Modern Fertility Treatment and Acupuncture
PCOS, DOR, POF, POI, age-related infertility, AMH, FSH, TSH, Luteal Phase defect, FXPOI, it seems the list of why we aren’t getting pregnant is endless. One of the most challenging diagnosis is unexplained infertility. How can we fix or address a condition that is not defined? It can be one of the most helpless diagnosis one can receive.
Of course, not every condition can be reversed but most can be improved. And Functional Medicine offers a number of tests which can give us a window into deeper imbalances that could be contributing to many of the above challenges. There are two tests which I find especially instructive. One is a nutrition test the other is the organic acids test. As I have mentioned before, our bodies are like the hardware of a computer and the food we eat is like software loaded on that computer and it tells it where to go and what to do.
With the evolution of the Human Genome Project, we are learning that not everybody processes their nutrients or chemicals in the same. Vitamin D3 is now always checked for women going through the challenges of infertility, as low levels are associated with lower FSH receptors at the ovary. B vitamin status is critical to pregnancy but also with detoxification. If your body can’t detoxify adequately the eggs and their 3-month pre-ovulation gestation process will grow in a toxic bath of body fluids. Vitamin A is an important nutrient for fertility. In human and animal studies it is associated with poor development of early embryonic cells as well as infertility. The problem is Vitamin A is fat soluble and therefore toxic if taken in excess which can also present a host of problems for getting and staying pregnant. The answer lies in “test, don’t guess”. There is a myriad of other nutrients that support a healthy pregnancy and a deficiency can pose a problem. And its even worse when you have multiple deficiencies.
The Organic Acids test shows a multitude of imbalances in the body. From how well your energy cycles are working, so do your cells get and give adequate energy to your body to do you have a gut fungal or bacterial problem. It informs us on how well you detoxify, are you inflamed, how high is your oxidative stress ( aka how fast is your body aging) as well as is your brain inflamed. There is so much information on this test. It is my gold standard for difficult case to really peel back the surface and see what is going on.
Bethany Richardson, LAC, FABORM is the owner of Enliven Health and Wellness. She is a Fellow with the Acupuncture and TCM Board of Reproductive Medicine. (https://aborm.org) If you are struggling with infertility in San Antonio, TX, call Enliven Health and Wellness today for a Free Fertility Acupuncture Consultation. If you are not in SA Bethany can work with you to set up a plan of action to help naturally support your fertility goals. Either way we can look a bit deeper into the workings of your body for the underlying causes and start the work of reversing them.
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