October 7, 2024 • 20 mins
Dr. Susan Fox shares her extensive knowledge on enhancing fertility through acupuncture and lifestyle changes, emphasizing the importance of holistic health in improving reproductive outcomes. With over 23 years of experience, Dr. Fox explains how acupuncture can significantly impact IVF success rates and discusses the vital role of overall health in the fertility journey. She highlights the necessity of addressing toxin exposure and adopting healthier lifestyle choices, including dietary modifications tailored to different phases of the menstrual cycle. Dr. Fox introduces her comprehensive fertility program, which combines acupoint stimulation, mind-body meditations, and nutritional guidance to empower women and couples. Additionally, she discusses her upcoming summit, aimed at fostering collaboration among various health professionals to provide the best care and support for those navigating fertility challenges.
Dr. Susan Fox, a distinguished practitioner of acupuncture and Chinese medicine in the San Francisco Bay Area, has dedicated her professional life to enhancing fertility for women and couples. With over 23 years of experience, Dr. Fox shares her insights into how acupuncture can significantly improve outcomes for those undergoing IVF and other fertility treatments. Her journey began fortuitously next to an IVF center, where she quickly learned about the profound impact that simple acupuncture treatments could have when administered just before and after embryo transfers. Through her extensive practice, Dr. Fox has developed a holistic approach that not only addresses the immediate needs of her patients but also emphasizes the importance of overall health and well-being in the journey to conception.
Central to Dr. Fox's philosophy is the belief that improving reproductive health requires a multifaceted approach. She explains that her current practice involves a series of at least nine acupuncture treatments leading up to an IVF retrieval, alongside nutritional guidance and lifestyle changes. This comprehensive strategy aims to enhance the quality of reproductive health over time, particularly focusing on the three-month folliculogenesis cycle that influences egg health. Dr. Fox passionately discusses the detrimental effects of environmental toxins and lifestyle choices on fertility, urging individuals to adopt healthier habits and make informed choices about the products they use and consume. She highlights the necessity of increasing awareness and taking actionable steps toward better health practices, positioning herself as a guide for those navigating the complexities of fertility.
In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Fox emphasizes the emotional aspects of the fertility journey, acknowledging that it can be as stressful as dealing with serious health issues. To support her patients, she incorporates mind-body techniques, including guided meditations and qigong exercises, into her fertility program. This integration aims to cultivate a sense of empowerment and understanding of one’s body throughout the menstrual cycle. Dr. Fox is also excited to announce her upcoming summit, which will bring together various fertility specialists to foster collaboration and improve patient outcomes. By uniting professionals from different fields, she hopes to create a supportive network that empowers individuals facing fertility challenges, emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach to reproductive health.
Takeaways:
- Dr. Susan Fox emphasizes the importance of lifestyle changes and reducing toxin exposure for improving fertility outcomes.
- Acupuncture significantly impacts IVF success rates, enhancing the overall quality of reproductive health.
- Her comprehensive fertility program includes acupoint stimulation, dietary guidance, and mind-body meditations tailored to menstrual cycles.
- Dr. Fox advocates for awareness and actionable steps to improve hea
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
So my name is doctor Susan Fox.
I'm a doctor of acupunctureand chinese medicine in the San Francisco
Bay Area.
And for the past 23 years, myfocus has been helping women, people,
couples, improve theirfertility, their fertile health,
whether they're trying toconceive naturally or whether they
intend to go through advancedreproductive therapies like IVF.
(00:24):
And it's been my pleasure andhonor to really have that support
for these people, because it'sa rocky road for them.
And having someone andsomething in their corner that actually
has actionable outcomes thatimprove their success is so rewarding.
Unlike many backstories, I didnot struggle with fertility for myself,
(00:49):
however.
It was really just one ofthose right place, right time moments,
in that when I started mypractice, I happened to open up shath
across the whole from an IVF center.
And in that year, the researchwas just beginning to come out how
acupuncture was improving IVFoutcomes with just a simple procedure
(01:09):
done 20 minutes before and 20minutes after their IVF transfer.
And so that began the journey.
And of course, over these 23years, we have learned more about
how and why in that it is notjust necessarily this one simple
treatment.
In fact, we don't use that onesimple treatment anymore.
(01:29):
We tend to use about at leastnine treatments prior to an IVF retrieval
and then another one for anIVF transfer, because it's really
about improving the quality ofthis person's whole health, reproductive
health.
And therefore, the folliclesin the eggs that are coming with,
ideally, we would begin aboutthree months prior, because that
(01:52):
is the arc of what we call folliculogenesis.
