So you’re trying to conceive. You’ve been tracking your cycle. You’re watching for signs of ovulation. You’ve had timed intercourse. There’s no reason you shouldn’t have conceived already, but it’s been over a year and you’re starting to feel worried. Your doctor says most likely everything is fine but refers you to a fertility specialist. At this point, you’re so excited to finally get things moving, you phone them right away. But you call several times and finally end up leaving a voicemail. Then, not only does it take several days for them to get back to you, but the next available appointment is 4 months out. You feel like you’ve already been waiting a lifetime for this, and the idea of waiting another four months is intolerable. Let’s talk about how we can wok on optimizing your fertility!
DOES ANY OF THIS SOUND FAMILIAR TO YOU?
If it does, you are not alone. Many of my patients share this story at their initial consultation. One of the most frustrating things about infertility is the waiting; month after month of trying can feel incredibly frustrating.
But what I have discovered is that in the 3-4 month waitlist time, there is a lot you can do to optimize your fertility using the many tools employed here at Acubalance. We can regulate your cycle, reduce pain, improve egg quality, and optimize endometrial lining. We can work on other health parameters too, such as sleep, energy levels, digestion, anxiety, pain, and inflammation.
Recruitment window
In some ways, the 3-month fertility clinic waitlist seemed like a cosmic gift. It just so happens that the ideal time for optimizing egg and sperm quality is approximately 100-120 days. This window is called the recruitment period. It’s the time during which the eggs are developing from their primordial state to full maturation, and the sperm is produced. It’s during this time that we have the most opportunity to optimize their quality.
So if you are looking at the calendar and feeling helpless, there is a lot you can do. We can use this time to optimize your fertility to improve your chances of pregnancy and of course a healthy baby.
Here are some of the many ways we can help support and optimize fertility while you wait for your first appointment at the fertility clinic.
ACUPUNCTURE:
There are several mechanisms by which acupuncture supports fertility treatment. It moderates the autonomic nervous system, stimulates endorphins, modulates hormones, and gates out pain signals. By stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, the acupuncture has the effect of inducing extra blood flow into the pelvic basin to irrigate your reproductive organs with lots of oxygenated arterial blood. Using acupuncture, we can balance your hormones to regulate your cycle, and optimize egg quality. The happy side benefit is a reduction in anxiety, improved sleep, and increased energy.
LOW-LEVEL LIGHT THERAPY (LLLT)
Laser therapy uses red and infrared light to improve fertility in a couple of ways. Firstly, the photons in the light interact with specific parts of the cell to reduce inflammation. It interrupts the inflammatory process at the cellular level. It’s been used for years for sports injuries for this reason: it reduces inflammation and improves mitochondrial activity to speed healing. When applied to fertility, these effects are potent in improving the quality of the egg cell by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress in the egg.
Another thing the laser is doing is strongly inducing blood flow to the local area. Again, more healthy blood means better quality lining and eggs.
SUPPLEMENTS/NUTRITION
There are a number of supplements I recommend for my patients every day. If you are trying to conceive, we want to improve your overall health in order to improve your fertility. That’s why I also support my patients with internal medicine as well, from nutrition and sleep to supplements specific for optimizing fertility. Check out my top 3 here.
If you have any questions about your specific health picture, call Acubalance today and book a free 15-minute discovery call. I’m always available for a chat.