Recent Studies on Primary Ovarian Insufficiency Show Promising Results from Alternative Therapies
Photo credit: Ana Shvets
A women is deem of advance maternal age at the youthful age of 35. It seems hard to believe but the symphony of follicular development, ovulation and menstruation or pregnancy all start to change around the age of 35.
By the age of 40 there are significant changes in ovarian function. If a women’s ovaries stop functioning as they should before 40 years of age, we consider her to be have primary ovarian insufficiency (POI). The term premature ovarian failure (POF) is more commonly used but in recent years this has been replaced with POI, because the term is not considered acute.
In this instance the ovaries are not failing. In fact, they are working but they are working inconsistently and unreliably for the women’s age. One of the key elements is the POI women is that she is almost always still producing estrogen. This means she will still have a menstrual cycle though it might not be as consistent or her blood flow could be scanty.
Photo credit: Cliff Booth
Due to lower estrogen levels she might experience any number of symptoms including irregular cycles, hot flashes, difficulty conceiving, dryness of her skin, eyes or vaginal area, reduced libdo and difficulty concentrating.
Causes for POI are not clear but are thought to include genetic issues, side effects from surgeries, after effects from chemotherapy or radiation, autoimmune issues including Addison’s disease or thyroid disease, environmental, unhealthy lifestyle and stress.
The current treatment for POI is hormone replacement therapy (HRT) which can help dramatically with symptoms. Though there is concern that years of HRT can put a women at increased risk for blood clots, breast and endometrial cancers.
There is Hope
Here is were complementary medicine can shine again. In 2022 a NIH review of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) studies on POI show great promise from CAM therapies.
Numerous studies show treating POI with acupuncture, Chinese herbs, exercise, dietary changes and psychotherapy with excellent results. Improvements were seen not only relief of symptoms like hot flashes and low libdo but also in measurable hormonal markers.
There have been several studies showing that combining acupuncture and Chinese herbal therapy improved hormone levels more than the traditional treatment of estrogen and progesterone. In a 2019 Dr Li Huang,et al., found that after 3 months of acupuncture and Chinese herbal therapy, significant improvements in 95% of the treatment group in FSH, E2 levels as well as improving the thickness of the uterine lining aka endometrial thickness.
In my own practice I have seen women diagnosed with POI make radical shifts in their symptoms and stabilize their ovulation so that potential conception is much quicker. Often they have what is deemed on of the most important factors in conception: they are a younger age.
Acupuncture and herbs can be an essential tool in helping you restore balance and optimal health to your reproductive system. While acupuncture isn’t a guarantee, it can play an important role in getting you to the goal line of a healthy pregnancy and baby.
In one of my personal cases, I saw a 32 year old women who had no history of ever conceiving. After several years of trying she went to a reproductive endocrinologist once her periods started to become irregular. Sadly, when her hormone panel came back, her anti mullerian hormone (AMH) came back at a .06. Anything under a 1 is sub optimal. The RE told her she would likely never conceive with her own eggs.
Understandably she was devastated. She was told her best option would be an egg donor in conjunction with an IVF cycle. She came to me to see if there was anything we could do. Over the next 6 months we worked on regulating her cycle and optimizing her hormones. Once her periods started to flow regularly, with a healthy blood flow and no pain, I sent her back to her RE to get a check up. An ultra sound revealed 6 follicles growing on CD 4. This was great news and with the following cycle she did an egg retrieval and ended up with three embryos.
On her first frozen embryo transfer she got pregnant and 9 months later delivered a health son. This is not always the case but it can and does happen. With changes in your diet, Vitamin D status, adding herbs and acupuncture, you can improve your chances of creating a family with your own eggs.
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.
