infertility – American Institute of Acupuncture

The Treatment of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) with Traditional Chinese Medicine

yungcin — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 00:25:35 +0000

Overview of Healthy Ovarian Physiology

The ovaries are two organs on each side of the woman’s uterus which contain follicles, tiny fluid filled sacs (also called cysts), that hold the eggs. Each month approximately twenty eggs start to mature but usually only one egg fully matures; when the fully mature egg is ready, the follicle breaks open to release it. The fully mature egg then travels through the fallopian tube to the uterus for fertilization and implantation.

Overview of Women with PCOS
In women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), the ovary doesn’t make all of the hormones it needs for any of the eggs to fully mature. Follicles may start to grow and build up fluid but no one follicle becomes large enough. Instead, some follicles may remain as sacs/cysts. Since no follicle becomes large enough and no egg matures or is released, ovulation does not occur.

The distinctive appearance of PCOS is a thick, shiny, white coating overlying many rows of cysts on the surface of the ovary. These ovarian changes give PCOS its name (“poly” = many, “cystic” = cysts). PCOS is believed to be the most common hormonal abnormality in women of reproductive age and affects approximately 1 in 10 women (an estimated 5 to 7 million women in the United States).

Have you been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome?
Call Acuherb Clinic for your free 15 minute consultation.
281-461-6499

What are the Causes of PCOS?

The cause(s) of PCOS is unknown at this time; research suggests that many women with this condition may have decreased sensitivity to insulin. When cells are resistant to insulin it means that the effect of insulin on sugar, and other functions, is deficient. More insulin than normal is required to be produced to ensure that the body cells absorb enough sugar. This leads to high insulin levels in the blood stream which, among other effects, make the ovaries overproduce male hormones, called androgens, leading to hormonal imbalances that lead to symptoms of PCOS.

What are the Signs and Symptoms of PCOS?
PCOS is considered a syndrome because it has a number of unrelated symptoms. For this reason, PCOS often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

Symptoms include:

Irregular menstrual cycle (infrequent menstrual periods, no menstrual periods, and/or irregular bleeding)
Infrequent or no ovulation
Weight gain or obesity
Increased levels of male hormones, called androgens, which may lead to excessive hair growth on the face +/or body (especially the face, chest, abdomen, nipple area, or back)
History of diabetes, over-production of insulin, and inefficient use of insulin in the body
Acne, oily skin, or dandruff
Patches of thickened and dark brown or black skin on the neck, groin, underarms, or skin folds
Skin tags, or tiny excess flaps of skin in the armpits or neck area

How Does PCOS Contribute to Infertility?

In short, if you are not ovulating regularly every month, the chances of fertilizing the egg are reduced. Because the egg is not released, there is no egg ready for fertilization and implantation in the uterus. Because PCOS affects the quality of the follicle and the state of the endometrium, the result will be that menstrual cycles become more erratic and less predictable. Women with PCOS will often very long cycles and very heavy bleeding, amenorrhea (missed periods), or anovulation (no ovulation) with scanty bleeding. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs help to regulate the menstrual cycle and harmonize the hormonal cycles of the body.

How Do Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs Help PCOS?
Acupuncture and Chinese herbs provide a safe, effective, drug-free and natural whole body approach. This natural approach helps strengthen and (re)balance the hormonal systems of the body, encouraging conception and a healthy pregnancy.

Etiology of PCOS in Chinese Medicine

In traditional Chinese medicine, the treatment of PCOS is seen as an excess condition, a deficient condition, or clinically PCOS is seen as more of a combination of both an excess and deficient condition*.

Excess conditions:

Phlegm dampness
Liver qi stasis
Blood stasis

Deficient conditions:

Kidney yang deficiency
Kidney yin deficiency
Spleen qi deficiency

*It is important to note that most women will have both excess and deficient conditions as their root cause of PCOS.

