Acupuncture for Diminished Ovarian Reserve Without Significant Side Effects
What is Diminished Ovarian Reserve ( DOR)?
DOR is when you have fewer eggs in your ovaries than other people your age. While only one egg makes it to ovulation every month a women has a group of eggs that grow. The baseline number of follicles can be seen on a trans vaginal ultra sound. The number of that base line helps your MD decide if your numbers are normal, high or low.
You can still get pregnant when you have the diagnosis of DOR but it is more challenging. There are other factors that have to be working as well like healthy sperm, open fallopian tubes. Symptoms of DOR are similar to peri menopause: hot flashes, night sweats, light or heavy menses, long or shorter cycles, vaginal dryness or insomnia.
Generally, it is thought that DOR is a function of aging but there are some genetic causes that should be ruled out especially if you are under 35 years old. Radiation or chemotherapy can cause DOR so child bearing age women having to under go these procedures might consider banking their eggs for future family planning. Also having surgery to your ovaries can cause DOR. This could happen for many reasons but a common cause of ovarian surgery is removing endometrial cysts. Removing one or both of your ovaries can be a cause of diminished ovarian reserve. And finally some autoimmune conditions are thought to play a role in it as well.
How Do I Test For Diminished Ovarian Reserve?
There are a couple of tests that, together, gives you a better picture of how your ovaries are functioning. You should get an ultra sound in your follicular phase to count the number of growing follicles. Additionally there are 3 blood tests you need to get. An anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) test which can be taking at any point in your menses cycle. This tells us how hard your ovaries are working. Generally we want this number to be low. The other two tests are follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and your estradiol. Both of these should be taken on CD 2 or 3 of your menstrual cycle.
There is a final test that many doctors prefer to do, a clomiphene citrate challenge. Here you would take an oral tablet for 5 days during your follicular phase of your menses along with getting ultra sounds of your ovaries to see how well they respond to the medication. This test tends to be done to see if you are a candidate for assisted reproductive technologies (ART) as they can be quite expensive.
How is DOR Treated??
If you are wanting to conceive DOR is usually treated with ART like in vitro fertilization or intrauterine insemination. If you are wanting help with the symptoms of DOR then hormone replacement therapy is the usual course of action.
Can Acupuncture Help You With DOR?
When dealing with the symptoms or increasing ones fertility the short answer is yes.
While dealing with diminishing fertility is a challenge there is strong evidence that acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help. Acupuncture can help optimize your hormones and how they communicate with your ovaries and brain through increasing blood flow, the transportation system of the body.
In order for optimal fertility the right hormones at the right amount must reach its target organ at the right time. Much like a symphony where if the horn section comes in too loud or too early or not at all the musical piece is compromised.
In Fertility and Sterility published study by Dr Paul Magarelli and Diane Cridennda outcomes in the DOR acupuncture group where similar to women with a normal prognosis. This is a remarkable study showing how effective acupuncture can be in women with higher FSH and longer history of infertility. The study even took into consideration poor sperm morphology and the acupuncture group had better pregnancy rates in that category too.
Another study demonstrated that after 12 weeks of electro acupuncture in patients with DOR FSH, oestradiol and FSH/LH ratios all significantly improved. Furthermore those improved were noted not just at the 12 week mark but the 24 week mark. The study concludes that electro acupuncture offers a benefit to patients with DOR without any significant side effect.
Bethany Richardson is the owner of Enliven Health and Wellness located in San Antonio, Texas. She is a fellow with the Acupuncture and TCM Board of Reproductive Medicine. (FABORM.) To book an appointment, click here. If you live outside San Antonio, TX, you can book a Telehealth fertility appointment. We go over your lab results and create a diet, supplement, lifestyle and herbal regimen to regulate and optimize your fertility.
Photo: Cottonbro Studio, Rodnae Productions
