Guest guest Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 Hi all, I was wondering what kind of experience you have had with treating infertility with herbs. How effective is it? I am a new practitioner and I've got two infertility cases now. I think that kidney deficiency is the main issue with both (one was born with only one fallopian tube(her one tube is open though) and one is 40 years old). How often do you get results vs. not get results? I'd like to be able to give them an honest idea of what to expect. Thanks! Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 Laura - is very effective in the treatment of delayed conception/infertility, both with acupuncture and herbal medicine. Of course there is many things to consider when approaching cases of infertility. The kidneys are definitely responsible for the reproductive function in the most basic sense according to TCM theory. However, it is rarely the case that there is a single pattern in cases such as this. Often there is kidney (yin or yang or essence) deficiency combined with liver qi stagnation or heart fire. There may be insufficient Kidney yin in the follicular/proliferative phase of the cycle which leads to insufficient Kidney yang in the luteal/secretory phase of the cycle, or there may be blood stasis (ie endometriosis/fibroids) or phlegm (PCOS), or yin-xu fire (POF/Pituitary microadenoma). It is always helpful to assess several things when working up a fertility case: a. Is it primary (never been pregnant) or secondary (history of abortion or miscarriage) infertility? b. How long have they been trying? c. Has the partner or husband had a SA (semen analysis)? 30-40% of infertility cases are classified as male factor. d. Has the female had a recent hormone panel? Especially the 40 year-old. You would want to look at the FSH (follicle stimulating hormone), Prolactin, and E2 (estradiol) and LH (luteneizing hormone). e. Is there a history of any Chlamydial infections or Pelvic Inflammatory disease which could have left scar tissue or adhesions in the cervix or fallopian tubes? If there is this history, the patient should get a HSG (hysterosalpinogram) to rule-out any blockages. f. What is the menstrual history? Is it a regular cycle? Is the patient keeping track of her cycles with a BBT (basal body temperature) chart to determine if and when she is ovulating, are her follicular and luteal phases adequate for conception? Is she doing a ovulation predictor kit. Also - very important - is she producing adequate cervical mucous, of the right type (spinn), at ovulation? g. Is the patient seeking help with infertility with TCM alone, or in conjunction with ART (assisted reproductive techniques) such as IVF/IUI/GIFT/ZIFT/ICSI, etc. The above is only the minimum amount of information needed before commencing on a fertility case. For example, on the case where the women was born with only one fallopian tube - assuming that everything else mentioned above is normal - you should make sure via HSG that her single fallopian tube is clear, and that that ovary is functioning optimally. Has she attempted IVF? For the second case, the 40 year- old, you will definitely need lab results - for her and her partner - and BBT charts before starting with her. Assuming everything is normal, her menstrual cycle is regular, there are no structural impediments to fertility, etc, she should plan on a minimum of 3 - 9 months of treatment with the appropriate diagnosis, herbs and acupuncture. All of this may seem like a lot - but luckily for you there are two new resources out that I highly recommend for anyone working with fertility cases: A. Treatment of Infertility with by Jane Lyttleton. (Churchill Livingstone press) B. The Infertility Cure by Randine Lewis Ph. D. (Little Brown press) Jane Lyttleton practices in Australia and works exclusively with OBGYN cases and Infertility. She is brilliant, and her book is the authoritative reference for the management and treatment of Infertility for TCM practitioners. I think you can get it online or at any TCM college bookstore. Randine Lewis practices in Houston, and she is one of the leaders in the Field of TCM and Infertility here in the US. Although her book is directed at the general public, it is still full of useful information and inspiration. You might also check out her website Randine Lewis/Eastern Harmony Clinic. There are a number of great articles posted there. I hope the above info is helpful. I specialize in the treatment of Infertility and I think there is no greater joy than being able to assist someone in beginning a family. Feel free to contact me with any questions. All the best, Ray Rubio, Professor at Emperor's College of Oriental Medicine On Jun 23, 2004, at 3:28 AM, heylaurag wrote: > Hi all, > > I was wondering what kind of experience you have had with treating > infertility with herbs. How effective is it? I am a new > practitioner and I've got two infertility cases now. I think that > kidney deficiency is the main issue with both (one was born with only > one fallopian tube(her one tube is open though) and one is 40 years > old). How often do you get results vs. not get results? I'd like to > be able to give them an honest idea of what to expect. Thanks! > > Laura > > > > > > Membership requires that you do not post any commerical, swear, > religious, spam messages,flame another member or swear. > > > http://babel.altavista.com/ > > > and > adjust accordingly. > > If you , it takes a few days for the messages to stop being > delivered. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2004 Report Share Posted June 26, 2004 Hi Laura, Fertility I believe to be sometimes a more difficult area of transformation. We see, and work with, a great deal of infertility 'issues' in our practice. I am currently working with a 45 y/o female with a history of mult. miscarriages wanting...still hoping to someday become a mother. She came to me, literally/figuratively, a shell of a person with extreme blood/qi/kidney xu. We have spent one year working on 'replenishing' her and I find very little to tonify at this point. She says she feels stronger then ever in her life and believes that her body is more " ready " then ever! Her husband is another story [i'm speaking health wise!] My point of all this is the pressure that may come with fertility and [more than not!] the many roads, or obstacles, leading to Rome. One of my favorite teachers said to me, " treat what you see and the rest will follow " . Simple, but direct. Hope this helps a little, David Sometimes I feel that heylaurag <heylaurag wrote: Hi all, I was wondering what kind of experience you have had with treating infertility with herbs. How effective is it? I am a new practitioner and I've got two infertility cases now. I think that kidney deficiency is the main issue with both (one was born with only one fallopian tube(her one tube is open though) and one is 40 years old). How often do you get results vs. not get results? I'd like to be able to give them an honest idea of what to expect. Thanks! Laura Membership requires that you do not post any commerical, swear, religious, spam messages,flame another member or swear. http://babel.altavista.com/ and adjust accordingly. If you , it takes a few days for the messages to stop being delivered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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