Practically Fertile

Episode 7 - What is Old is New Again - How This Medical System Has Been Helping Women Get Pregnant for Over 2500 Years

• Dr. Adrienne Wei, DACM, FABORM, CFN, L.Ac.

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Have you ever wondered how Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a medical system that is over 2500 years old has stood the test of time, and is still used by billions of people today?  In this episode, we explore the main principles of TCM, and how it is still very relevant today in treating infertility.  

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Website: www.adriennewei.com

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Practically Fertile Podcast. I'm Adrienne Wee, doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, functional Medicine Practitioner and Functional Nutritionist. I specialize in using an evidence-based method, blending principles of East Asian medicine and modern functional medicine to help women optimize fertility and get pregnant. I believe in a world where every woman who wants to be a mother becomes one. If you're tired of being told that you're infertile and you want to take the right steps to get pregnant naturally and quickly, this podcast is for you. Hey, fertile friend, have you ever wondered why traditional Chinese medicine has existed for thousands of years and the fact that it's still used by billions of people today? And this is something we're going to explore on this podcast episode. First of all, we should be very thankful that modern science has really helped us understand our bodies better, the inner workings and nuances, and, as a result, we're living longer and more lively. But what's also frustrating about modern science is there's always something new that comes out. Every day. There's always some new discoveries. There's always someone trying to invalidate it or prove it wrong, and this can cause a lot of confusion, because you end up with lots of conflicting information, and then it's up to you to interpret them and decide for yourself what's right and what's wrong. For the majority of us that's just not practical. Even doctors themselves can't agree on things, and I see this very often. Progesterone supplementation in the luteal phase is one example. There are just some doctors that won't prescribe it, even if the numbers are very, very low. Another example is the thyroid hormone, the TSH. I'm constantly having to help my patients find a doctor who will take a TSH over tube seriously and treat it.

Speaker 1:

On the flip side, chinese medicine has been around for so long and it has stood the test of time. This medical system dates back to 200 BC. Of course, over the years it has evolved and now traditional Chinese medicine, the medical system as we know it today, includes acupuncture, chinese herbal medicine, tui na, which is our form of body work, moxibustion and cupping. All of these modalities follow the same principles. I know there are critics of traditional Chinese medicine out there who would like to tell you that TCM is not evidence-based, but they're wrong. Tcm is actually evidence-based medicine.

Speaker 1:

There's been a lot of interest in studying the effect of this medicine. In fact, over the last two decades there have been 13,000 studies conducted in 60 countries around the world, and that's just on acupuncture alone. That is twofold higher than biomedical studies. So this number doesn't even include studies on Chinese herbal medicine. So it's even higher if you count studies on Chinese herbal medicine. The results have been very encouraging.

Speaker 1:

Let me give you some examples. There's one study that showed 60% of women who took personalized herbs got pregnant twice as fast as women who only took Clomid, and in another study, after two months of acupuncture, 43% of women with PCOS got pregnant, compared to 33 percent who only took medication. There were some studies on diminished ovarian reserve and I know for some of you this could be a very devastating diagnosis. It's often misunderstood, which I'm going to talk about in another episode. But in a review of three clinical trials for the use of Chinese herbs with estrogen and progesterone treatments, one study showed a 93% efficacy rate, that this combination reduced FSH, increased estrogen and helped to regulate the menstrual cycle. Another study showed that this combination resulted in the pregnancy rate of 35% and ovulation rate of 54%.

Speaker 1:

Chinese medicine has gained worldwide recognition as well. The World Health Organization recognizes acupuncture as an effective form of treatment for over 40 diseases, ranging from IBS, anxiety, insomnia, pain and infertility as well. So definitely there's something about it that works and, to be honest, I too had doubts about Chinese medicine, even though I grew up with a mom who was a Chinese medicine doctor and nowadays I like to joke around and say that Chinese medicine is in my DNA. But I went through a phase when I had the same questions as you, especially the fact that I got an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering. I was very much scientifically minded and of course you know how that turned out. Obviously I didn't stick with engineering. I remember sitting in class on the very first day of acupuncture school and I said to myself wow, this all makes sense. Things that my grandmother and my mother would preach to me all the time, they're all true. Things like never walking around barefooted, never drinking cold water. These were real tips that were rooted in the principles of Chinese medicine. And that's the thing. Chinese medicine wasn't just medicine. It was a way of life for many Chinese people. It's much better to prevent a disease than to treat it once it starts to affect the body.

Speaker 1:

So let's dive in and talk about how exactly does Chinese medicine work for fertility. To get started, let's talk about the core principles of TCM. First Principle number one all the systems in the body are connected. Every single system in the body mutually influence each other and they affect each other. So when there's a problem with one system, others will be affected as well. Principle number two diseases come from the imbalances between the systems in the body.

