Tag Archive for: IVF

Top IVF Questions -- Ask the Reproductive Endocrinologist

Ask the Reproductive Endocrinologist: Top IVF Questions

IVF can be a confusing process to navigate, and our patients often think of questions to ask their IVF doctors after their visit.

We asked reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Gaya Murugappan of Spring Fertility Silicon Valley to answer some of our most frequently asked questions about IVF.

Q: Why are birth control pills part of my IVF medications?

For some patients, your doctor may recommend birth control pills as part of preparation for an IVF cycle to synchronize the growth of your follicles.

Q: I’m not ready to have kids now – is egg freezing really a viable option?

If you are not ready for pregnancy, egg freezing is a treatment that may increase your chance of pregnancy at a later time. The success of egg freezing, or your chance of having a baby using frozen eggs, varies based on each patient’s age and clinical history.

Q What about airline travel around transfers?. How long should I wait after transfer until I can travel and how far is it ok to travel?

There is no evidence that air travel impacts success rates after an embryo transfer.

If you choose to travel, we recommend staying well hydrated and stretching your legs intermittently. We also recommend familiarizing yourself with options for medical care at your destination should you require an evaluation in early pregnancy.

Q: How many blastocysts is good to have if I plan on having two children?

Each euploid or chromosomally normal blastocyst has a 65% chance of resulting in a baby after transfer. We recommend 2 euploid blastocysts per desired child.

Q: Why does my doctor not remove my cysts before the embryo transfer?

Ovarian cysts are very common and the majority resolve without any intervention. If you have a cyst, this will be evaluated on an individual basis by your physician to determine the impact, if any, on your fertility treatment.

Q: Is 35 really too old to try and conceive naturally?

Approximately 50% of women who are 35 years old will conceive naturally after trying for 6 months.

Q: Would my RE change my medication protocol every time I do an egg retrieval?

After every treatment cycle, your doctor will evaluate and make modifications if necessary.

Q: Is OHSS really a concern?

The risk of OHSS, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, depends on your age, number of follicles, number of eggs retrieved, and whether or not you will be undergoing a frozen embryo transfer. Your physician will tailor your medication doses and IVF protocol to minimize your risk of OHSS.

At Lokahi Acupuncture, we have more than 20 years of experience working with local IVF clinics and reproductive endocrinologists. If you have additional questions you’d like answered, please let us know and we would be happy to reach out to local RE’s.

Anna Rudel
San Jose Acupuncturist
408.279.9001
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Nutrition for IVF | Acupuncture and IVF San Jose

Nutrition for IVF

3 Nutrition Goals when Pursuing IVF

Prior to and during an IVF cycle, there are 3 major goals when it comes to nutrition.

  • Replenish with key nutrients
  • Support stable blood sugar
  • Reduce inflammation

Attention to nutrition offers best possible IVF outcomes due to the impact on egg quality, sperm health, uterine lining, hormone signaling and more. The benefits impact you beyond IVF. You also maintain mom’s future health throughout pregnancy and postpartum, and lay the foundation for a healthy baby.

It’s a great idea to be conscientious about your nutrition at least 3 months before starting fertility medications. Then throughout the IVF cycle, each of the 3 nutrition goals must be addressed: replenish key nutrients; support stable blood sugar; and reduce inflammation.

Replenish with key nutrients

In the weeks leading up to egg retrieval, replenishing key nutrients tops the list of the 3 nutrition goals. While a good-quality prenatal supplement is a good idea, also focus on nutrients from fresh food.

Amp up your diet by including:

  1. A wide diversity of vegetables helps to ensure you’re getting a wide spectrum of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients to prepare your body for the nutrient-intensive journey to come. Make it a goal to incorporate dark leafy greens and seasonal produce every day.
  2. Omega-3 fats from cold-water fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring), oysters, flaxseeds, chia seeds and pastured eggs.

Some key nutrients come from animal sources, so if you’re a vegetarian or vegan, we suggest seeking the support of a nutritionist.