Together with changes in diet and exercise, acupuncture treatments and Chinese herbs are empowering women with PCOS to lead healthier and more satisfying lives. For women trying to become pregnant, either naturally or through IUI/IVF treatments, treating PCOS will help with fertility and overall balance through harmonizing hormones and regulating the menstrual cycle. While there is still no cure for PCOS, the good news is that Chinese medicine offers many effective ways to treat polycystic ovary syndrome!

Hyperthyroidism Workup

yungcin — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:56:52 +0000

Approach Considerations

The most reliable screening measure of thyroid function is TSH level. TSH levels usually are suppressed to immeasurable levels (< 0.05 Â IU/mL) in thyrotoxicosis. Third-generation TSH assays are recommended for screening purposes.

The most specific autoantibody test for autoimmune thyroiditis is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test for anti-TPO antibody.

Hyperthyroidism in older patients often presents with atrial arrhythmias or CHF. Electrocardiography is recommended if an irregular heart rate or CHF is noted upon examination.

TSH and Thyroid Hormone Levels

Although measurement of the TSH level is the most reliable screening method for assessing thyroid function, the degree of thyrotoxicosis cannot be estimated easily in this way; thyrotoxicosis must instead be measured using an assay of thyroid hormone levels in the plasma. Thyroid hormone circulates as T_3Âand T₄, with 99% bound to protein.

Only the free, unbound thyroid hormone is biologically active. T_3Âis 20-100 times more biologically active than T₄. Of patients with thyrotoxicosis, 5% have only elevated T_3Âlevels. Therefore, measuring FT_4Â(and FT₃, Â if FT_4Âlevels are normal) is recommended in patients with suspected thyrotoxicosis when TSH is low.

Many laboratories do not measure free FT_4Âdirectly, instead using a calculation to estimate the FT_4Âlevels. The free thyroxine index (FTI) is equal to total T_4Âmultiplied by the correction for thyroid hormone binding, such as the thyroid hormone ? binding ratio (THBR) or T_3Âresin uptake [T_3ÂRU]). A similar calculation can be used with total T₃.

Subclinical hyperthyroidism is defined as a suppressed TSH level (< 0.5 ?U/mL in many laboratories) in combination with serum concentrations of T₃and T_4Âthat are within the reference range.

Other Laboratory Tests

As previously mentioned, the most specific autoantibody test for autoimmune thyroiditis is an ELISA test for anti-TPO antibody. The titers usually are significantly elevated in the most common type of hyperthyroidism, Graves thyrotoxicosis, and usually are low or absent in toxic multinodular goiter and toxic adenoma. A significant number of healthy people without active thyroid disease have mildly positive TPO antibodies; thus, the test should not be performed for screening purposes.

TSI, if elevated, helps to establish the diagnosis of Graves disease. A positive anti-TG antibody test does not predict the development of thyroid dysfunction, so the test should not be used.

Scintigraphy

If the etiology of thyrotoxicosis is not clear after physical examination and other laboratory tests, it can be confirmed by a iodine-123 (^123ÂI) uptake, as in the images below. Values are elevated in patients with Graves disease and toxic multinodular goiters.Â ¹²³I and technetium-99m (^99mÂTc) can be used for thyroid scanning, which provides anatomic information on the type of goiter (eg, diffuse vs nodular). Scans essentially are pictures of the thyroid and do not necessarily confirm or refute the presence of hyperthyroidism per se; only¹²³I uptake provides information in this area.

Graves disease is associated with diffuse enlargement of both thyroid lobes, with an elevated uptake. A toxic adenoma demonstrates a solitary hot nodule with suppression of function in the surrounding normal thyroid tissue. A toxic multinodular goiter demonstrates an enlarged thyroid with multiple nodules and areas of increased and decreased isotope uptake. (See the first 2 images below.) Subacute thyroiditis usually demonstrates very low¹²³I isotope uptake. (See the third image below.)

