Acupuncture for Infertility
Acupuncture for Infertility: POF
Dr. QiaoLi Lei
Causes of infertility are varied and many, but a common one is premature ovarian failure or POF. POF is early menopause occurring before a woman reaches forty (40) years old. Usually, ovaries have a lifetime of thirty-five (35) years. When a woman has her first period, she has thousands of eggs; when she reaches menopause, however, the eggs have decreased to only a few.
Normally, a woman’s loss of eggs occurs gradually during her fertile years, but in POF, the loss of eggs accelerates, or the follicles themselves become less responsive to hormonal stimulation. The decrease of both quality and quantity of eggs is a common reason for infertility or POF, premature ovarian failure.
With POF, a woman will have short cycles or have stopped menstruating for months with early or no ovulation. She may also show a variety of menopausal symptoms: hot flashes, amenorrhea, or anxiety. Lab work may show an elevated FSH, a hormone released from the pituitary to stimulate the ovaries, due to the ovaries having become less responsive to FSH.
HRT, hormone replacement therapy, has often been the therapy of choice for POF patients. However, this is not always a good option for women with POF who are trying to become pregnant. We find that women with POF do not respond well to estrogen-stimulation as a means to lower the FSH.
According to research in Western medicine, the precise cause of POF has not yet been defined. Some possible causes may be chromosomal defects, chemotherapy, radiation, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), tumors or autoimmune disorders.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) views infertility as being related to kidney, spleen and liver chi deficiency, chi and blood deficiency, or blood stagnation. In Chinese medicine, we treat POF by restoring the ovaries and the hormonal system to full, balance by stimulating circulation of chi in the pelvis (uterus and ovaries) to nourish or tonify the kidney, liver and spleen chi. TCM finds most cases of POF are due to kidney yin deficiency.
Acupuncture and Chinese medicine have proven to be effective systems of health for more than 5,000 years. I follow these traditional methodologies and have found great success in treating my patients of the past 20 years. My vast experience in OBGYN combined with the use of herbs, acupuncture, and diet have brought great happiness to families where infertility has been a concern.
From my experience, women who have higher FSH cannot become pregnant or have regular periods. After a series of acupuncture treatments, a woman’s FSH decreases to normal and she can become pregnant or have a period because acupuncture re-establishes the proper connection between the pituitaries and ovaries. This allows the woman to become pregnant on her own.
Acupuncture unblocks a woman’s meridians, channels of energy through the body. For example, a 37 year old patient had IVF (in vitro fertilization) three (3) times but failed due to high FSH. She also was not responding to hormone medication well. Because of the lack of success, her medical doctor recommended that she stop the fertilization procedures. However, after detoxification and remedying the stagnation of her blood through seventeen (17) acupuncture treatments, she did become pregnant naturally, “on her own.” In such cases, I recommend that women who wish to conceive eat a balanced diet; decrease stress; and most importantly, consult a traditional Chinese medicine doctor for acupuncture and Chinese medicine.
For more information or if you have questions, please do not hesitate to call me at 501-312-9888. I direct you to this website http://fertilesoul.com/home/.
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