Reduce inflammation

Leading up to and through transfer is the time to place extra attention on reducing inflammation in the body. Excess, chronic inflammation leads to high output of cortisol, the stress hormone. Cortisol disrupts hormone balance, egg maturation, as well as implantation.

In addition to actively incorporating a diversity of seasonal vegetables and sources of omega-3 fats:

  1. Avoid processed and fried food as much as possible. Packaged food is an unfortunate source of chemical additives and industrial vegetable oils, and fried food also delivers a dose oftrans fats. Cooking at home or selective sourcing of meals is the best way to avoid these inflammatory ingredients.
  2. Reduce refined sugar. Excess sugar is known to be inflammatory for anyone, and not only problematic for those with metabolic conditions like PCOS or diabetes. Instead, experiment with including a portion of sweet whole foods into your meals. For example, sweet potato, beets, carrots, butternut squash and seasonal fruit.
  3. Reduce gluten and dairy. They’re known to be inflammatory for many, and while you may not need to remove them entirely, you can benefit from minimizing them on your plate. For example, instead of a sandwich, toss the same fixings on a bed of quinoa and leafy greens. If you had cheese on the sandwich, add vitamin and mineral-rich avocado instead.

Support stable blood sugar

Blood sugar that stays relatively stable throughout the day is optimal for health, especially during an IVF cycle. Otherwise, extreme dips and spikes in blood sugar negatively affect IVF outcomes, in part due the impact on hormone balance and inflammation which have implications on egg quality and implantation.

A couple key principals do wonders to help keep blood sugar relatively stable: 

  1. Eat regular meals. An IVF cycle is not the time to skip meals. Rather, have breakfast within 90 minutes of waking up or soon after morning physical activity. Eat a satiating meal midday and again in the evening at least 2-3 hours before bedtime. If there’s longer than 6 hours between meals, be sure to have a snack as well.
  2. Fill your plate with PFF, that’s protein, healthy fats and fiber. These combine to slow the impact of higher-glycemic foods on your blood sugar. Protein can come from animal or plant sources. Healthy fats include avocado, olives, coconut, olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, nuts, seeds and organic dairy. For fiber, think about adding a plant, especially a vegetable to your plate. Each time you eat, do a check for PFF.

Bonnie Burgess - Burgess WellnessIf you are interested in nutrition support for IVF, but have more questions, we encourage you to reach out for a free consultation with Bonnie at Burgess Wellness. Bonnie is a holistic functional nutritionist who specializes in women’s health, and a trusted partner of Lokahi Acupuncture.

Bio:

Bonnie is a holistic functional nutritionist who specializes in women’s health and fertility including patients undergoing ART. She uses a “food first” approach to determine individual nutritional needs coupled with lifestyle modifications and possible nutrient supplementation. Bonnie lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where she serves an international client base through a 100% virtual consultancy at Burgess Wellness.

 

 

Acupuncture for IVF - Your Top Questions Answered

Acupuncture for IVF – Your Top Questions Answered

Acupuncture has been used for decades to support IVF treatments.

Here are our most commonly asked questions:

1. Do I really need acupuncture if I am doing IVF?

The reason many Reproductive Endocrinologists recommend acupuncture for IVF is they want their patients to succeed in becoming pregnant. Acupuncture is an adjunct therapy that optimizes the chances of achieving pregnancy. Acupuncture increases blood flow to the uterus and reproductive organs, reduces stress, and minimizes the side effects of medication.

2. How many acupuncture treatments will it take to work?

We typically recommend 12 treatments before the IVF procedure, with a minimum of two treatments per week for the 4 weeks leading up to the retrieval itself. The purpose of acupuncture for IVF is to optimize the quality and quantity of eggs for retrieval, and to prepare the body for transfer.

3. Does acupuncture hurt?

Acupuncture should not be painful at all. Acupuncturists are trained to insert sterilized, hair-thin needles into the skin in a way that can be hardly perceived. Sometimes it may feel like a mosquito is biting. Receiving an acupuncture treatment for IVF is typically a very relaxing experience, one that induces many patients to fall asleep, or experience a deep sense of rest and relaxation.