Iodine 123 (123I) nuclear scintigraphy: 123I scans of a normal thyroid gland (A) and common hyperthyroid conditions with elevated radioiodine uptake, including Graves disease (B), toxic multinodular

goiter (C), andtoxic adenoma (D).Scan in a patient with a toxic multinodular goiter. The 5-hour iodine uptake was elevated

at 28%. Note the multiple foci of variably increased tracer uptake.Absence of iodine 123 (123I) radioactive iodine uptake in a patient with thyrotoxicosis and subacute painless or lymphocytic thyroiditis. Laboratory studies at the time of the scan demonstrated the following: thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), less than 0.06 mIU/mL; total thyroxine (T4), 21.2 mcg/dL (reference range, 4.5-11); total triiodothyronine (T3), 213 ng/dL (reference range, 90-180); T3-to-T4 ratio, 10; and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), 10 mm/h. The absence of thyroid uptake, the low T3-to-T4 ratio, and the low ESR confirm the diagnosis of subacute painless thyroiditis.

If a dominant nodule is found upon examination of a patient with thyrotoxicosis, obtain an^123ÂI thyroid scan to assure that the dominant nodule is functioning. If the nodule is cold, perform a biopsy on the nodule by fine-needle aspiration to exclude concomitant malignancy.

Thyroid Treatment With TCM and Acupuncture

acuherb — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:45:32 +0000

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The health of your thyroid gland truly makes or breaks your daily energy level, the ability to sustain a healthy weight for your frame, overall metabolic function, and can even affect your emotional life (if thyroid function is low, depression can result; if thyroid function is high, anxiety can result).

Your thyroid is a remarkable gland, located at the front of the throat by the larangeal prominence. If it functions properly, the perfect amount of thyroid hormone is secreted to meet your daily energy needs, but if it is low you will likely feel fatigued, unable to keep up with life’s demands, have sleeping difficulties, gain weight easily and feel cold much of the time. Â Millions of Americans have thyroid conditions from genetic predisposition, years of stress, and compounded by the toll of pollution in our air, food, and water.

Here is one very helpful thyroid solution: Acupuncture specifically for hormone balancing and thyroid care! Â If you suspect that your thyroid function is low, consider Acupuncture and custom Chinese herbal formulas to boost your energy, regulate sleep patterns, and restore hormonal balance.

From Thyroid Care to Thyroid Cure: The Benefits of Including Acupuncture

If we utilize both Western and Eastern methods of healing there exist many options for treating and even curing hormone imbalances.Â

Â I had first-hand observation from years of Texas medical practice that this ancient modality had surprising ability to correct hormonal imbalances. I and other MDs had seen patients benefit greatly from this older approach to hormone health; often this was the best method for certain recalcitrant and debilitating versions of thyroid imbalance.

Fatigue, exhaustion, infertility, weight gain, depression, digestive problems, hair loss, arthritis, feeling chilled no matter the temperature all may be symptoms of a low thyroid condition, one of the most misdiagnosed medical disorders in America. Â The lethargy, lack of stamina, and emotional distress of low thyroid function (hypothyroidism) is often mistaken for clinical depression and wrongly treated with seratonin reuptake inhibiting medications like Prozac and Paxil. Misdiagnosed or undiagnosed hypothyroidism may affect one in nine adult women in the U.S. and for the post-menopause subset that statistic gets as high as one in four.

It is important to become informed of the wide spectrum of hormone-related conditions that can affect one’s health, energy, and quality of life. Â Low thyroid function is one aspect, but adrenal function, reproductive hormones, the pituitary and hypothalamus, and so on, each play a critical role in proper metabolic rate and homeostasis. Â It is of critical importance to be accurately tested for hormone function if you display the previously described signs and symptoms and/or if your health care provider suspects sub-optimal hormone levels. Â For quality, affordably priced laboratory tests you can order without a doctor’s prescription, please visit the health advocacy organization Canary Club atÂ www.CanaryClub.orgÂ online.

