially implantation or even miscarriage problems. Also, it is the major concern for the fertility specialists to decide whether and when, you can proceed in the IVF transfer process.

It is possible to identify the phase of the menstrual cycle by observing histological differences at each phase:


Treatment

Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture

Chinese medicine excels at uncovering and correcting functional imbalances in the body.

If your endometrial linings are thin, there is always a reason. With the TCM assessment and diagnosis, we can usually discover – and uncover – the imbalances that are preventing menstruation, and conception. Treating this underlying problem with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine is the best way to thicken your linings. For patients have thin ling issue and are waiting for the IVF transfer, we suggested 2 menstrual cycles ling-supporting treatments.

Often diet plays a big part. Eating protein-rich food, such as red meat, eggs, dairy products, also can help increase your lining. Ask about details at during your initial consult.

Low/Poor ovarian reserve

Low ovarian reserve: (also known as impaired ovarian reserve, premature ovarian aging or declining ovarian reserve) is a condition of low fertility characterized by 1): low numbers of remaining oocytes in the ovaries or 2) possibly impaired preantral oocyte development or recruitment. Recent research suggests that premature ovarian aging and premature ovarian failure (aka primary ovarian insufficiency) may represent a continuum of premature ovarian senescence. It is usually accompanied by high FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) levels.

Treatment

Chinese herbs and acupuncture treatment.

The following information from wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_ovarian_reserve

TCM: There are reports in the medical literature of successful treatment with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).For example, a case history was published in 2003 by the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan. Ovulation and pregnancy occurred after the administration of TCM medicine using concentrated extracts for a total of four nonconsecutive months in a 26-year-old women with premature ovarian failure and secondary amenorrhea of eight years duration. Her FSH, LH and E2 levels were 80.4 mIU/mL, 19.6 mIU/mL and 25.8 pg/mL respectively. A modified version of zuoguiwan (左歸丸 restore the left pill) was prescribed for three months. After three months of treatment menstrual bleeding and a biphasic body temperature were noted. The patient then discontinued TCM therapy and at a new clinic commenced citrate therapy. FSH and LH were still in the menopausal range (43 mIU/mL and 11 mIU/ml, respectively) after eight months of citrate therapy. Ovulation did not occur. She then returned to the first clinic and the same TCM treatment was resumed (one year after first commencing TCM treatment) and the patient conceived one month later and subsequently gave birth by Cesarean section to a healthy 3450 gram baby girl.

PCOS - Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), also called Stein-Leventhal syndrome, is a set of symptoms due to elevated male hormone in women. Signs and symptoms of PCOS include irregular or no menstrual periods, heavy periods, excess body and facial hair, acne, pelvic pain, difficulty getting pregnant, and patches of thick, darker, velvety skin. Associated conditions include type 2 diabetes, obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, heart disease, mood disorders, and endometrial cancer.

Diagnosis is based on two of the following three findings: no ovulation, high androgen levels, and ovarian cysts. Cysts may be detectable by ultrasound.

It is one of the leading causes of poor fertility.

Treatment

PCOS has no cure in modern medicine. Treatment may involve lifestyle changes such as weight loss and exercise. Birth control pills may help with improving the regularity of periods, excess hair growth, and acne. In vitro fertilization is used by some in whom other measures are not effective.

However, research shows that acupuncture is an effective way to help PCOS through regulating the metabolic and endocrine system to help ovulation occur.

Our own clinical experience backs up this research with great success in helping women who have PCOS, not only ovulate regularly and have regular periods again, but to get pregnant and give birth to healthy babies. This includes both mild and heavy type PCOS, even some women who may have not had a period since they were a teenagers!

Prevent Recurrent Miscarriage

Recurrent miscarriage can be a devastating problem for a woman and/or couple to go through. About 50-75% of cases of Recurrent Miscarriage are unexplained. Risk factors for miscarriage include an older parent, previous miscarriage, exposure to tobacco smoke, obesity, diabetes, and drug or alcohol use, among others.

