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Dear Kara,
My husband and I have
been trying to get pregnant for some time now without any success. Can Acupuncture help?
L.L., Billings
Acupuncture is very
effective in cases of infertility.
It is important in fertility issues to get as much information as we
can. It is helpful to have both you
and your husband at the initial visit, when we will discuss your medical
history in detail. There are many
causes of infertility in both men and women. You may both benefit from acupuncture
treatments.
What causes
infertility?
Causes of male
infertility can include poor sperm quality, low sperm count, altered sperm
shape, sperm allergies (normally after reversing a vasectomy), male tube
blockages, and scarring caused from sexually transmitted diseases such as
Chlamydia or gonorrhea.
Causes of female
infertility can include endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, poor
egg quality, irregular or no ovulation, female tube blockages from pelvic
inflammatory disease, sperm allergies (to partner’s sperm), scarring from
sexually transmitted diseases such as Chlamydia, or previous sterilization
procedures.
These are all issues that
are treatable with acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (TCM).
We may ask you to monitor
your basal body temperature if you are not already doing this. This can help you determine whether you
are ovulating. We will discuss your
menstrual cycle. This gives us
valuable insight into how your body is functioning. We use this information to attain a Chinese
Medical diagnosis that will help us most effectively help you and your
partner achieve pregnancy. We will ask pertinent questions about your past
medical history as well as discuss any treatments you are currently
undergoing. Acupuncture is effective
in conjunction with other modalities of medicine or as a stand-alone
therapy.
We live in a stressful
society. In TCM stress loosely
correlates to a diagnosis we call liver qi
stagnation. The liver qi regulates the free flow of everything throughout the
body. This includes the circulatory
system, the nervous system, the endocrine system and the reproductive
system. If you are stressed, your
liver qi can stagnate. This will affect all of these systems to
a certain degree. You may have
difficulty conceiving or maintaining a pregnancy. Your hormonal balance may
be completely ‘out of whack’. Men
and women are affected by liver qi
stagnation. It is the diagnosis seen
most often in clinical practice. Your partner may respond to stress by
decreasing sperm counts or motility.
TCM can also help him bring his hormones into better balance.
Fertility can also be
affected by kidney qi deficiency. In TCM the kidney qi
is our root. We inherit our kidney qi largely from our parents at conception. As we age our kidney qi
naturally declines. For men this
runs in 8-year cycles. TCM believes
that after 8 eight-year cycles a man’s vitality is significantly
diminished. For women this happens
after 7 seven-year cycles. What this
means is that by the time a man reaches 64 years old his vitality is
diminished to the point the would normally be having reproductive or sexual
dysfunctions. For women this happens
at about age 49, about the time women begin to go through menopause. Sometimes, an injury to the body, a
traumatic experience (physical or emotional) or a congenital weakness that
affects the kidney qi or even just daily stress
can weaken the kidney qi. This can affect vitality, libido and
reproductive function also. In these
cases we would focus on nourishing the kidneys to help increase vitality,
libido and reproductive function.
Often in fertility issues a combination of liver qi
stagnation and kidney qi deficiency are
involved. These are complex
situations that require individual consultations with a qualified
practitioner.
What can you do?
Find relaxation
techniques that work for you to relieve your stress. Get a massage, have acupuncture
treatments, join a gym, walk 30 minutes everyday, take Tai qi or yoga classes, swim. It does not matter how you do it, but
find a way to release the stress that builds up in your daily life. This will help increase the circulation
of your liver qi, which will affect your life in
many positive ways.
Acupuncture can
help. It takes 70 - 100 days for the
body to produce new sperm. For men
it is important to receive acupuncture for an entire life cycle of the
sperm.
A minimum of 3 months of
weekly treatments is needed to regulate the hormonal pathways in
women. It is important to have
weekly treatments in this case because we want to affect the hormonal
balance at every stage of your menstrual cycle.
TCM helps increase the
effectiveness of western medical approaches to fertility as well. For example, if a woman is preparing for
in vitro fertilization techniques, having acupuncture prior to egg
harvesting can increase the egg production and the vitality of resulting
embryos. This can increase the
effectiveness of your in vitro procedure.
If you choose to use assisted fertility procedures in your quest for
a family, it is important to get your body ready for these procedures. Your acupuncturist can help you with
this.
TCM has been
scientifically proven to release endorphins effect pain perception and
mood. TCM has also been shown to
increase circulation and immune function.
TCM can improve fertility by relieving stress and increasing
relaxation. It can balance hormonal
levels in both men and women. For
these reasons, it is used to improve vitality of sperm and egg, reduce
fibroids and scar tissue, promote normal menstruation and ovulation and
increase chances of carrying a healthy pregnancy full term.
Kara Burpee
is a graduate of Bastyr University. She has joined the staff at Yellowstone
Naturopathic Clinic as a Licensed Acupuncturist. She can be reached at 259-5096. Email future health questions to Kara at
ync@180com.net.
Yellowstone
Naturopathic Clinic
720 N. 30th St.
Billings, MT 59101
PHONE 406·259·5096/FAX 406·248·5655
ync@180com.net
Dispensary
406·254·9682
dispensary@yncnaturally.com
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