TCM-Herbs

[Anonymous]

I've just finished a second unsuccessful round of Bravelle with TI. I've been seeing an acupuncturist and getting treatment once a week for about 4 months now. I've decided to add herbs to the mix of treatments for a few months before my husband and I move on to IVF. I see both an RE and an acupuncturist.

Background: I just turned 41. I was pregnant last summer (the old fashioned way with the help of acupuncture) and had to terminate due to anencephaly last summer. I haven't been able to get pregnant again. My FSH has varied between 4.7 and 7.7 over the last 18 months. My estrogen is steady at 36-37. I respond just fine to the stims. I'm in good shape, eat right, exercise, etc. My husband doesn't have any issues.

I was wondering what other's experiences with the herbs were. Did you find that the herbs helped lower FSH? Did anyone get pregnant on their own before they did IVF or IUI? Did the herbs help you respond better to the stims? Overall, if you did herbs and then did some sort of ART, did you get pregnant and do you believe that the TCM helped?

TIA.

[Anonymous]

I didn't do ART so I can't help you with those questions, but I did take TCM herbs along with acupuncture. I am 39. We tried a few months on our own without success, then I started acupuncture and herbs and got pregnant the next cycle. If/when I am looking to get pregnant again, I would take the herbs again in a heartbeat. HTH

[Anonymous]

I'm interested in what others say about the herbs - I've hear some success stories, but it is always hard to know whether the success is because of some treatment or because someone's body decided to produce a good egg that month (e.g. random luck). To the PP - who did you use for TCM?

To the OP, it sounds like your issue is finding an egg that is both genetically normal and has strong enough mitrochondria (sp?) to divide, implant and thrive. So that means maximizing the number of eggs you produce each month and finding one that is good, e.g. using high tech methods. What is good is that you've gotten pregnant on your own fairly recently, and you respond well to stims. If I were in your shoes, and had the money or insurance coverage, I would go to one of the out-of-town clinics that is doing cgh/microarray genetic testing (CCRM and SIRM are the two that I know of). I would do several rounds of IVF, freezing and banking the embryos while the samples are sent off for genetic testing. If you respond well to the drugs, with a couple rounds you should be able to get at least one or two normal embryos, and your chances of success with those will be good. (And, if you're lucky, you may have one left over in the freezer for a potential sibling.)

I've heard that GIFT is doing some sort of testing locally, but I don't know if they do vitrification (quick freeze) of the embryos, which is necessary for a high success rate because you don't want to lose a good embryo using the normal freezing methods.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I don't have fabulous insurance coverage. My plan covers the meds and the monitoring, but no ART. If we go to IVF we would be paying out of pocket. We have some money(not unlimited) set aside for it.

PP-I'm curious as to why you suggest that I should have all sorts of genetic testing done. We had an analysis done after we terminated and the chromosomes were all normal. Anencephaly, or any neural tube defect, is not something that they can test for. I have been put on mega doses of folic plus a prenatal vitamin to prevent the anencephaly from happening again. Because I have had one NTD pregnancy I am at a higher risk for another, but that is not something that can be determined ahead of time. I know at 41 I am at a higher risk for all the chromosomal abnormalities too, but as I understand it, they don't routinely do PGD unless there is a specific genetic issue, even for women over 40. I had genetic testing before I got pregnant and I am not a carrier for any genetic diseases. (I'm Jewish so there was a chance I had one of those issues)

I was just asking for other's experience with the herbs. I have some experience with acupuncture alone, as I did get pregnant the last time after about 4-5 months of acupuncture treatments.