Miscarriage is the most common complication of early pregnancy. Among females who know they are pregnant, the miscarriage rate is roughly 10% to 20% while rates among all fertilisation is around 30% to 50%. About 5% of females have two miscarriages in a row.

Treatment

Acupuncture administered once per week throughout the first trimester physiologically increases the amount of blood (nutrients and oxygen) that reaches the developing fetus, creating an optimal environment for baby to thrive.

Combined with Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture helps modulate autoimmune reactions during early stages of pregnancy that often result in miscarriage. Blood clotting that manifests because of these conditions is also reduced, helping ensure the growing embryo has adequate blood supply.

Acupuncture also reduces nausea and the high stress levels that are so often associated with advanced maternal age pregnancies or women that have miscarried in the past. When the mother-to-be is relaxed, blood flow to baby is optimized.

Lastly, eating a diet of foods that are right for you allow the body to more easily digest and produce vital substances (such as blood) for the mother and growing embryo .



For habitual miscarriage patients, we usually suggested to do the treatments in the first 12 weeks or 2 weeks more than the longest previous pregnant week.

Fallopian tube obstruction

The fallopian tubes are fine muscular structures that are responsible for getting the sperm to the egg and transporting the embryo to the uterus for implantation. It is a major cause of female infertility. Blocked fallopian tubes are unable to let the ovum and the sperm converge, thus making fertilization impossible.

Approximately 20% of female infertility can be attributed to tubal causes.

Most commonly a tube may be obstructed due to infection such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). The rate of tubal infertility has been reported to be 12% after one, 23% after two, and 53% after three episodes of PID. The Fallopian tubes may also be occluded or disabled by endometritis, infections after childbirth and intraabdominal infections including appendicitis and peritonitis. Because the most common causes of fallopian tube damage is from pelvic infection and sexually transmitted diseases. It is important that you get tested for STD’s and get treated right away if any are present to minimize damage to the reproductive organs these diseases can cause.

Treatment

Chinese medicine works best if the structure of the fallopian tubes has not been too damaged. Once the infection has been cleared the blockage in the tube can be cleared effectively with Chinese medicine. There is some research in China that shows encouraging results using administration of Chinese herbs and acupuncture to clear up the blocked tubes and restore fertility.

Endometriosis

It is a disease in which tissue that normally grows inside the uterus grows outside it. The main symptoms are pelvic pain and infertility. Nearly half of those affected have chronic pelvic pain, while in 70% pain occurs during menstruation. Pain during sex is also common. Less common symptoms include urinary or bowel symptoms

Endometriosis is very common, with estimates of as many as 1 in 5 reproductive age women have some degree of misplaced endometrial tissue with 30 – 40% of those women being infertile. According to modern medicine, endometriosis is one of the most common causes of infertility. Infertility occurs in up to half of women affected.

The cause is not entirely clear. Risk factors include having a family history of the condition. Most often the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and tissue around the uterus and ovaries are affected; however, in rare cases it may also occur in other parts of the body. The areas of endometriosis bleed each month, resulting in inflammation and scarring. Diagnosis is usually based on symptoms in combination with medical imaging. Biopsy is the most sure method of diagnosis. Other causes of similar symptoms include irritable bowel syndrome, interstitial cystitis, and fibromyalgia.

Treatment

Endometriosis has no cure in modern medicine and is usually treated with NSAIDs (Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) to relieve pain, drugs to control/minimize menstruation or surgical removal of the tissue.

Using Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Formulas are significant success for treating endometriosis. The condition is recalcitrant and one should expect treatments of at least 3 months.

Want to learn more? Contact us!

If you have any residual questions, such as:

• When should I get acupuncture for fertility?
• How much does fertility acupuncture cost?
• What is it like getting fertility acupuncture?
• Can acupuncture affect ovulation?

Feel free to contact us by calling us at this number: (289) 812 5518