Acupuncture Unexplained Infertility, Treating Unexplained Infertility

ACUPUNCTURE FOR UNEXPLAINED INFERTILITY

By Dr. Daniel Lee, L.Ac. OMD, Ph.D.

One of the most frustrating things about infertility is the inability to identify the cause of the multiple failures to conceive - even after trying for many natural menstrual cycles, multiple cycles with artificial insemination (IUI) or multiple cycles of IVF. Many others suffer from low HCG or multiple early miscarriages. It is even more frustrating when no pregnancy is achieved even with embryos that had passed PGD and were transferred to a young woman with a good uterine lining.

The one thing in common is that most of unexplained infertility patients have passed the standard tests in Western medicine. However, using acupuncture and Chinese herbal treatments for unexplained infertility, Dr. Lee has found that most of the patients who have failed IUI or IVF cycles have some form of "imbalance". There are four acupuncture meridians responsible for pregnancy. Each of these meridians requires optimized energy, and maximized and consistent blood flow. These imbalances are not found with blood tests or ultrasounds. Thus, this type of infertility is called "unexplained infertility" in western medicine. Thorough knowledge of acupuncture and Chinese herbs and the ability to detect the subtle imbalance is critical in achieving pregnancy after being diagnosed with unexplained infertility. Dr. Lee has helped many patients achieve pregnancy with acupuncture and herbs after being diagnosed with unexplained infertility -- some of these patients had failed as many as 5 IVFs.

These acupuncture treatments are individualized for each patient according to their individual imbalances. One important factor is making sure the patient with unexplained infertility understands the importance of their participation in achieving and in keeping the balance during the acupuncture treatments. Simple things such as what to eat, what to drink, how to dress, stress level, or how much to sleep can drastically affect the egg quality during its 85-day journey to maturity, the fertilization rate, as well as the subsequent implantation and development.

As part of the exam, Dr. Lee focuses on the unexplained infertility patient's past history, such as Luteal phase defects, recurrent miscarriages and endometriosis, conditions that have adversely impacted their normal development of the follicles, and the receptivity of the uterine lining and uterine environment. The physiological process of getting pregnant is much like that of a "100-day ballet" involving multiple hormones, proteins, fatty acids and their derivatives. As a dancer in a ballet, each hormone must act and interact with its receptor and with other hormones, and also appear and disappear at well-defined times for a predetermined duration, as dictated by the "conductor" -- the hypothalamus and pituitary glands. To expect this 100-day ballet go smoothly without a hitch is to expect driving on a freeway for 100 days without running into a traffic jam.

For patients with unexplained infertility, it means that something did not go well during this "100-day ballet". Patients with unexplained infertility can help their reproductive endocrinologist a great deal by getting their body balanced thru acupuncture and Chinese herbs first before starting the next IVF. Dr. Lee has explained the "unexplained" not only with words but with actual pregnancies and live births thru acupuncture and Chinese herbs. One should ask the following question: After failing to qualify for the Olympics, would you want to compete in the Olympics right away without additional training? This "training" process is similar to the optimization process. It takes 2 to 6 menstrual cycles to get optimized - much shorter than the 4 years needed to train an athlete. But, in the long run, it is the quickest way to get pregnant even for patients over the age of 40. As an old saying goes: Haste makes waste.

Acupuncture for Unexplained Infertility in Action for 2005 >

Acupuncture for Unexplained Infertility in Action for 2006>