But once cognizant of an existing hormone imbalance via lab test results or compelling symptom-related evidence, how can your health care providers fully remedy your condition? There are options but also many limitations available within the Western medical model, including hormone replacement prescriptions (if you are low in thyroid/adrenal or estrogen/progesterone/testosterone) or hormone suppression prescriptions (if any of the above are too high).

For hypothyroid patients specifically, some do not respond well to the standard (slow-acting T4) Synthroid prescription and instead might benefit from the addition to Synthroid of Cytomel (fast-acting T3). Â Sometimes what works even better is a different thyroid prescription completely like Armor or Naturthroid (both non-synthetic).

These medicines greatly assist, but among autoimmune patients (who comprise the majority of thyroid sufferers in either the category of Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism or Grave’s hyperthyroidism) there are still many who despite determining which thyroid replacement is best and at what dosage, they still do not feel 100%. Â These patients benefit some from their medical prescriptions but are still hovering around only 60% or 70% or 80% of their normal self, and suffer continued symptoms such as fatigue, emotional distress, insomnia, mental fuzziness, etc. Â There are several possible causes for this, in the Western medical viewpoint. Â Autoimmunity is likely the most severe example of imbalance within the human body that one could find: An organism at war with itself, the immune system cells attacking the body’s own tissue.

Of course in such cases it may be difficult to fully optimize the thyroid being replaced as there exists a cellular resistance to the hormone, for instance because the autoimmune response has targeted the thyroid hormone receptors, or perhaps because synthetic chemical pollutants in our air, food, and water interfere with endocrine function. It is also possible an iodine deficiency may be at fault, although this is more common in underdeveloped countries.

So how can thyroid hormone (whether produced internally by the endocrine system or replaced by prescription medication) be adequately metabolized, taken up by the body’s cells to perform its many functions on both a microscopic and macroscopic level? Â The answer is: The entire human system must be in balance for successful utilization of thyroid hormone. Â The key here is an integrative approach to balance and optimal wellness, for which ancient Chinese healing practices are world-renowned.

As an Â OMD, Acupuncturist and Herbalist, I have always been impressed by how TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) cultivates a holistic perspective in developing diagnostic impressions and treatment protocols for each patient. Â The keystone of our medicine is awakening the body’s natural intelligence to heal itself.

Our goal, when we needle specific points or prescribe herbal formulas individually modified to the patient’s pattern of dis-ease, is restoring balance to the system of meridians that crisscross and encircle the body in a similar fashion to the lymph or nervous system in Western medicine. Â TCM seeks to restore health within the body by benefiting, with needles, herbs, nutrition, massage, lifestyle changes and so on, the fundamental balance of Yin and Yang within the body. Â Yin and Yang are the two aspects in Chinese medical philosophy representing the Â many balances within the body such as internal/external, cold/hot, deficiency/excess, acidic/alkaline, sympathetic/parasympathetic, and so on.

Let me give you Â an example, a forty five Â year-old menopausal woman who has just discovered she has thyroid dysfunction as well. Â Because estrogen production wanes during the menopausal years, and the endocrine system is a delicate balance of many different glands all producing and utilizing various hormones depending on hormone production in the other glands, not only is she experiencing hot flashes and night-sweats from the estrogen decrease but she also has chilliness and fatigue from the hypothyroidism. Â She feels excessively hot then deficient and cold, the mind races while the physical body becomes exhausted.

The Western practitioner might put her on estrogen replacement that helps the hot flashes (but it can increase her weight and breast cancer risk) as well as thyroid hormone which helps the fatigue (but it can increase adrenal irritability and insomnia).

