Life is an incredible journey, with plenty of ups and downs and in-betweens to navigate along the way. Sometimes it is easy to forget that at the end of the day, all of our emotions, our thoughts, our nutrition, our interactions with others, our work, the amount of sleep we get (or don’t get) -all leave a footprint on our health and well-being. The triggers are different for everyone, but there is no debating that stress affects quality of life – so why wouldn’t it affect a persons health and healing? It most certainly does, and science is starting to prove it to us. After the jump I’ll explore an immensely important article on infertility, the mind-body connection, and why you should put your intuitive health at the top of your priority list.

An Infertile Silence

The August 2010 Issue of Self Magazine has published a lengthy and wonderful article around the emotional turmoil behind a diagnosis of “infertility.” I have rarely seen such an honest, heartfelt account of what couples are going through when they are having difficulties trying to conceive. The stress, anxiety, frustration, shame, fear and depression can swallow up couples in their suffering. And the isolation created by feelings of inadequacy or “broken-ness” (as the article notes), makes it difficult to open up to friends and family members about the struggle. The reason? The article supposes that it is because there is not enough awareness about infertility as a medical diagnosis, treatment options or even research in the field to provide adequate treatment (the most modern IVF treatments still have a 60% failure rate according to recent studies). Giving a voice to infertility may increase awareness, increase funding for research and studies and decrease the isolation that so many couples are feeling.

That may be so, but there are plenty of health situations one could replace “infertility” with that cause the same amount of shame, fear, anxiety and stress (maybe even more). While being able to talk about the struggles one faces does help lift the weight, the stress on the patient and now to loved ones supporting that patient can take its tole on everyone’s health.

The Mind-Body Connection and Health

What caught my attention most about the above article was the preliminary study done by Dr. Domar wherein 97 IVF patients in Boston participated in 5-10 mind/body sessions  and were 160% more likely to succeed in becoming pregnant than the control group. That is a whopping number! So what are these mind/body sessions? The article didn’t state exactly, but mind-body medicine stems from various different arenas in the health field: therapy, meditation, yoga, guided relaxation and – yep, you guessed it – acupuncture.

Stress can play an enormous role on our health on a day-to-day basis, and it exponentially exacerbates when we are faced with a difficult circumstance (ie: a health problem or medical diagnosis). Patients may be taking care of themselves in a perfect way, eating right, exercising regularly, having appropriate tests run, taking appropriate medications, and still not achieving their goal and (even worse) feeling desperation and despair. For this reason alone Eastern medicine and modern medicine can bridge the gap in health care by accounting for what many mind-body practitioners will refer to as the “subtle or energetic” body in addition to the physical body. While western medicine is motivated to cure disease, mind-body medicine is motivated to support the healing process so we are better equipped to handle whatever experience we have.

Why Does It Work?

The mind-body connection is an unseen energy communication between the physical body and the conscious and unconscious mind. Acupuncture helps to release stress stored in the body, which can cause many physiological changes in the body. It does this from an energetic standpoint, unwinding clogged energy and invigorating flow to under-served areas in an effort to achieve balance and health. There is also a subtle neurological component where the synapses of the brain actually change upon the insertion of the needles (which is why, for example, people can undergo brain surgery in China using only acupuncture as the anesthesia). The mind can convince us of many things, which get stored in the body and can manifest as illness in some cases.  If that is true, then the idea that we can undo illness (or, heal) by changing the way we think or releasing somatic memory through bodywork, makes logical sense.

“Whether You Think You Can Or Cannot – Either Way, You Are Right”

This is where the idea of affirmations comes in – actually repeating new thoughts out loud so that eventually you adopt them as your own. As a great yoga instructor once told me while holding an extremely difficult pose: Stay in the now. Don’t let your mind tell you that you are too beautiful for this pose – or that you are not beautiful enough, or not strong enough. Focus only on the breath. The mind is stubborn and it can often try and keep us where we are at because it is what we know. For that reason, there are the mind-body techniques out there to work with the mind, gently helping to restore a balance between the wisdom of the body and wisdom of the mind. Healing is a journey, as it takes a while for things to build up in the system, it can take a while to set them right again. Acupuncture is a great way to support the mind-body connection and will not interfere with most other treatment therapies (and in particular, has a great success rate for improving pregnancy outcomes separate and aside from stress release).

Scientists are still studying the boggling scope of mind-body medicine. Because every mind and every body is different, there is no “magic pill” or “magic therapy” to cure an ailment in everyone. This can make it hard for the analytical person to swallow how or why such a therapy might be useful, and how to choose which one to utilize. My personal advice: trial and error. And learn to trust your intuition as much as you trust your doctors treatment plan. While they take care of your medical health, stay in-tune with your emotional and spiritual health and seek out advice from experienced practitioners that can support that side of you. It is, at the very least, equally as significant to healing as medical care.