Speaker 1:

So typically, if you're not ovulating, taking Clomid or Elastazol, it will force your body to ovulate. If you're having digestive problems, you could try Marilax. If you're constipated, take Imodium. If you're having frequent diarrhea, if you have heartburn, take Tums or Nexium or Pepsid. But these are all forever band-aid solutions. If you stop the medicine, the problems come back. On the other hand, if you look at your body as a connected unit, then it's easy to see that a more permanent solution isn't as simple as just taking a pill. Now, of course, I know that for certain situations, like an infection, please take antibiotics. If you have a UTI, please take antibiotics. Nothing will knock out the bacteria more quickly.

Speaker 1:

But for most chronic issues, the problem is never isolated to one single place in the body. We have to evaluate each system and then identify the pattern of imbalance. So one way to think about balance and imbalance is that it's no different than the biomedicine concept of homeostasis. Homeostasis is when all the systems in a living organism, for example, humans maintain stability while adjusting to the changing external conditions. That means no matter what happens in your environment, your bodily functions are not affected and the internal environment is steady. So, technically, if you're in homeostasis, you don't get sick. It's the disruption of the stability that causes diseases. So every day we're constantly trying to regain stability. When you are experiencing issues with health, it could be a common cold, it could be flu, it could be skin rash, could be endometriosis, pcos, infertility these are all signs of disruption in homeostasis. So this is what we're talking about in Chinese medicine when you're imbalanced, you are out of homeostasis. It amazes me how TCM and biomedicine seem so different, but in fact they're also very similar.

Speaker 1:

Moving on to TCM principle number three, many patterns of disharmony can cause one disease and one patterns of disharmony can cause one disease and one pattern of disharmony can cause many diseases. What this means is, let's say you have a headache. There could be many imbalances that are causing the headache. It could be the liver organ system with cheese stagnation. It could be the kidney organ system with the deficiency. It could be the heart organ with blood deficiency. On the other hand, let's say you have Qi stagnation, that's when the vital energy flow is sluggish or stuck, you can run into many issues such as IBS, pcos, migraines, vertical depression, anxiety. This gives TCM the edge over biomedicine because we can really dig into the underlying root issues of any disease.

Speaker 1:

While identifying the root issue is really useful, sometimes it can take a while to resolve all the root issues. So when you start first using TCM for fertility, it won't have an immediate effect on the body, like taking Advil would do for your headaches or taking Clomid will do for ovulation. But we know that Advil is a band-aid solution and taking Clomid sometimes doesn't work because your ovaries might not be ready due to another problem and because it does take a little bit to resolve the underlying root issues. It can be very tough because you feel like you're running out of time and you're tired of waiting. But taking the time to resolve the underlying imbalances is not only going to help you get pregnant. It means a healthier pregnancy, a healthier baby, a better postpartum experience and also a lower risk of secondary infertility. So it'll make it easier for you to conceive a second time, a third time or a fourth time.

Speaker 1:

All right, moving on to TCM principle number four Past health history, family health history, trauma, diet, lifestyle, stress, toxin exposure they all contribute to the patterns of imbalances. Hello, this is epigenetics. We just talked about that in the last episode. The Chinese knew about epigenetics thousands of years ago. They didn't know that it was called epigenetics, they just knew that diseases just didn't pop up overnight. There are many influencing factors that cause imbalances.

Speaker 1:

So you might be wondering well, how do you discover which patterns of imbalance someone has? If you've ever been to an acupuncturist or a Chinese medicine practitioner, if you've ever been to an acupuncturist or a Chinese medicine practitioner, you've likely been asked what we call the 10 questions. In reality it's a lot more than 10, but these 10 questions evaluate every single system in the body and we group the symptoms together and most people usually have one or two dominant patterns. So think of patterns like a syndrome. It's never just one symptom, it's a group of symptoms, and that's also why when you start treatment with Chinese medicine, it's not just one thing that improves. You feel your entire health improves as well.

Speaker 1:

Tcm principle number five the way to achieve optimal health is by preventing disharmonies from forming. In reality, we know that it's impossible to be 100% balanced all the time, but the more you try to achieve that, the healthier you will be. So TCM a lot of times is about prevention. As I mentioned before, it's a way of life for a lot of Chinese people, because it's better to prevent a disease than to treat a disease. And some of you might be thinking this sounds a lot like functional medicine. You're right. Functional medicine and Chinese medicine have a lot of similarities. But here's the thing Chinese medicine is actually the original functional medicine, being one of the oldest medical systems in the world, and even though they have some differences, blending the two can be incredibly powerful. I've touched on this before in a previous episode, but here's a deeper look.