The Eastern practitioner seeks the root cause within the pattern of imbalance, which she determines to be a deficiency of both Kidney Yin and Kidney Yang (a common diagnosis for menopausal women as both the Qi and Blood may wane too suddenly during the transition). Â She needles points to clear heat (Large Intestine 11, Liver 2), strengthen the Liver and Kidney Yin (Spleen 6) and invigorate the Kidney Yang (Kidney 3, Kidney 7)Â (Fire Kidney Fire on also very important but this technique need under Doctor’s help, for the Â Yang very weak case may need several time stimuli the fetal Yang Â on Kidney gate). Â She prescribes a granulated herbal formula like Golden Book Tea, otherwise known as Jing Gui Shen Qi Wan, and modifies it with long gu to anchor the Yang and dang gui to build Blood. Â After a couple weeks of daily herbal tea and weekly acupuncture, the patient reports having no more hot flashes, less chilliness, and much more restful sleep leading to overall more energy and well-being throughout the day.

How does Acupuncture accomplish what Western medicine cannot alone? Â By rebalancing the internal homeostasis of the body. Â Tongue and pulse diagnosis plus symptom cluster are the pillars of objective data gathering. Utilizing carefully chosen trigger points and tonifying or sedating herbs, one nourishes the vital fluids and balances Yin and Yang while removing stagnation within the meridians.

Every patient is unique, so an individualized approach is essential to accuracy yet the overarching pattern can be determined based on objective tongue and pulse signs, and the subjective symptom cluster.

Patients best benefit from an integrated Eastern and Western medical approach to health. Â The strong point of Western medicine is intervention in life-threatening illness, whereas the strong point of Eastern medicine is increased quality of life. Â Therefore it is most optimal to have available both Eastern and Western medicine options for more complete care. Â This blending of the East and West has been the standard of hospital care in China for several Â decades.

If you have not tried Acupuncture and other methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine as a critical aspect of your complete hormone care, consider it today. Acuherb Clinic’s practice is focused on bringing better care to the specializations of: Thyroid, Adrenal, Stress & Anxiety. You deserve the best of both worlds when it comes to your health. Â We are delighted to assist you in cultivating a more energetic, balanced, and graceful lifestyle! Â For appointments in American Institute of Acupuncture, Acuherb Clinic.

DRUG interaction withÂ Levothyroxine

LevothyroxineÂ sodium may interact with numerous other medications, including over-the-counter medications. Some of the medicines that may potentially lead to levothyroxine interactions include:

AntacidsÂ or gas-relieving medications

AntidepressantÂ medications
CalciumÂ supplements
CholestyramineÂ (PrevaliteÂ ,QuestranÂ , QuestranÂ Light)
Colestipol(Colestid)
Diabetes medications
Digoxin(Digitek,Lanoxin)
Estrogens, such ashormone replacement therapy(HRT) andbirth control pills, patches, or rings
Iron (including iron found in multivitamins)
Orlistat(Alli,Xenical)
Raloxifene(Evista)
Rifampin (Rifadin)
SomeÂ seizureÂ medications, such as:

CarbamazepineÂ (Carbatrol,Â Epitol,Â Equetro,Â Tegretol)
Phenobarbital (Luminal)
Phenytoin(Dilantin,Â Phenytek)

Sucralfate(Carafate)
Theophylline(Uniphyl, Theocron, TheoCap, Theo-24, Elixophyllin)
Warfarin(Coumadin,Jantoven).

Infertility Treatment Philosophy

acuherb — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:07:40 +0000

Cultivate the soil before planting the seed.

While infertility may appear to be the core problem, it is actually the manifestation of a deeper underlying imbalance. Through our approach of creating a healthy and fertile body, we correct the imbalance and leave it to the body to do what it was created to do: live in vitality and be fertile. Our overall goal is to prepare the body for conception and pregnancy

Architects will tell you that the foundation is the most important aspect of a building or a home. Much like everything in life, the key to successful conception is also a strong foundation. While it is important to live a healthy lifestyle once you have conceived, it is even more important to do so during the 3 months leading up to conception, since this period will determine the health of the sperm and egg that will eventually become your child.

There exists a Chinese parable about â€œcultivating the soil before you plant the seed.â€ This parable with respect to infertility is one of the cornerstones of our approach. It can be better appreciated by using the following example.

