Fertility Options Coach

Alternative medicine is a very broad field. There are treatments that have stood the test of time and have been proven safe for hundreds or thousands of years. There are other treatments that have been proven safe and effective in studies funded by prestigious institutions like the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Unfortunately there are also dangerous treatments and providers who are unsafe.

The nutrition industry alone is estimated to be worth $25.7 billion dollars a year. Clearly there is big money to be made from even poorly studied herbs and supplements—and even from substances we know have no effect or are even dangerous. In some cases (particularly in weight loss and body building) very dubious substances are marketed as health building. Not only are some of these substances unlikely to help you, some of them can kill you. Never take a supplement until you know what its history is.

When choosing a practitioner of any kind there are several things to keep in mind. The same rules apply to choosing a medical doctor, a naturopath, a massage therapist, or an acupuncturist.

*Do you feel comfortable with this person? If you get bad vibes, find someone else.

*What are their credentials? You want someone who has been properly educated and knows the risks of treatment as well as the potential benefits.

*How long have they been practicing? If they are new, is there an experienced practitioner keeping tabs on them? One of the best doctors I have had looked like he had just finished Junior High School. He knew his stuff, talked to me like I was a real person, and listened to my concerns. The fact that he was new meant that he was up-to-date on recent research and willing to try new things.

*Can you ask them anything and get a complete answer?

*Do they understand your health needs? You are unique and PCOS is complicated. If they don’t know at least as much as you do, are they willing to learn?

*Do they practice good cleanliness rules for patient interaction? Whether a doctor or an acupuncturist, you need to know that they are washing their hands, wearing gloves, and using clean needles!

*Do they offer references? Find out if they are for real or if they just talk a good talk.

In the end, the person you choose as your guide in the infertility journey as key to your success as well as your emotional health throughout the process. Studies show that your trust in the practitioner is sometimes even more important to successful treatment than the actual treatment.

Chronic, hidden inflammation is quickly becoming the most talked about medical phenomenon as study after study shows that inflammation is at the root of some kinds of infertility, PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), heart disease, weight gain, diabetes, certain cancers, asthma and a host of auto-immune diseases. If you have PCOS or unexplained infertility, you may find that an anti-inflammation diet reduces your symptoms and increases your fertility. Dr. Sears, the well-known author of the bestselling Zone books has written a comprehensive explanation of how foods cause the diseases we are now seeing in epidemic proportions. Better yet, he explains how we can simply and easily treat these problems by changing what we eat.

Includes recipes, a gentle exercise program, and loads of references to the studies on which he bases his conclusions. Reducing inflammation is the key to treating the diseases we are all interested in preventing. Inflammation may also be at the root of many cases of infertility. Chronic inflammation can interfere with hormone production, cause swelling and circulation problems for the ovaries and other organs, and lead to auto-immune diseases such as celiac disease and thyroid problems.

Well-written in an easy to understand manner as are his other books, this one seems to have worked out some of the kinks in his earlier systems. Eating an anti-inflammatory diet makes it much, much easier to lose weight and restore your health. It seems so simple couldn’t be true, but the science is there to back it up. Eating this way can reduce cholesterol, reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, and improve your overall health. The healthier you are the better your fertility. Many studies have linked PCOS to chronic inflammation. Future studies will undoubtedly prove that inflammation is at the root of many other cases of infertility. Highly recommended!

Are you considering in vitro fertlization (IVF) or other expensive fertility treatments? With the cost of even one round of IVF running as high as $10,000-15,000 many couples are simply priced out of the market. Some of those couples are turning to travel to solve their fertility issues at a fraction of the cost.

One fertility clinic in Mumbai, India, offers a single round of IVF for a mere $3,000. Even adding in the cost of drugs ($800 versus $1500 for the exact same drugs in the US) a $1,200 plan ticket, 10-14 days of hotel accomodations and freezing of any excess embryos, the total cost would be less than $7,000 for the same treatment offered in the US. Don’t want to travel to India for the procedure? Consider Australia, Canada or the United Kingdom where government health care keeps costs down.

While the procedures are exactly the same, the costs vary widely due to many factors. Malpractice insurance in the US is very expensive. Doctors in the US are also free to charge what the market will bear without government interference. Finally, drugs are often offered much less expensively in other countries – even when they are produced by the same manufacturer.