]]> http://www.erinhessel.com/2010/07/the-mind-body-connection/feed/ 2 http://www.erinhessel.com/2009/11/new-fertility-testing-how-tcm-can-help/ http://www.erinhessel.com/2009/11/new-fertility-testing-how-tcm-can-help/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:15:31 +0000 Erin http://www.erinhessel.com/?p=91 Last week, after a wonderful Jivamikti yoga class at one of my favorite studios in New York, my friend Susan and I decided to join an informational Webinar on Ovarian Reserve Assessment testing available for infertile couples.  Not only was the whole format of the webinar totally awesome (simultaneous video/audio of the presenter, power-point and live chat-feed from the participants – it’s amazing where education and technology are going), but the information discussed was enlightening.  Here is a recap of some of the developments in fertility testing and a little insight as to how acupuncture and herbs can help.

If you have ever had difficulty trying to conceive and involved the aid of a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE), then most likely one of the first tests they ran was a hormone panel on Day 3 of your menstrual cycle.  Specifically looking at:  Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), LutenizingHormone (LH), Estrodial (E2), and Prolactin.  The levels of the aforementioned hormones (among others) and their ratio to each other can give insight into the general quantity of eggs a woman has left to ovulate.  However, hormones are finicky creatures, and can change drastically month-to-month due to other illness (like thyroid disease or poly cystic ovarian syndrome, for example) or just from plain old-fashioned stress.

New findings are showing that the typical Day 3 FSH testing gives inaccurate values of a woman’s ovarian reserve one out of every six tests.  This is to say that every sixth woman to undergo traditional fertility testing may have  false lab results – offering an unnecessarily grim outlook on their hopes of ever conceiving.  How disturbing. (And probably part of the reason that one of the next steps in fertility treatments – IVF – has only a 30% success rate).  Women who are lumped into the “never will get pregnant” category regularly prove that wrong, and others who are in good health are for some reason never are able to fulfill their dream of having children.  A possible reason for this discrepancy is the inability to accurately asses ovarian reserve or egg quality.  At the very least, it is clear that the diagnosis and treatment of infertility must continue to develop in order to understand what is happening at the clinical level.

ReproSource is a lab dedicated to fertility testing and they work with patients and RE’s around the world.  Dr. Ben Leader, a scientist who works for ReproSource, presented in last night’s lecture on their newest test that indexes three specific hormone levels on Day 3: FSH, AMH (anti-mullarian hormone), and Inhibin B.  The index of the three, according to Dr. Leader, will give a much more accurate assessment of a woman’s ovarian reserve.  The results come up on a sliding graph as well, rather than the typical ‘within normal limits’ or ‘out of normal limits’ / ‘you’ll conceive’ or ‘you won’t’ – which is much easier to understand and interpret.  Other experts in the field are finding that AMH can be tested on its own at any point in a woman’s menstrual cycle and will give more accurate and consistent insight to ovarian reserve than even the day-3 FSH test.

The results of all of the aforementioned tests indicate what potential a woman has to work with while trying to conceive – of vital importance to any health care provider helping her on this journey.  We can do all the acupuncture or fertility medicine in the world, but if there simply aren’t any eggs left for a woman to ovulate, that is one thing we cannot create (in this case, donor egg is often offered as a viable option).  A woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have in her lifetime, and depending on the delicate nature of the menstrual cycle, genetics, hormonal balance and other factors will determine at what point she will run out – essentially beginning menopause (with normal onset somewhere in the neighborhood of age 50).

The fact that such testing is more specific for detecting egg quantity, it cannot be used to determine egg quality – the part that we as acupuncturists have the potential to improve.  The best way to consistently determine egg quality is still by a woman’s age: the younger the woman, the better the egg quality -regardless of ovarian reserve (although this is often debated).  It is quite interesting to me that with all the new developments in fertility therapy that they have yet to determine a quantifiable way to detect poor or high egg quality.

This is where we come in.  Acupuncture and herbal medicine have been used for thousands of years to help couples conceive.  By invigorating blood flow to the pelvic area, regulating a woman’s menstrual cycle, and alleviating stress we are able to accomplish the task in question: improve egg quality. If the issue is male-factor, acupuncture and herbs can also help improve sperm quality in addition to sperm quantity due to the simple fact that males regenerate new sperm avery three months (please note that success depends on the etiology of low sperm count, motility, or morphology issues). Depending on a couple’s history, age, lab work and diagnosis, acupuncture and herbs can help couples to safely and effectively conceive – either naturally, or alongside western fertility treatments.

In order for Chinese medicine to have an effect on improving egg/sperm quality, it does take time. To regulate a woman’s cycle can take anywhere from three-six months, and the same goes for impacting a change on male sperm production.  Therefore, I recommend beginning to work with an acupuncturist/herbalist either when you are just beginning to try and conceive or beforehand.  I have personally studied under renowned fertility acupuncturist and herbalist, Dr. Mike Berkley, and seen the amazing power of Chinese medicine in conjunction with modern developments.  Tests like the FSH/AMH/Inhibin B Index are useful to patients, RE’s and acupuncturists alike.  With more accurate clinical findings and continued research, we can all be better internists in this challenging field.

