A woman in her early 20s presented for difficulty getting pregnant. She and her husband had not been using protection since they were married 2 years prior, but they never became pregnant. She had regular menstruation cycles, however, her periods were very short and only lasted 1-2 days. Since her hormones were never tested, I recommended that she get the lab testing I laid out for her, which all came back normal. I suggested her husband get a sperm analysis done and if anything was abnormal, then I should start to treat him as well. Her husband came to see me, very discouraged and ashamed because he felt like he was the “problem.” His sperm analysis showed low sperm volume (which can be normal when testing at a facility and not in the comfort of your own home), his sperm morphology and mobility were normal, however, his sperm concentration was very low (7.8 million). He also felt very stressed in general and admitted to feeling very tense all the time.
I discussed with both of them that it was important to improve her menstruation, increase his sperm count, and to decrease the stress his body is under. Sperm regeneration and maturation can take 3-6 months, so we got him started right away with an herbal medicine formula and acupuncture weekly for both of them. Her periods began to change quickly and after 2 menstrual cycles, she was having a period that lasted 4-5 days. She noticed her PMS signs were gone and she noticed she was sleeping through the night. Her husband’s treatments resulted in some nice side effects as well. He felt a significant reduction in his stress levels. He felt like he could handle so much more before feeling any irritability or anxiety at work.
Update:
Before we hit the 4-month mark, they found out they were pregnant! Her pregnancy went smoothly and she had some pre-labor treatments starting at week 36 and gave birth naturally to a baby boy.
Every success story on this website is from a patient of Dr. Erin West. All patient testimonials were unsolicited. No one was paid for a testimonial or endorsement. Before and after photos were not retouched or altered. Results were self-reported by the customer and therefore cannot be confirmed. Results may not be typical.
Meet Dr. West, TCMD, LAc
Dr. West graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Cellular Biology from California State University Fullerton in southern CA where she was raised. She then completed a 5-year Doctorate in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) at Pacific Rim College of Integrative and Complementary Medicine in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Dr. West is Nationally Board Certified in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine by the NCCAOM and licensed with the State of Arizona.