You have a very health plant growing in a healthy pot of nutrient rich soil. You also have an unhealthy-sickly looking plant that is shriveling up in poor quality overly dried soil. You switch the two plants from their respective pots and you place the shriveled plant in the healthy, moist soil and you maintain the soil by watering and adding nutrients to it. You place the healthy plant in the dried up soil and you neglect it so the soil remains dry and lacking nutrients.
What do you think would happen to the two plants?

There is a good chance that the healthy plant will begin to shrivel and die in the poor soil and the sick plant will recover in the nutrient rich soil. We learn from this story that the health of the plant is dependent on the quality of the soil. At our clinic we concern ourselves with cultivating your soil. We do this by creating a healthy and optimum body environment in both the man and woman, which optimizes the quality of the egg and sperm at conception, as well as providing a blood rich uterine lining favorable for implantation and for nourishing a growing fetus for the full pregnancy.Â

Infertility Treatment Overview

Optimizing your reproductive health. Cultivating the soil before planting the seed. These are the goals of the infertility treatments. We treat holistically which means we take into account your physical, emotional and spiritual aspect. We do not only focus on regulating the menstrual cycle to alleviate any pain or discomfort before and during oneâ€s cycle, we also want to improve all systems of your body and mind. If you are sleeping well, full of vitality, proper digestion and elimination and healthy sense of self then all systems will work more efficiently including your reproductive system. This can be accomplished by treating some of the subtle imbalances in the body mind and spirit via acupuncture, herbs, supplements, diet, and lifestyle.

First, your western medical diagnosis is reframed into Chinese medicine disease categories.
Second, your unique Chinese medicine patterns are diagnosed through investigation of presenting signs and symptoms.
Thirdly, a principle of treatment is created to suit your individual needs.
Finally, herbs, acupuncture, diet, supplements, and exercise are employed to regulate your menstrual cycle (i.e. elimination of PMS, reducing menstrual discomfort, adjustment of cycle length), and treat the Chinese medicine patterns you exhibit to restore balance and health.

It is optimal to treat for at least 3 months to properly regulate the menstrual cycle, balance Yin & Yang (hormonal activity), and to optimize the egg quality by ovulation. Womenâ€s follicles are recruited over 3-5 month time period before being chosen for ovulation. This is why it is recommended to allow adequate time during the preconception phase to â€œnurture natureâ€ and take at least 3 months for any treatments and healthier life style habits to take affect. Four to six months after beginning initial treatment is when a woman can expect to have an improvement in egg quality.

For natural cycles (and non-medicated IUI): specific treatment protocols are used based on where you are in your cycle as well as any imbalances during parts of your cycle (i.e. PMS). Treatment will always be aimed at regulating the menstrual cycle and the Chinese medicine patterns that are being displayed. Depending on your individual needs, you may be seen once per week during preconception, or only at certain times of your cycle (i.e. if you do ovulate on a timely basis then you may be asked to come for treatment a few days close together just before ovulation would normally occur).

Basic Chinese Medicine Patterns of Female Infertility

Kidney Yang Vacuity
Delayed menses, scanty or heavy menses, amenorrhea , pale dull blood
(3 of 4): low back ache, feeling of cold, nocturia, reduced libido, sore weak knees, bright white complexion, tiredness, copious clear urination, ankle edema, loose stools
Tongue: pale swollen with white wet coatÂ Pulse: deep weak slow
Principle of Treatment: supplement Kidneys, warm the Yang
Herbal Medicine: You Gui Wan, Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan

Kidney Yin Vacuity
Early menses, scanty menses, watery red coloured blood
night sweat, thin body, tinnitus, poor memory, dry mouth and throat at night, low back ache, sore weak knees, scanty dark urine, constipation, tiredness, anxiety, hot flushes, 5 centre heat, malar flush, shallow sleep, excess sexual desire, dry eyes, afternoon low grade fever
Tongue: normal to red and dry with no coatÂ Pulse: rapid thin, floating empty
Principle of Treatment: enrich Yin and Essence, nourish Blood
Herbal Medicine: Zou Gui Wan, Liu Wei Di Huang Wan, Er Zhi Wan