This post is proudly a part of Prevention Not Prescriptions Tuesday @ The Kathleen Show.  For more information and to check out some other great health blogs, check this site.

If you have ever had difficulty trying to conceive and involved the aid of a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE), then most likely one of the first tests they ran was a hormone panel on Day 3 of your menstrual cycle.  Specifically looking at:  Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), LutenizingHormone (LH), Estrodial (E2), and Prolactin.  The levels of the aforementioned hormones (among others) and their ratio to each other can give insight into the general quantity of eggs a woman has left to ovulate.  However, hormones are finicky creatures, and can change drastically month-to-month due to other illness (like thyroid disease or poly cystic ovarian syndrome, for example) or just from plain old-fashioned stress.

New findings are showing that the typical Day 3 FSH testing gives inaccurate values of a woman’s ovarian reserve one out of every six tests.  This is to say that every sixth woman to undergo traditional fertility testing may have  false lab results – offering an unnecessarily grim outlook on their hopes of ever conceiving.  How disturbing. (And probably part of the reason that one of the next steps in fertility treatments – IVF – has only a 30% success rate).  Women who are lumped into the “never will get pregnant” category regularly prove that wrong, and others who are in good health are for some reason never are able to fulfill their dream of having children.  A possible reason for this discrepancy is the inability to accurately asses ovarian reserve or egg quality.  At the very least, it is clear that the diagnosis and treatment of infertility must continue to develop in order to understand what is happening at the clinical level.

ReproSource is a lab dedicated to fertility testing and they work with patients and RE’s around the world.  Dr. Ben Leader, a scientist who works for ReproSource, presented in last night’s lecture on their newest test that indexes three specific hormone levels on Day 3: FSH, AMH (anti-mullarian hormone), and Inhibin B.  The index of the three, according to Dr. Leader, will give a much more accurate assessment of a woman’s ovarian reserve.  The results come up on a sliding graph as well, rather than the typical ‘within normal limits’ or ‘out of normal limits’ / ‘you’ll conceive’ or ‘you won’t’ – which is much easier to understand and interpret.  Other experts in the field are finding that AMH can be tested on its own at any point in a woman’s menstrual cycle and will give more accurate and consistent insight to ovarian reserve than even the day-3 FSH test.

The results of all of the aforementioned tests indicate what potential a woman has to work with while trying to conceive – of vital importance to any health care provider helping her on this journey.  We can do all the acupuncture or fertility medicine in the world, but if there simply aren’t any eggs left for a woman to ovulate, that is one thing we cannot create (in this case, donor egg is often offered as a viable option).  A woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have in her lifetime, and depending on the delicate nature of the menstrual cycle, genetics, hormonal balance and other factors will determine at what point she will run out – essentially beginning menopause (with normal onset somewhere in the neighborhood of age 50).

The fact that such testing is more specific for detecting egg quantity, it cannot be used to determine egg quality – the part that we as acupuncturists have the potential to improve.  The best way to consistently determine egg quality is still by a woman’s age: the younger the woman, the better the egg quality -regardless of ovarian reserve (although this is often debated).  It is quite interesting to me that with all the new developments in fertility therapy that they have yet to determine a quantifiable way to detect poor or high egg quality.

This is where we come in.  Acupuncture and herbal medicine have been used for thousands of years to help couples conceive.  By invigorating blood flow to the pelvic area, regulating a woman’s menstrual cycle, and alleviating stress we are able to accomplish the task in question: improve egg quality. If the issue is male-factor, acupuncture and herbs can also help improve sperm quality in addition to sperm quantity due to the simple fact that males regenerate new sperm avery three months (please note that success depends on the etiology of low sperm count, motility, or morphology issues). Depending on a couple’s history, age, lab work and diagnosis, acupuncture and herbs can help couples to safely and effectively conceive – either naturally, or alongside western fertility treatments.

In order for Chinese medicine to have an effect on improving egg/sperm quality, it does take time. To regulate a woman’s cycle can take anywhere from three-six months, and the same goes for impacting a change on male sperm production.  Therefore, I recommend beginning to work with an acupuncturist/herbalist either when you are just beginning to try and conceive or beforehand.  I have personally studied under renowned fertility acupuncturist and herbalist, Dr. Mike Berkley, and seen the amazing power of Chinese medicine in conjunction with modern developments.  Tests like the FSH/AMH/Inhibin B Index are useful to patients, RE’s and acupuncturists alike.  With more accurate clinical findings and continued research, we can all be better internists in this challenging field.

This post is proudly a part of Prevention Not Prescriptions Tuesday @ The Kathleen Show.  For more information and to check out some other great health blogs, check this site.