Acupuncture and IVF Success

by Veena
(South Africa)

Good day Amelia,
I'm wondering about acupuncture and IVF. I have had 2 IVF treatments and they were not successful. I went to visit my Gynae recently to try IVF again for the 3rd time and he advised me to go for acupunture treatments in conjunction with the IVF cycle.

Prior to my IVF cycles, I was diagnosed with blocked tubes. I had surgery to open the tubes and then it was found that I had an overactive hormone called prolactin. Please advise me how acupunture may help me with this IVF cycle.

Thank you!
Veena

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Acupuncture and IVF
by: Amelia Hirota

Hi Veena,
I'm not sure why your doctor is recommending acupuncture and IVF if you've had surgery to open your tubes. It seems to me if your surgery was successful and your fallopian tubes are open, then IVF is unnecessary.

It does seems like high prolactin may be your problem. What is the level? I believe that high prolactin is a big player in unexplained infertility. It's extremely important that the high prolactin be addressed before doing, yet another, IVF cycle, even if you add acupuncture to the mix.

I would recommend that you work your acupuncturist and herbalist for 6 months to prepare your body for conception. Once your body is balanced and nourished, the prolactin will come down. I believe that the hormonal drugs used in IVF upset the hormonal balance of the body and often times they are the culprit in raising prolactin. Do not take more drugs (i.e. Bromocriptine) to bring down the prolactin.

Just adding acupuncture to an IVF cycle that may not be indicated for your presentation will not change much. It's important for you to address what's going on with your body. I would be interested to learn your prolactin level, number of eggs retrieved per IVF cycle and fertilization percentage. Also, any sperm numbers that you have may help us understand why you're not getting pregnant.

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