Herbs for conception?

[Anonymous]

Any over 40s NOT have luck w/ traditional methods (IUI, IVF), but have luck w/ Chinese herbs? I am going to a Hopkins doctor who thinks she can help me using what is called Integrated Medicine, which combines eastern and western medicine. Stories please!!! Am trying to decide after several miscarriages (some via IUI) whether to go IVF or try this less invasive route.

[Anonymous]

my sister had success with this. she went to a nutritionist/acupunturist/herbalist in NYC (of course!) and got pregnant within 2-3 months. she swears it was the herbs and cutting back on gluten, but who knows. i'll find out herbs she took and will report back. (she was in her late 30s.)

[Anonymous]

WOW! I am interested in this too. Please let us know. I appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

OP here - 9:21 poster - please share when you find out! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

maca root helps with libido for both you and your partner.

[Anonymous]

well, i finally talked to my sister. unfortunately she didn't know the name of the herbs b/c the woman custom-made this herbal powder for my sister.
sorry this wasn't helpful.

i went to an acupuncturist/herbalist in mcpherson square. gui fan-chen. i thought she was really good, but her bedside manner was lacking.

[Anonymous]

Anyone else have knowledge? Know about successes?

[Anonymous]

I am investigating an acupuncturist/chinese medicine specialist in Fairfax who I have only heard good things about. I plan to give him a try. His information is:
<www.northernvaacupuncture.com>

[Anonymous]

I am TTC (late 30's) and went to a naturopath/midwife for a preconception consultation. She is having my take chaste berry pills for the first half of my cycle and gave me a progesterone cream for the second have and to continue using after conception. I'll let you know next month how it works. She said it will help regulate my cycle and the progesterone will also help with the uterus lining and help the baby to "stick" later on.

[Anonymous]

Poster 17:47 - I am starting the treatment with Dr. Eugene Zhang too. Hope he will help both of us.

[Anonymous]

I don't know anything about Chinese herbs, but have you looked into CoQ10. It is one of the few supplements that is showing real promise in studies, improving egg quality at the mitochondrial level. DHEA is another, but I would not take that unless under medical supervision.

CoQ10 is supposed to take several months to have any effect, but I got pregnant on my first cycle using it. Almost certainly coincidence, b/c I don't believe it can improve egg quality that fast, but after doing some research, it was the one supplement that seemed (to me) to really be worth trying.

This was a few months shy of my 40th birthday, on a natural, med-free cycle, after several failed IUI cycles (BFN or chemical pgs) & while contemplating whether to move on to IVF.

It also depends on how far "over 40" you are, your personality, and whether you are willing to give the herbs a couple of months to work, or whether the clock is ticking too loudly for you to wait that long. I felt I could give it a month or two, to get myself "back to normal" after the IUI cycles & meds while TTC on my own, but that after that, I wanted to go to IVF. I was interested in eastern approaches but I didn't know if I would have the patience to give something several months to work.

[Anonymous]

how much did you take and how often? any particular brand?

[Anonymous]

13:19, if you are asking about CoQ10, I took 400-600mg/day, some in the morning and some in the evening. The recommended dose to improve egg quality is 400-800mg daily. I think I took a generic brand of softgels; they are somewhat expensive but I felt it was worth a try. It is usually sold as a heart-health supplement so likely to say that on the label.

Here is the abstract of the study I found interesting.

[O-105] CO-ENZYME Q10 SUPPLEMENTATION IMPROVES OVARIAN RESPONSE AND MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION IN AGED MICE.

E. Burstein, A. Perumalsamy, Y. Bentov, N. Esfandiari, A. Jurisicova, R. F. Casper Obstetrics and Gynecology, Samuel Lunenfeld Institute of Research, Toronto, ON, Canada; Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, TCART, Toronto, ON, Canada

OBJECTIVE: Increased maternal age is accompanied by changes in metabolic activity of oocytes. As mitochondria are exclusively maternally inherited, alterations in their activity may severely compromise future embryo development. The objective was to compare the effects of maternal treatment with CoQ10, resveratrol or R-alpha lipoic acid (ALA), known mitochondrial nutrients, on MMP, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial DNA copy number in oocytes from aged ICR mice with placebo treated (aged control) or 10 week old (young control) mice.
DESIGN: Randomized placebo-controlled in-vivo study.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retired breeder (8 month old) ICR female mice (n = 40) were randomized to receive coQ10, resveratrol, R-ALA or vehicle alone via SC injections for the period of 18 weeks. Upon completion of treatment, mice were subjected to superovulation with gonadotropins, and oocytes were analyzed for mitochondrial membrane potential (JC1) and accumulation of ROS (H2DCFDA). The fluorescence of both dyes was analyzed using a deconvolution microscope and fluorescent signal was quantitated using the Delta Vision software (Silicon Graphics). Absolute mitochondrial DNA copy number was obtained by real-time PCR. All values were compared to oocytes obtained from young mice.
RESULTS: Compared to aged controls, CoQ10 treatment significantly increased the number of ovulated oocytes (11.7 vs. 19.2) while R-ALA and resveratrol had no significant effect. Oocyte MMP (JC1 red to green ratio) was reduced and ROS levels were significantly increased by coQ10 treatment to levels comparable to those detected in the young oocytes. These parameters were not affected by the treatment with resveratrol or R-ALA. In addition, mitochondrial DNA copy number was elevated in old mice, CoQ10 treated females oocytes had lower mitochondrial copy number albeit still significantly higher than those found in the young oocytes (p]0.05).<
CONCLUSIONS: CoQ10 supplementation appears to improve ovarian response and oocyte mitochondrial function in old mice.
Supported by: CIHR


Oral Presentation: The Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility

[Anonymous]

OP: Could you share the name of the Hopkins doctor you're seeing? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I went to Dr. Arthur Fan when I was 42 and he gave me acupunture and capsule herbs and a tea for my husband. I don't attribute my pregnancy to either (we got pregnant the same week we started, before my husband had the tea) but I did like Dr. Fan. He does prescribe a special blend of herbs. I will say the continuing question from doctors was why I had taken these strange capsules, no English on the bottle, and worried they'd hurt the baby. I didn't know I was PG while taking them - RE's say I would never conceive and was beginning acupuncture before trying IVF.
www.chinesemedicinedoctor.us/