4. Can I have acupuncture without the needles?

Acupuncture, by definition, involves the insertion of hair-thin needles. A professional will insert the needles without pain, ensuring the patient has a relaxing experience.

5. Where will you put the needles?

One of the amazing things about acupuncture is that there are many, many options for where to place needles. Typically to support the stimulation part of IVF, we insert needles in the abdomen, over the uterus and ovaries. Additional needles are placed on the body to support as needed.

6. Can acupuncture hurt my chances of conceiving?

Acupuncture for IVF is an extremely low risk treatment. An acupuncturist specializing in fertility is trained specifically on optimizing, rather than negatively affecting, the chances of pregnancy.

Quality fertility specialists not only works in tandem with local IVF doctors, but they’re also familiar with the IVF protocols and medications, what they do and how they make patients feel. They understand the nuances and intricacies of IVF, and work with patients to support them through the process.

If you are interested in acupuncture for IVF, but have more questions, we encourage you to reach out and schedule a complimentary online consultation.

As fertility specialists, we believe that if you are going to spend the time, energy and money to come and work with us, you deserve to have every opportunity to succeed in becoming pregnant.

We invite you to make an appointment or speak to one of our fertility specialists.

Anna Rudel
San Jose Acupuncturist
408.279.9001
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5 ways Acupuncture can help you with IVF

5 Ways Acupuncture Can Help You With IVF

For some people wanting to have a baby, IVF may be the only option.

Reproductive Endocrinologists know that acupuncture improves IVF outcomes. Here’s why they refer patients to acupuncturists, like Lokahi Acupuncture, who specialize in fertility medicine:

1.   Acupuncture increases blood flow to the ovaries

Correct placement of the acupuncture needles has been shown to increase blood flow to internal organs. With increased blood flow to the ovaries, nutrients are delivered and blood flow is optimized.

Since IVF medications are used to stimulate the ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible, acupuncture helps make sure that the ovaries are able to do what the medication is asking of them.

2.   Acupuncture supports egg development

By improving ovarian function, acupuncture supports the body to produce the best possible eggs. IVF stimulation requires the body to produce as many eggs as it can.

While nothing can increase the number of eggs you were born with, acupuncture can help make sure that what you do have is the best quality it can be. The IVF medications bring the eggs to the surface and get them growing; the acupuncture shunts blood and energy to the growing eggs, supporting the quality.

3.   Acupuncture increases blood flow to the uterus

By increasing blood flow to the uterus, acupuncture treatment during the transfer phase of an IVF cycle ensures the endometrial lining is as hospitable as possible for the implantation of the embryo. Blood flow brings with it nutrients as well as plumping the uterine lining to be thick enough to support implantation.

Typically, acupuncture treatment specifically working on this would happen in conjunction with IVF stimulation medications prior to retrieval and then continue until just before transfer.

4.   Acupuncture helps minimize the side effects of IVF medication

IVF medication can have uncomfortable side effects such as anxiety, bloating, night sweats, breast tenderness, headaches and mood changes. Acupuncture helps mediate and minimize side effects, making for a more pleasant experience. As one of our local Reproductive Endocrinologists put it, “patients just do better with acupuncture”.

5.   Acupuncture reduces stress

With the combination of hormonal treatment and the busy IVF schedule, this can be a very stressful time. Acupuncture promotes relaxation in the body, calms the nervous system and allows you to experience the journey in a better headspace.

As fertility specialists, we believe that if you are going to spend the time, energy and money to come and work with us, you deserve to have every opportunity to succeed in becoming pregnant. We invite you to make an appointment or speak to one of our fertility specialists.

For further information and sources, consider reading research papers by Lee Hollender Rubin, Aaron B. Caughey, Michael S. Opsahl and Klaus Weimer Impact of Whole Systems Traditional Chinese Medicine on In Vitro Fertilization Outcomes

Anna Rudel
San Jose Acupuncturist
408.279.9001
Follow us on Instagram
Make an Appointment