Here are some things to consider if you are thinking about fertility tourism:

* Ask a lot of questions. Be sure you understand exactly what you are paying for and what the doctor or clinic’s success rate is.

* Talk to others who have used the same clinic. Ask for references.

* Understand how treatments may differ. For instance, in the US, Australia, Canada and the UK, doctors are limited in the number of embryos they can transfer in one procedure. This limits the risk of multple births and the attendant risks to mother and babies when more than two babies are carried. Doctors in India are free to use their own judegement about the number of embryos they transfer. This can increase the cance of pregnancy in difficult cases, but it can also lead to the heartbreaking need to selectively reduce the number of embryos if more than two implant.

* Consider whether you are comfortable with foreign travel or travel to a particular destination. While the idea of a vacation is appealing, it can be really unpleasant to be far from home and possibly alone while you go through the emotional roller coaster of fertility drugs(you can bring frozen sperm with your for the procedure if your spouse can’t travel).

There are a lot of good things about having an IUI or intruterine insemination. You know the sperm is getting where it needs to be. You know the timing is right. You are avoiding all the issues with a difficult cervix or having the wrong vaginal PH. On the other hand, you just don’t expect to be trying to conceive a child with your feet in stirrups and two other women in the room.

I will never forget my first IUI. My doctor assured me that it would be much, much easier than the HSG (hysterosalpongogram) they had used to check for blockages in my tubes. I told him the HSG tech said my cervix was difficult. He said they’d use ultrasound to guide the way and that it would not hurt as much. Mostly he lied.

For one thing, my doctor didn’t perform the procedure. It was performed by two super nice nurses. They asked me to identify the donor sample we were to use. I said I’d never seen it before, but hey, looks like sperm to me. They asked me to check the numbers on the syringe and the numbers on the form I had to sign. Yup, looks like sperm to me.

They didn’t use ultrasound either. Don’t know if that would have helped, but for me the worst of it seems to happen when they are trying to find the opening to my cervix. Seems mine is never in the right spot. It took a long time for them to get the right size speculum in the right spot to see where they were going. I don’t want to scare anyone, because from what I hear mine was far, far worse than average (as usual). But this was not fun.

Once they figured out where to go, the insemination itself was a breeze. Then the cramping started. I had to stay on my back for 20 minutes while “gravity” did its thing. They tilted the edge of the table up in the air and left the room. I shifted, squirmed, cried, and tapped my feet for 20 minutes while I begged these anonymous sperm to swim the right direction despite my cramping uterus. My husband said, “Don’t worry, labor will be a lot worse.” He is a very, very lucky man. If I had not been afraid of losing $300 worth of donor sperm I might have broken my vow of non-violence.

Since that first time, I have had three more IUI. None of them have worked for me, but at least the next three were much more comfortable. I had a different doctor and she actually did the procedure instead of passing it off to nurses.

Studies have shown that IUI in conjunction with other treatements can improve your odds of conceiving.

Diabetes can contribute to infertility for both men and women. Controlling diabetes seems to mitigate the fertility challenges and improve outcomes for pregnancy.

Recent studies have linked diabetes with male infertility. Uncontrolled diabetes seems to damage the DNA in sperm cells and cause fertility problems, including a higher rate of miscarriage due to genetic problems.

Women with uncontrolled diabetes are more likely to have fertility problems as well. Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common causes of infertility and is associated with impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. Many women with PCOS are also diabetic or pre-diabetic. When insulin resistance is controlled through diet, exercise and in some cases use of diabetes drugs such as metformin (sold under the name Glucophage) fertility tends to improve. For women with diabetes, good blood sugar control improves pregnancy rates and the success rate of pregnancy.

Once a woman becomes pregnant, diabetes or gestational diabetes (triggered by pregnancy) can lead to an increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth and birth defects. High blood sugar levels can also lead to larger than average birth weight and respiratory distress after birth. When diabetes is well-managed, many of these effects can be controlled as well.

If you have diabetes, or suspect that you may have insulin resistance or pre-diabetes, talk to your doctor about what you can do to improve your blood sugar and insulin levels. Most often doctors recommend a combination of diet, exercise and medication to control diabetes. If you are pregnant, it is important to talk to your doctor about diabetes as early as possible to prevent problems.