IVM= Invitro Maturation

Recently this fall I had a woman come in who was undergoing IVM. She orginally heard of the procedure in Canada where she had been living. I had not had a couple undergo this procedure but basically it is IVF without the drugs instead is done with the use of hormones similar to what the body makes. The RE's will utilize HCG made in a lab but similar to the hormone circulating in every pregnant woman. This hormone is similar to LH which drives the follicles to develop. LH causes maturity and the dominant follicle usually releases quite a bit of it. HCG causes immature eggs to stimulate towards final maturation.

Last night I had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Karol Chacho MD one of the first doctor's in the US to utilize IVF in Chicago, talk about this procedure. He was very excited about the procedure with less risks to women, less overstimulation of the ovaries, less risks of cancer. Several centers around the US he stated are jumping on this bandwagon. Ovarian hyperstimulation causes the ovaries to enlarge and often rupture, these large ovaries leave blood thick and can hypercoagulate causing clogged arteries or a clot in the brain or legs.

He also strongly reccommended patients get pretreated with acupuncture and Chinese Herbs before IVM to improve their success rate.

Key Signs for Ovulation

There are 3 key signs I tell the women I work with in my practice to look for when they are getting ready to ovulate: 1. Cervical Fluid, 2. Position of the Cervix and 3. Drop in Temperature followed by a 3 degree rise in Temperature.
If all goes well the timing of these will be in close sync. The Cervical Fluid(CF) might start out as creamy and thicker perhaps around day 8 or 9 as early as day 10 clear, stretchy fluid the kind sperm need to live and swim may begin to form and can last up to 4 days, this might be the consistency of egg white although it could be milky as well. The position of the cervix when you are ovulating will be higher, softer, more open and feel wet whereas at infertile times it will be lower and harder like the tip of your nose and dry. These two signs normally are about two days before the LH surge. So this is optimum time to try and conceive. However once the LH surge occurs you can also try as there may be one more follicle that often releases. Usually with this LH surge we see a peak in temperature rising at least 3 degrees higher because the lutenizing hormone secretes progesterone which keeps the temps hopefully high enough for a possible embryo to implant and grow.
The book the Garden of Fertility is such a wonderful book for women to monitor their cycle based on their basal body temperatures. The process is called Fertiltiy Awareness and really allows a woman to understand how her body works. It also gives her a sense of control. Did you know your mate is more attracted to a woman when she is ovulating, the book talks about this.

Poem adapted from the Odes of Pindar, 470 BCE

Within this huge book on the Medicine of Life I found this wonderful poem.

"The art of Medicine is rooted in the heart.

If your heart is false, you will also be a false physician.

If your heart is just, you will also be a true physician.

Therefore go forth in all your speed,

And may your hands be as good as your heart."

Biomedicine...Medicine of Life

Tonight I began reading a wonderful book on Biomedicine meaning medicine of life, by Dr. Bruce H. Robinson a former vascular surgeon. He talks about how the medicine of the future will no longer be Western or Eastern but simply World Medicine. He states "the single most pivotal Western discovery was William Harvey's 1628 experimental confirmation of continuous blood circulation by the cardiovascular system. Yet while Western medicine considers Harvey's work the single most important discovery, the Chinese described the blood circulation some 2000 years earlier. This first account is found in the Guanzi(ca. 450-100 BCE): in the essay on "Water and Earth". A correlation is noted between water flowing on earth to blood circulation in body."

Attain Fertility's Interview with Dr. Goodman and our patient

Recently Attain Fertility called me to do an interview regarding one of my patient's who is also a patient of Dr. Goodman an RE at the Reproductive Medicine Group and the following is a link to that interview, http://blog.attainfertility.com/2010/09/east-meets-west-accupuncture-and-ivf/

I want to thank Dr. Goodman for endorsing the practice of acupuncture and hope with her endorsement more patients undergoing fertility treatments will utilize it in conjunction with their procedures.

Caffeine and the Risks of Infertility

Many of my women love their coffee and tell me they only have one cup a day. Well those of you who have been coming to me, know how I feel even about one cup a day. The following paragraph explains: "A large study carried out by the Yale Medical School found that the risk of infertility (which they defined as not being able to conceive after 12 months) was 55% higher for women drinking just 1 cup of coffee per day. 100% higher for women drinking 1.5-3 cups per day and 176% higher for more than 3 cups per day and this was backed up 5 years later by a study in Europe which found that high caffeine intake in women slowed rates of conception. The effect of caffeine on the fertility of men has not been examined so much but one study did find a delay in conception related to caffeine intake though the dose was not important. Additionally, there is evidence that coffee drinking in men and women increases miscarriage rates and that caffeine intake during pregnancy has a negative influence on fetal growth. Most studies indicate that it is the consumption of 300 mg or more of caffeine daily that can lead to fertility problems. It is estimated that more than 20% of Australians and Americans drink more than 350 mg per day.
So coffee drinkers having difficulity falling pregnant may well be advised to reduce their intake significantly or switch to low-caffeine varieties of tea or to find alternatives for their morning and afternoon cuppas." I suggest an herbal hot tea without caffeine. Red Zinger, Sleepytime Tea, Bedtime Tea, Rasberry Tea(good for the uterus). They do not hype you up and then down, that is the beauty of not consuming caffeine related teas, like green, white and black, despite these having proanthocyanadins, the caffiene is still and issue and EGCG etc.

Heather Van Nest 10 Connects Anchor's Pregnant News

This is a big Thank you to Heather for sharing her pregnant news in my office, no less with me giving her, her typical Monday morning treatment in front of the camera to air later that nite. It was fun albeit a little nervous for me, yet exciting and I am so happy for you Heather!!! From January 25, 2010 until February 20, 2010, when she took a pregnancy test and it showed up positive, we did acupuncture/herbs with (e-stem up till ovulation) and then just acupuncture/herbs to help her bring about the much anticipated results. She also asked if she could come two times a week to speed up the results. Though she did not think it would happen so quickly; I do believe Heather's existing healthy eating habits also brought quicker results(see a link to her website WTSP Natural Health listed to the right) In an effort to maintain the pregnancy and prevent miscarriage and nausea Heather continued to see me and still does on her road to baby and parenthood. Congrats to you Heather and your husband!
Lots of Love and Good Health,
Carolyn