So the eggs that a woman isgoing to ovulate this month and next
month and the following monthare already sort of in play.
There's this thing conceptcalled the primordial pool, where
all of our eggs are, areresting until such time as they're
(02:13):
recruited each month.
But what we do today will havean influence on the follicles and
then the eggs that areovulated, as I say, 30, 60, 90 to
120 days.
And when you think about thatconversely, right, that means that
if we're not doing anythingbeneficial and we're doing things
that are harmful, likeexposing ourselves to toxins in our.
(02:37):
In our everyday products,pesticides and food products, poor
water quality, poor sleep andwake lifestyle, then we are having
a.
We're exacerbating a problemfor 30, 60, 9120 days.
That being said, I want tojust highlight that any improvement
that starts now has abeneficial effect.
(03:00):
So if there are listeners whoare saying, I don't have 120 days
to wait, because for somereason, sometimes there really isn't
120 days to wait.
Our bodies are magnificent intheir ability to detox and heal and
restore.
And this is not just me saying it.
And it's not just ancientchinese medicine saying it.
I just, before this call,pulled up a study that just released
(03:23):
that talked about howimproving our health with something
as simple as coenzyme Q tenimproves the outcomes of someone
with what's called diminishedovarian reserve.
Oftentimes, that is a personof older years, but not necessarily.
I think the message that Ireally want listeners to hear is
that with an IVF cycle, asbrilliant and miraculous and wonderful
(03:48):
as it is, these doctors canonly stimulate eggs follicles in
the condition they are, canonly then retrieve them in the condition
that they are, can then onlyproduce embryos in the condition
that they are.
And so that's why, oftentimes,there needs to be multiple retrieval
cycles because of thecondition that they are.
(04:10):
I know I'm sounding ratherredundant, but that's the place where
we change quality.
And I say that with a bit of ahesitancy, because there is no research
that proves we change quality.
There's just clinical evidence.
Time and time and time again,we'll see improved amH levels, we'll
see improved follicle counts.
(04:32):
And it just bears thequestion, if there's not double blind,
placebo controlled studiesproving that it doesn't, how can
you?
Or that it does, how can youprove to me also that it doesn't
make all the difference?
And you just ask any human being.
We know innately that when wefeel better, when we're taking better
care of ourselves, all of ourtissues are better.
(04:53):
That's my passion.
That's my mission, is that Idon't want for someone to just have
a positive pregnancy test orjust a decent pregnancy and, okay,
delivery and postpartum.
But oftentimes, postpartum canget tricky.
My mission, my legacy, is thatwe are at a pivotal point, it is
(05:14):
tipping point, time to eitherimprove the health of our children
and our communities and ourlarger communities and our whole
governing bodies at large,which then extends to how we treat
the planet by making thesechanges now, forever.
Chemicals, formaldehydes,parabens, phthalates.
(05:36):
We're putting them on ourskin, in our mouth when we brush
our teeth.
We're putting triclosan in ourmouth, for goodness sake, if we're
not careful.
So that's where I feel sopassionate that we really do need
to make this change.
Now is our responsibility forthe health of our future.
Awareness and action.
(05:57):
We have, I think, a decentamount of awareness.
Not everyone.
We also have habits that wedon't want to give up.
Right.
So I see it in the.
All the time.
Someone will come in withautoimmune disorder and I'll say,
gosh, I'm sorry to be thebearer of bad news, but for your
(06:19):
health, your follicle health,your embryo health, your baby's health,
you will want to go glutenfree because we know that it's an
inflammatory agent and it willtrigger that autoimmune activity,
especially when it affects the thyroid.
And that person will sitacross me and say, I don't want him
to give out my bread.
And I'll say, well, there'snobody who's going to make you, but
do you want a healthy baby?
(06:41):
Because there is a geneticpredisposition toward this.
So it's.
We have.
We need more information.
We have it.
It's out there.
We just.
We just need to go look for itand then take action.
We need to vote with our dollars.
And ironically, when we votewith our dollars again, the other
argument is it's too expensiveto go organic and to get these other
(07:01):
products, but in fact, it's not.
Our produce has become muchmore accessible, as in Costco.
If you can't find it fresh,that's fine.
Get it frozen, because frozenis just picked and frozen, so it's
about as fresh as can be.
So there really are ways inwhich we can get organic foods without
it kind of breaking the bank.
(07:23):
We don't have to go to farmers market.
I mean, that's a lovely experience.
Right?
And we can go to some of thebigger name brands, but it can impact
some of the other brands,Target and Walmart, and they'll all
have, you know, their frozenfood section.
Just reach for the organic.
And, you know, when we eatorganic or grass fed, we organic,
(07:43):
free range, wild caught, wedon't need to eat as much because
that's the other side of things.
Right.
We tend to overeat in our society.
And part of it, I don't wantto create a judgment because part
of it is that we're eating,but we're malnourished.
So there's a part of ourbodies that's saying, I need more
because I don't have the nourishment.
(08:04):
But if we eat properly, thenhealthfully and drink healthily water,
then we won't be having thesecravings and our brain won't be saying,
I need more glucose fastbecause you just gave me garbage.
And, you know, and again, interms of expense, some of it, we
can just make do on our own.
You know, we don't need to gobuy high level organic products.
(08:28):
We can make our own.
And there are recipes outthere on the Internet, our own face
wash, our own shampoos.
Personally, I'm a little lazy,so I will buy and I will pay what
might seem like a premiumdollar, but then my hair is not leading,
is not falling out, or I'm notgetting a disease, or I'm not getting
(08:51):
a poor microbiome that'sleading to receding gums and cavities
and mouth ulcers.
That also affects our wholebodies, our oral microbial, affects
our gut microbiome, vaginal microbiome.
We're not separate.
These parts of our body areall in communication and relating
to each other as a result ofdoing this for 23 years, when 2020
(09:14):
arrived and we were not ableto see people in person for a while,
it dawned on me that not onlydid I want to reach the people who
couldn't come into my physicaloffice, I wanted to reach people
who couldn't come into an office.
So I designed a course thathas all the modules in it.
So, for instance, you can doyour own acupoint stimulation without
(09:36):
needles.
You can do it with an infraredlight, you can do it with a tens
machine.
And because infertility andIVF is a stressful experience in
the course, I also includedsort of mind body guided meditations.
We've seen in research, again,that it can be as stressful to struggle
with infertility as it is tostruggle with a cancer diagnosis
(09:59):
or some other life threatening disease.
The data is there to back that up.
So I wanted to make sure Iadded that mind body component.
And then there's a series ofqigong, all of which are designed
to help a person recognizewhere in a menstrual cycle she is.
And I'm going to use thepronoun she, so forgive me, and then
(10:22):
have a mind body relationshipwith what's going on right now so
that she can influence what'sgoing on right now so she can include
this targeted circulation toher overseas from the end of her
menstrual flow to eitherovulation or egg retrieval in a cycle.
And it's been so rewarding.
(10:42):
It's not about taking my wordfor it.
On my website, there aretestimonials from these women who
have just been told, forgetabout it.
You need donor a, you're tooold and they're conceiving naturally
or having.
In one case I'm thinking ofwent through IDF unsuccessfully two
times this happened.
Coworker with their firstchild, unsuccessfully.
(11:03):
Did the program, was able toget pregnant two years later.
Fast forward.
Did IVF without the programunsuccessfully came into the program
and then was able to getpregnant again.
So rocket science, but it is science.
So this is step by step, eachweek of your cycle.
It includes, these are thefoods that are ideal to eat at this
(11:24):
time in your cycle.
And this is why it's throughthe filter, the lens of chinese medicine.
That's my area of background,and I use what's called a five element
model of chinese medicine thatalso includes the emotional component.
Because we're not all cookiecutter, we're not all the same.
If you and I have a problem,we may respond differently, and I
(11:46):
may respond with anger andirritability, and you may respond
weeping and crying.
And those responses, thoseemotional responses, will help me
in the five element chinesemedicine model.
Say, ah, this is your fiveelement constitution, if you will,
your proclivity, and here'show you can help support that.
(12:06):
Again, it just empowers us tobe able to say, ah, I'm seen and
I can help myself and I canhelp others.
I'm going to give westernmedicine a break and say, they're
as caught up in the problem aswe are in that.
How can you give all theinformation in a seven minute consultation,
(12:27):
which they're required, makesure that they process all of these
patients?
And so, and they're not trained.
They're not trained in nutrition.
They get in their, whatever.
Eleven years of training,maybe 20 hours, if that, of nutrition.
So that's like asking yourmechanic to do cardiac surgery, open
heart surgery, right?
So we just, you know, we needto support each other.
(12:50):
And that's, if I may, again,I'm excited about this thing that
I'm doing in that I'm puttingtogether a summit, an immersive series.
It will air in January.
And I brought together IVFdocs, reproductive urologists, naturopathic
physicians, gosh, IVF coaches,acupuncturists, psychiatrists, to
(13:12):
show that we are really in ourfield, arms linked in wanting to
support our patients and givethem our clients, whatever we call
them, and give them the bestcare and outcomes.
Because I think out there inthe world of the Internet with searches,
it can really feel like we areeach at odds with each other, really,
when you're understanding theinner circles, if you will.
(13:35):
Maybe there are some outlierswho want to say IVF bad, only natural
conception good, or vice versa.
And those who are in the IVFfield saying those people are dangerous
because you might be missingyour window.
Neither is 100% correct, andboth have rationale.
I really like to see and sharethat we really do work together on
(13:57):
behalf of our patients.
I'll be sure to share with youwhen that drops.
And with your permission, I'llshare with you the links to my website.
There's actually a quiz thatsomeone can take for their five element
constitutional type.
It's just called yourfertilityquiz.com.
and you'll get a report thatsays based on your answers, this
would be your five elementfertility type.
(14:19):
And here are some ways inwhich you can help sort of get yourself
back into balance.
These are ways you might findyourself out of balance.
These are ways you can findyourself back into balance.
And that's all free.
And then if somebody says, oh,I'm really interested in this, and
I really want to concede, thenthe course is there for you.
Include it in the courseincludes these devices that I talked
about, these infrared machineand tens unit.
Because that's another thing.
(14:40):
And you probably call runningfor all of these appointments when
you're trying to have a worklife in a relationship.
It's crazy making to have todo all of these appointments.
So to be able to just do itwhen you wake up in the morning or
before you go to bed at night,and know that you really are doing
as much, if not more, becauseyou're doing it six times a week,
(15:02):
not once or twice a week, toreally improve your outcomes.
I think that that is sohelpful and empowering.
I wish that there would bemore comprehensive centers because
you do need to physically gointo the IVF facility.
So to be able to really havesomething like my program be part
of the experience when youwalk in the door, because you need
(15:24):
to get your labs, you may needto get some diagnostic testing, you
may need to get some treatmentbefore you go through the actual
stim.
All of that time you can beusing to improve your outcomes.
So I wish, if I were, if Iruled the world of IVF, then every
center would have this accessibility.
(15:46):
Again, you don't have to bephysically in the office because
that's more time, but just toknow that this is available for you
so that you can improve your outcomes.
And once again, this is whereI get on my soapbox.
Not just your outcome, but the future.
I mean, really the future ofour world is dependent upon how well
you improve your whole healthand your fertile.
(16:08):
And once again, I evenchallenge the word infertility, because
I really think we'restruggling with subfertility based
upon our lifestyle, based upontoxic load.
If I were to just say it inone word and all of that could be
reversed, we could reverse infertility.
(16:28):
There'll be people who aregoing to need IVF, same sex couples.
If somebody's had a diagnosisof cancer and needs to quickly harvest
some eggs or embryos, therewill be a place for that.
Or if somebody just startslater in life, nature is dictating
that later in life, from theages 36, 37 to 43, which is a pretty
(16:53):
large contingent of peoplestarting for the first time.
Life is just presented that way.
They are going to benefit fromIDF, they are going to benefit from
the insurance policy, if youwill, of having embryos in storage
for when it's time to growtheir family.
And I don't want to share toomuch of my personal belief system,
but just to say, in anutshell, we wouldn't have IVF if
(17:14):
the greater intelligence,power, God, whatever you call, didn't
say, okay, you little ones,you little humans, we're going to
let you figure this out.
Now.
It didn't come out of the blue.
Any idea that comes into formthat then develops into all the way
to science existed.
(17:35):
And so I think that IVF issomething that we've been given permission
to step into you, which is whyI feel that it is really a blessing
for so many.
I think that perspective letsme take this boogeyman image out
of it, that there are evildoctors at play and at prey here.
(17:55):
And I just think that'simpossible, Frank.
Whether it's politicaldiscourse, public discourse, kitchen
table discourse, and that'smaybe a silver lining to the dilemma
that we're all living through,is that it really has elevated the
conversation and it is kind ofa current hash metoo movement where
I, even in this summit that Ijust mentioned I'm putting together
(18:20):
many of these guest expertspeakers revealed that their families
were IVF families, or thatthey had struggled with infertility.
And it's really so beautiful,because I didn't know.
I mean, I know these people asprofessionals, and that they would
reveal this as part of theirpresentation was just so heart centering
and connecting.
(18:40):
It makes us all realize we'reall in this together.
And if I may, I just had athought, because I think for the
topic here, how I ally myother big dream is to have this be
also in the awareness of theemployee benefits manager, human
resources department, we'reseeing lots of, you know, lots of
(19:01):
movement, and it's wonderfultoward providing fertility benefits
through the corporate world.
And yet, once again, if you'rejust paying a claim, then you are
still working with this personwho is having her IVF experience
back to my beginning, exactlyhow she is, which is then going to
need multiple retrievals,which then becomes a bigger expense.
(19:25):
If you're listening out there,any employee benefits managers or
directors, you could pay forone retrieval cycle versus three
retrieval cycles, which is tosay 30,000 versus about 100,000.
And all the time that it takesfor that person to be out of the
workforce fully, and theemotional toll that this is taking
(19:45):
on this person, that employeeis going to be like, oh, my goodness,
it's not just for money.
You actually care about me asa human being and my experience.
And then that person is goingto be more, I would say, in gratitude
to the company itself, to thecompany culture.
If you had to go into yourhuman resources department, say,
(20:06):
you know, I need to do ideafor whatever reason, and that employee
benefits manager or thedepartment itself had this all spelled
out, you almost immediatelyhave an experience of, oh, it's going
to be okay, as opposed to, oh,boy, here we go.
You know, we're just going tothrow spaghetti at the wall and see
(20:26):
what happens.
All that anxiety thatproduces, and it wants to get all
that time away from work andproductivity, that's what.
That's what would get me onboard if I were the employee benefits
manager or the company owneror the CEO of a big conglomerate.
When you're dealing withthousands or tens of thousands of
people, you're going to savemillions of dollars and you're going
(20:49):
to earn countless, it's justincalculable amount goodwill and
trust with your employees.
So my name is doctor Susan Fox.
I'm a doctor of acupunctureand chinese medicine in the San Francisco
Bay Area.
And for the past 23 years, myfocus has been helping women, people,
couples, improve theirfertility, their fertile health,
whether they're trying toconceive naturally or whether they
intend to go through advancedreproductive therapies like IVF.
(00:24):
And it's been my pleasure andhonor to really have that support
for these people, because it'sa rocky road for them.
And having someone andsomething in their corner that actually
has actionable outcomes thatimprove their success is so rewarding.
Unlike many backstories, I didnot struggle with fertility for myself,
(00:49):
however.
It was really just one ofthose right place, right time moments,
in that when I started mypractice, I happened to open up shath
across the whole from an IVF center.
And in that year, the researchwas just beginning to come out how
acupuncture was improving IVFoutcomes with just a simple procedure
(01:09):
done 20 minutes before and 20minutes after their IVF transfer.
And so that began the journey.
And of course, over these 23years, we have learned more about
how and why in that it is notjust necessarily this one simple
treatment.
In fact, we don't use that onesimple treatment anymore.
(01:29):
We tend to use about at leastnine treatments prior to an IVF retrieval
and then another one for anIVF transfer, because it's really
about improving the quality ofthis person's whole health, reproductive
health.
And therefore, the folliclesin the eggs that are coming with,
ideally, we would begin aboutthree months prior, because that
(01:52):
is the arc of what we call folliculogenesis.
So the eggs that a woman isgoing to ovulate this month and next
month and the following monthare already sort of in play.
There's this thing conceptcalled the primordial pool, where
all of our eggs are, areresting until such time as they're
(02:13):
recruited each month.
But what we do today will havean influence on the follicles and
then the eggs that areovulated, as I say, 30, 60, 90 to
120 days.
And when you think about thatconversely, right, that means that
if we're not doing anythingbeneficial and we're doing things
that are harmful, likeexposing ourselves to toxins in our.
(02:37):
In our everyday products,pesticides and food products, poor
water quality, poor sleep andwake lifestyle, then we are having
a.
We're exacerbating a problemfor 30, 60, 9120 days.
That being said, I want tojust highlight that any improvement
that starts now has abeneficial effect.
(03:00):
So if there are listeners whoare saying, I don't have 120 days
to wait, because for somereason, sometimes there really isn't
120 days to wait.
Our bodies are magnificent intheir ability to detox and heal and
restore.
And this is not just me saying it.
And it's not just ancientchinese medicine saying it.
I just, before this call,pulled up a study that just released
(03:23):
that talked about howimproving our health with something
as simple as coenzyme Q tenimproves the outcomes of someone
with what's called diminishedovarian reserve.
Oftentimes, that is a personof older years, but not necessarily.
I think the message that Ireally want listeners to hear is
that with an IVF cycle, asbrilliant and miraculous and wonderful
(03:48):
as it is, these doctors canonly stimulate eggs follicles in
the condition they are, canonly then retrieve them in the condition
that they are, can then onlyproduce embryos in the condition
that they are.
And so that's why, oftentimes,there needs to be multiple retrieval
cycles because of thecondition that they are.
(04:10):
I know I'm sounding ratherredundant, but that's the place where
we change quality.
And I say that with a bit of ahesitancy, because there is no research
that proves we change quality.
There's just clinical evidence.
Time and time and time again,we'll see improved amH levels, we'll
see improved follicle counts.
(04:32):
And it just bears thequestion, if there's not double blind,
placebo controlled studiesproving that it doesn't, how can
you?
Or that it does, how can youprove to me also that it doesn't
make all the difference?
And you just ask any human being.
We know innately that when wefeel better, when we're taking better
care of ourselves, all of ourtissues are better.
(04:53):
That's my passion.
That's my mission, is that Idon't want for someone to just have
a positive pregnancy test orjust a decent pregnancy and, okay,
delivery and postpartum.
But oftentimes, postpartum canget tricky.
My mission, my legacy, is thatwe are at a pivotal point, it is
(05:14):
tipping point, time to eitherimprove the health of our children
and our communities and ourlarger communities and our whole
governing bodies at large,which then extends to how we treat
the planet by making thesechanges now, forever.
Chemicals, formaldehydes,parabens, phthalates.
(05:36):
We're putting them on ourskin, in our mouth when we brush
our teeth.
We're putting triclosan in ourmouth, for goodness sake, if we're
not careful.
So that's where I feel sopassionate that we really do need
to make this change.
Now is our responsibility forthe health of our future.
Awareness and action.
(05:57):
We have, I think, a decentamount of awareness.
Not everyone.
We also have habits that wedon't want to give up.
Right.
So I see it in the.
All the time.
Someone will come in withautoimmune disorder and I'll say,
gosh, I'm sorry to be thebearer of bad news, but for your
(06:19):
health, your follicle health,your embryo health, your baby's health,
you will want to go glutenfree because we know that it's an
inflammatory agent and it willtrigger that autoimmune activity,
especially when it affects the thyroid.
And that person will sitacross me and say, I don't want him
to give out my bread.
And I'll say, well, there'snobody who's going to make you, but
do you want a healthy baby?
(06:41):
Because there is a geneticpredisposition toward this.
So it's.
We have.
We need more information.
We have it.
It's out there.
We just.
We just need to go look for itand then take action.
We need to vote with our dollars.
And ironically, when we votewith our dollars again, the other
argument is it's too expensiveto go organic and to get these other
(07:01):
products, but in fact, it's not.
Our produce has become muchmore accessible, as in Costco.
If you can't find it fresh,that's fine.
Get it frozen, because frozenis just picked and frozen, so it's
about as fresh as can be.
So there really are ways inwhich we can get organic foods without
it kind of breaking the bank.
(07:23):
We don't have to go to farmers market.
I mean, that's a lovely experience.
Right?
And we can go to some of thebigger name brands, but it can impact
some of the other brands,Target and Walmart, and they'll all
have, you know, their frozenfood section.
Just reach for the organic.
And, you know, when we eatorganic or grass fed, we organic,
(07:43):
free range, wild caught, wedon't need to eat as much because
that's the other side of things.
Right.
We tend to overeat in our society.
And part of it, I don't wantto create a judgment because part
of it is that we're eating,but we're malnourished.
So there's a part of ourbodies that's saying, I need more
because I don't have the nourishment.
(08:04):
But if we eat properly, thenhealthfully and drink healthily water,
then we won't be having thesecravings and our brain won't be saying,
I need more glucose fastbecause you just gave me garbage.
And, you know, and again, interms of expense, some of it, we
can just make do on our own.
You know, we don't need to gobuy high level organic products.
(08:28):
We can make our own.
And there are recipes outthere on the Internet, our own face
wash, our own shampoos.
Personally, I'm a little lazy,so I will buy and I will pay what
might seem like a premiumdollar, but then my hair is not leading,
is not falling out, or I'm notgetting a disease, or I'm not getting
(08:51):
a poor microbiome that'sleading to receding gums and cavities
and mouth ulcers.
That also affects our wholebodies, our oral microbial, affects
our gut microbiome, vaginal microbiome.
We're not separate.
These parts of our body areall in communication and relating
to each other as a result ofdoing this for 23 years, when 2020
(09:14):
arrived and we were not ableto see people in person for a while,
it dawned on me that not onlydid I want to reach the people who
couldn't come into my physicaloffice, I wanted to reach people
who couldn't come into an office.
So I designed a course thathas all the modules in it.
So, for instance, you can doyour own acupoint stimulation without
(09:36):
needles.
You can do it with an infraredlight, you can do it with a tens
machine.
And because infertility andIVF is a stressful experience in
the course, I also includedsort of mind body guided meditations.
We've seen in research, again,that it can be as stressful to struggle
with infertility as it is tostruggle with a cancer diagnosis
(09:59):
or some other life threatening disease.
The data is there to back that up.
So I wanted to make sure Iadded that mind body component.
And then there's a series ofqigong, all of which are designed
to help a person recognizewhere in a menstrual cycle she is.
And I'm going to use thepronoun she, so forgive me, and then
(10:22):
have a mind body relationshipwith what's going on right now so
that she can influence what'sgoing on right now so she can include
this targeted circulation toher overseas from the end of her
menstrual flow to eitherovulation or egg retrieval in a cycle.
And it's been so rewarding.
(10:42):
It's not about taking my wordfor it.
On my website, there aretestimonials from these women who
have just been told, forgetabout it.
You need donor a, you're tooold and they're conceiving naturally
or having.
In one case I'm thinking ofwent through IDF unsuccessfully two
times this happened.
Coworker with their firstchild, unsuccessfully.
(11:03):
Did the program, was able toget pregnant two years later.
Fast forward.
Did IVF without the programunsuccessfully came into the program
and then was able to getpregnant again.
So rocket science, but it is science.
So this is step by step, eachweek of your cycle.
It includes, these are thefoods that are ideal to eat at this
(11:24):
time in your cycle.
And this is why it's throughthe filter, the lens of chinese medicine.
That's my area of background,and I use what's called a five element
model of chinese medicine thatalso includes the emotional component.
Because we're not all cookiecutter, we're not all the same.
If you and I have a problem,we may respond differently, and I
(11:46):
may respond with anger andirritability, and you may respond
weeping and crying.
And those responses, thoseemotional responses, will help me
in the five element chinesemedicine model.
Say, ah, this is your fiveelement constitution, if you will,
your proclivity, and here'show you can help support that.
(12:06):
Again, it just empowers us tobe able to say, ah, I'm seen and
I can help myself and I canhelp others.
I'm going to give westernmedicine a break and say, they're
as caught up in the problem aswe are in that.
How can you give all theinformation in a seven minute consultation,
(12:27):
which they're required, makesure that they process all of these
patients?
And so, and they're not trained.
They're not trained in nutrition.
They get in their, whatever.
Eleven years of training,maybe 20 hours, if that, of nutrition.
So that's like asking yourmechanic to do cardiac surgery, open
heart surgery, right?
So we just, you know, we needto support each other.
(12:50):
And that's, if I may, again,I'm excited about this thing that
I'm doing in that I'm puttingtogether a summit, an immersive series.
It will air in January.
And I brought together IVFdocs, reproductive urologists, naturopathic
physicians, gosh, IVF coaches,acupuncturists, psychiatrists, to
(13:12):
show that we are really in ourfield, arms linked in wanting to
support our patients and givethem our clients, whatever we call
them, and give them the bestcare and outcomes.
Because I think out there inthe world of the Internet with searches,
it can really feel like we areeach at odds with each other, really,
when you're understanding theinner circles, if you will.
(13:35):
Maybe there are some outlierswho want to say IVF bad, only natural
conception good, or vice versa.
And those who are in the IVFfield saying those people are dangerous
because you might be missingyour window.
Neither is 100% correct, andboth have rationale.
I really like to see and sharethat we really do work together on
(13:57):
behalf of our patients.
I'll be sure to share with youwhen that drops.
And with your permission, I'llshare with you the links to my website.
There's actually a quiz thatsomeone can take for their five element
constitutional type.
It's just called yourfertilityquiz.com.
and you'll get a report thatsays based on your answers, this
would be your five elementfertility type.
(14:19):
And here are some ways inwhich you can help sort of get yourself
back into balance.
These are ways you might findyourself out of balance.
These are ways you can findyourself back into balance.
And that's all free.
And then if somebody says, oh,I'm really interested in this, and
I really want to concede, thenthe course is there for you.
Include it in the courseincludes these devices that I talked
about, these infrared machineand tens unit.
Because that's another thing.
(14:40):
And you probably call runningfor all of these appointments when
you're trying to have a worklife in a relationship.
It's crazy making to have todo all of these appointments.
So to be able to just do itwhen you wake up in the morning or
before you go to bed at night,and know that you really are doing
as much, if not more, becauseyou're doing it six times a week,
(15:02):
not once or twice a week, toreally improve your outcomes.
I think that that is sohelpful and empowering.
I wish that there would bemore comprehensive centers because
you do need to physically gointo the IVF facility.
So to be able to really havesomething like my program be part
of the experience when youwalk in the door, because you need
(15:24):
to get your labs, you may needto get some diagnostic testing, you
may need to get some treatmentbefore you go through the actual
stim.
All of that time you can beusing to improve your outcomes.
So I wish, if I were, if Iruled the world of IVF, then every
center would have this accessibility.
(15:46):
Again, you don't have to bephysically in the office because
that's more time, but just toknow that this is available for you
so that you can improve your outcomes.
And once again, this is whereI get on my soapbox.
Not just your outcome, but the future.
I mean, really the future ofour world is dependent upon how well
you improve your whole healthand your fertile.
(16:08):
And once again, I evenchallenge the word infertility, because
I really think we'restruggling with subfertility based
upon our lifestyle, based upontoxic load.
If I were to just say it inone word and all of that could be
reversed, we could reverse infertility.
(16:28):
There'll be people who aregoing to need IVF, same sex couples.
If somebody's had a diagnosisof cancer and needs to quickly harvest
some eggs or embryos, therewill be a place for that.
Or if somebody just startslater in life, nature is dictating
that later in life, from theages 36, 37 to 43, which is a pretty
(16:53):
large contingent of peoplestarting for the first time.
Life is just presented that way.
They are going to benefit fromIDF, they are going to benefit from
the insurance policy, if youwill, of having embryos in storage
for when it's time to growtheir family.
And I don't want to share toomuch of my personal belief system,
but just to say, in anutshell, we wouldn't have IVF if
(17:14):
the greater intelligence,power, God, whatever you call, didn't
say, okay, you little ones,you little humans, we're going to
let you figure this out.
Now.
It didn't come out of the blue.
Any idea that comes into formthat then develops into all the way
to science existed.
(17:35):
And so I think that IVF issomething that we've been given permission
to step into you, which is whyI feel that it is really a blessing
for so many.
I think that perspective letsme take this boogeyman image out
of it, that there are evildoctors at play and at prey here.
(17:55):
And I just think that'simpossible, Frank.
Whether it's politicaldiscourse, public discourse, kitchen
table discourse, and that'smaybe a silver lining to the dilemma
that we're all living through,is that it really has elevated the
conversation and it is kind ofa current hash metoo movement where
I, even in this summit that Ijust mentioned I'm putting together
(18:20):
many of these guest expertspeakers revealed that their families
were IVF families, or thatthey had struggled with infertility.
And it's really so beautiful,because I didn't know.
I mean, I know these people asprofessionals, and that they would
reveal this as part of theirpresentation was just so heart centering
and connecting.
(18:40):
It makes us all realize we'reall in this together.
And if I may, I just had athought, because I think for the
topic here, how I ally myother big dream is to have this be
also in the awareness of theemployee benefits manager, human
resources department, we'reseeing lots of, you know, lots of
(19:01):
movement, and it's wonderfultoward providing fertility benefits
through the corporate world.
And yet, once again, if you'rejust paying a claim, then you are
still working with this personwho is having her IVF experience
back to my beginning, exactlyhow she is, which is then going to
need multiple retrievals,which then becomes a bigger expense.
(19:25):
If you're listening out there,any employee benefits managers or
directors, you could pay forone retrieval cycle versus three
retrieval cycles, which is tosay 30,000 versus about 100,000.
And all the time that it takesfor that person to be out of the
workforce fully, and theemotional toll that this is taking
(19:45):
on this person, that employeeis going to be like, oh, my goodness,
it's not just for money.
You actually care about me asa human being and my experience.
And then that person is goingto be more, I would say, in gratitude
to the company itself, to thecompany culture.
If you had to go into yourhuman resources department, say,
(20:06):
you know, I need to do ideafor whatever reason, and that employee
benefits manager or thedepartment itself had this all spelled
out, you almost immediatelyhave an experience of, oh, it's going
to be okay, as opposed to, oh,boy, here we go.
You know, we're just going tothrow spaghetti at the wall and see
(20:26):
what happens.
All that anxiety thatproduces, and it wants to get all
that time away from work andproductivity, that's what.
That's what would get me onboard if I were the employee benefits
manager or the company owneror the CEO of a big conglomerate.
When you're dealing withthousands or tens of thousands of
people, you're going to savemillions of dollars and you're going
(20:49):
to earn countless, it's justincalculable amount goodwill and
trust with your employees.
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