Speaker 1:

Functional medicine is rooted in modern biomedicine and it often relies on lab tests for diagnosis. This can be extremely helpful because traditional Chinese medicine can't identify specific issues like vitamin B12 deficiency, vitamin D deficiency or overgrowth of gut bacteria. It can't test nutritional metabolites in the urine or pinpoint which hormones might be off. But in the past, let's just say someone has B12 deficiency and they go see a TCM practitioner Without knowing anything about biochemistry. The TCM practitioner would observe the patient's symptoms, identify their unique pattern of imbalance and then make herbal dietary lifestyle recommendations accordingly. If the patient improved, that confirmed the diagnosis. This approach can lead to long-lasting results, but it may take time, especially if the patient's deficiency is severe and, in contrast, we can get results from lab testing and we can address a B12 deficiency more quickly by supplementing right away. But this also means ongoing blood work is necessary to monitor levels and it's still not very evident what is causing the B12 deficiency to begin with. And another example if you've been diagnosed with unexplained infertility, functional medicine would likely recommend lots of tests to uncover biochemical imbalances. It can get very costly, but a TCM practitioner could identify an underlying pattern of imbalance without any lab work. Once your unique pattern of disharmony is discovered, then a TCM-based plan can get incredibly specific, right down to the types of protein, vegetables and even spices you should be eating.

Speaker 1:

Functional medicine nutrition, while effective, tend to be broader in their recommendations. For example, these foods would benefit the thyroid, so just eat a lot of them. But we know that in Chinese medicine it doesn't matter that you have a thyroid disorder. What matters is your pattern of imbalance, because everyone will have a different pattern that caused the thyroid disorder and the recommendations will be very different for each individual. Typically, in my practice. I don't rush into ordering lab tests right away. Instead, I start with Chinese medicine. I first identify the TCM patterns and then from there I recommend a blend of traditional and modern dietary and lifestyle changes. And for our in-clinic patients we create the acupuncture and herbal protocols depending on the patterns and their archetype and many patients. They begin to see their patterns resolve quickly. They sleep better, feel less anxious and notice improvements in their cycle and then experience a better overall sense of well-being. And these are all essential stepping stones towards getting pregnant. And this is why, when we work on resolving a pattern or a syndrome, instead of just one symptom, you don't just notice improvement in one area of your life. You notice improvement in all aspects of your life. And you know, if we don't see a positive pregnancy test after three months because we see results between three to six months, that's when we might incorporate blood work to refine our plan further. So with this approach my patients in the clinic and online they can save time and money and we get to the root rather than just keep chasing symptoms. Now you might be wondering if this approach will work for you One of my favorite success stories of all times and I will never get sick of sharing her story is my friend, tara, who is also working with me as a fertility coach.

Speaker 1:

Some of you might know Tara she was dealing with. When I first met Tara, she was dealing with PCOS, endometriosis, and her husband had a varicocele, which meant the sperm quality wasn't optimal, and she took the time to figure out where the imbalances were that were causing the issues. We never did a lot of functional tests with Tara. She got the usual blood tests and diagnostics from her OBGYN, but we didn't do anything beyond that. So she figured out her imbalYN, but we didn't do anything beyond that. So she figured out her imbalances, the patterns of imbalance, and then she focused on working through the plan to resolve these imbalances that were affecting her fertility. Her husband was also on board and used our male fertility protocols. So six months later she got pregnant naturally. Months later she got pregnant naturally and the thing is she didn't stop. She stayed with the principles of our methodology and then, two years later, got pregnant again and in the meantime her husband did not get a varicoseal surgery, and this is a girl that was told that IVF was the only option. And then, just last month, we celebrated the news that she's now pregnant again with her third child, and she's due in July of this year. This is one of my favorite success stories, because it just showed that once an imbalance is resolved, the results are long-lasting.

Speaker 1:

All right, friend, I'm about to wrap up here. I actually had prepared a lot more to talk about, but decided to split the content into two episodes. I'll be discussing qi, or your body's vital energy, in the next episode. It's a concept that's crucial to understand and it's very foreign to most people. But one more thing I want to address before saying goodbye today is that one of the biggest myths about Chinese medicine that I want to smash is that it's religion-based. That's completely false. Chinese medicine has roots stemming from Taoism, but Taoism is not a religion, it's a way of living. Tao in Chinese medicine is way or road the way, so you do not need to follow a certain religion in order to benefit from this medicine. In fact, vets can do acupuncture on animals, and animals don't follow a certain religion and it still works for them. So if that's one of the fears holding you back from trying it out, don't worry, it's not true.

Speaker 1:

Well, I hope that I helped to demystify TCM a little bit for you today and you gained a better understanding of how this traditional medical system, even though thousands of years old, is still very much relevant today. The principles have survived the test of time. However, as a doctor of TCM and functional medicine, I believe that the best approach to treating modern day challenges is to take the best of both worlds and use like a blended approach. So if you have any questions about that, please let me know. Blended approach. So if you have any questions about that, please let me know. You can send me a text straight from the episode, or you could follow me on Instagram at Dr Adrienne Wee, or please do send me an email. I would love to hear from you. Info at AdrienneWeecom. Thank you so much, fertile Friend, for spending some time with me today. Until next time, take care of yourself and your amazing body. You're one fertile cycle away from getting pregnant.