Blood Vacuity
Delayed menses, scanty periods, amenorrhea, pale blood
poor night vision, dull complexion, dizziness, numbness tingling in limbs, poor memory, blurred vision, trouble getting to sleep, dry skin, pale lips, white nail beds, floaters, palpitations, constipation
Tongue: pale thinÂ Pulse: choppy thin weak
Principle of Treatment: nourish Blood, boost Qi
Herbal Medicine: Ba Zhen Tang, Dang Gui Shao Yao San

Liver Depression Qi Stagnation (Spleen Vacuity)
Irregular menses, scanty menses that may start and stop, dysmenorrhea, small clots
PMS, breast distension, irritability, hypochondrial distension, anger, unfulfilled desires, moodiness, depression, melancholy, lump in throat, alternation of loose stool and constipation, sighing, fatigue, ART anxiety,
Spleen vacuity; fatigue, dizzy when stand quickly, bruise easily, chronic loose stool, can give rise to Damp Heat, reduced appetite, nausea, belching
Tongue: may see red sides if heat, purple, swollen (Spleen)Â Pulse: wiry, rapid if heat, weak on the right
Principle of Treatment: course Liver, resolve depression, supplement Spleen
Herbal Medicine: Xiao Yao San, Dan Zhi Xiao Yao San

Blood Stasis
Dysmenorrhea, delayed menses, irregular menses, amenorrhea, dark blood, clots
fixed stabbing pain (worse at night that dislikes pressure), fixed masses, dark complexion, purple lips and nails
Tongue: purpleÂ Pulse: choppy or wiry
Principle of Treatment: Quicken Blood, transform Stasis
Herbal Medicine: Shao Fu Zhu Yu Tang, Tao Hong Si Wu Tang

Uterine Cold
Feel colder during menses, delayed menses, scanty menses, small clots, dysmenorrhea
general cold feeling especially in lower abdomen, pale face, usually gives rise to Blood Stasis, (externally contracted or Yang vacuity)
Tongue: pale with thick white coatÂ Pulse: weak tight
Principle of Treatment: warm interior, invigorate Yang, expel Cold
Herbal Medicine: Ai Fu Nuan Gong Wan, Wen Jing Tang

Phlegm Dampness
Delayed menses, amenorrhea
Overweight, chest oppression, cough with easy expectoration, breathlessness, rattling sound in throat, feeling of heaviness, nausea, dizziness, oily skin, white vaginal discharge
Tongue: swollen with white slippery coatÂ Pulse: slippery
Principle of Treatment: eliminate Damp, transform Phlegm
Herbal Medicine: Ling Gui Zhu Gan Tang, Er Chen Tang

Damp Heat
Menstrual bleeding which could be scanty or heavy, bleed mid-cycle, sticky blood
Bitter taste in morning (LRGB), heaviness, yellow leucorrhea, genital itching, genital sores, mid cycle bleeding/pain, redness swelling, burning difficult dark urination, yellow complexion and eyes
Tongue: red with slippery yellow coatÂ Pulse: slippery rapid
Principle of Treatment: clear Heat, eliminate Damp
Herbal Medicine: Si Miao San, Long Dan Xie Gan TangÂ

Acupuncture and Reproductive HealthÂ

Dr. Kenneth Wang reviewed existing studies and found that acupuncture helpsâ€¦

1.Â Reduce stress hormones that interfere with ovulation

2.Â Normalize hormones that regulate ovulation so an egg is released

3.Â Increase blood flow to the uterus, improving the chances of a fertilized egg implanting

4.Â Improve ovulation cycles in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which makes getting pregnant difficult

5.Â Improve pregnancy rates in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF)