The human body is a wonderfully, complex entity and it's ability to reproduce with the likeness of itself even more astounding. The fact that we have been built to conceive, develop, and birth a living being from inside our bodies is truly amazing. An occurrence that happens so often that we often take it for granted. We go into life and relationship not even giving it a second thought that we may have difficulty having children. Until we can't...
The birds and the bees are one of those lessons we learn about in grade school biology and hopefully from our parents as well. As a man, I didn't really think about having children until I got married and my wife asked, "so, when do you want to start having kids?". After I swallowed heavily and stared blankly into her eyes, I nervously said, "when ever you want to honey". When we decided to begin trying shortly thereafter, we fortunately got pregnant immediately, to our surprise, excitement, and utter naivety in becoming a parent of a child. I was in acupuncture school at the time and had only begun to understand the true intricacies of yin and yang, estrogen and progesterone, and what all this means in reproduction.
Looking back I recognized early on in my acupuncture practice that the vast majority of my patients were women seeking answers to their health concerns. Realizing that women were more open to convey their feelings and discuss their ailments, I was implored to learn and understand more about the people I was treating. As with any level of higher education, you learn the nuts and bolts foundation to your discipline in school. In acupuncture school, we did study both male and female related health challenges but not to the peak of specialty. I have had many teachers, classes and books guide my strategy and techniques into an ever evolving fertility practice to the point where I feel confident in my practice and specialty. I've been working with women and men with fertility, hormone and cycle-related health issues for almost two decades now and it never ceases to amaze me watching the progression to balanced health and hormonal cycles. We can't exactly snap our fingers or wiggle our nose and magically flip the switch, especially in chronic conditions such as PCOS, irregular cycles, erectile dysfunction, or endometriosis for example. It does take some time to rebalance a long-standing imbalance. Nonetheless, we strive to do that very thing no matter how long it takes.
Helping individuals and couples bring life and love into their lives is perhaps one of the most rewarding things about my medical practice. Albeit a challenge more times than not, and often a roller coaster of emotions along the way for both the patient and practitioner, when we are able to put the puzzle together of their specific energetic imbalance, and conceive and carry a child to term, it fills the heart with the most satisfying vibration for all parties involved.
In practice, I am over 80% successful thus far in helping my fertility patients reach their goal and the first thing you see when walking into my clinic is the "Wall of Fame", which is a wall of baby pictures from my successful fertility patients. Some treatment plans are a simple nudge into balance and success comes quickly, but most treatment plans are longer than average and patience has to be strong for all involved. As a general rule, it is always best in female infertility for us to work together through a minimum of three consecutive menstrual cycles, as it takes about 90 days for a follicle to mature. When we are able to work through a patient's individual imbalances, they will see subtle changes each month we work.
Remember, just because her cycle is "normal" to her, doesn't mean it's normal! We can often correct those awful, painful, arduous, and irritable cycles to a smoothly, mildly obstructive cycle within a relatively short amount of time. In the case of IVF or IUI, prep work for a few months before your protocol begins is encouraged, but not always the case due to timing. Many patients come in to see me at or just before their IVF/IUI protocol begins, and that is okay but not ideal. We have still had good success either way but know that it is always best to balance a fertility patients energies before. This insures the investment financially, physically, and emotionally is undertaken with knowing that a good foundation has been set.
Whether through natural conception or assisting along side an IVF or IUI protocol set by the patients fertility clinic, acupuncture, herbal remedies, nutritional supplementation, diet and/or lifestyle modifications are what I utilize to help. It is never an easy journey, and will challenge even the strongest of constitutions. Make the most of the opportunities that are given, and look to optimizing overall health and balance resulting in a dream come true.
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