Infertility Acupunture

Experience Miracles With Acupuncture Turning Patient’s Into Parents

Welcome to and the important role Traditional Oriental Medicine (TOM), Acupuncture and Dr. Alderman can play in your reproductive health enhancement and fertility. While the majority of our patients are expectant mothers we also address the potential father’s role in dealing with Infertility.

At we understand that couples experience infertility as the loss of a child, the loss of pregnancy, and the loss of the greatest gift of creating life and having family. We understand infertility can challenge even the strongest of marriages. Partners may have different coping styles that can lead to distancing and alienation within the relationship. For instance, it is quite difficult when one partner seeks information and intervention to relieve anxiety and a sense of helplessness, and the other copes with stress by feeling the matter will resolve itself with time and believes that taking action is unnecessary.

You’re not alone. Infertility affects 10% to 15% of all couples in the United States. Infertility can be devastating to those who have it and to their partners. Innumerable couples grieve the loss of a potential new born monthly, and tend to lose optimism and increase their stress levels with each reproductive cycle. We understand the emotional experience of infertility often is a compilation of the distressing feelings of anger, grief, depression, isolation, guilt, jealousy, self-blame, and being out of control. The powerlessness to produce a newborn child often produces feelings of sorrow, as does the inability to perpetuate the parenting role and family name.

When partners are out of sync, they often become the targets of reciprocal anger. Although not intentional or conscious, emotional pain can cause partners to blame one another for the infertility or for not commencing with treatment expediently.

At , we understand the couples issues of the amount of financial resources to invest in treatment, the use of third parties to achieve a pregnancy, the exploration of adoption, whom to tell, and when to terminate treatment. We understand that sexuality frequently is affected by infertility. Partners may report decreased sex drive and diminished sense of enjoyment. Couples with infertility often are required to have "sex on demand." Instead of being associated with intimacy, sex becomes associated with procreation, pain, and failure. These unnecessary stressors can destroy what was once a sound relationship and marriage.

“Experience the Miracles” is more than a slogan. Acupuncture practiced in the skilled hands of an experienced Doctor of Oriental Medicine and Acupuncturist turns patients into parents. This miracle of assisting, my patients, to overcome infertility is one of the most rewarding ongoing experiences in my life. Experience the miracles that Eastern Medicine provides, and the greatest miracle of all, the miracle of giving life.”                                              ~John L. Alderman, O.M.D., L.Ac., D.N.B.A.O

At we have great reason for optimism and encouragement. Dr. Alderman is one of Idaho’s most experienced Doctors of Oriental Medicine and Licensed Acupuncturists dealing with fertility and women’s health. His specialized gentle care and decades of experience maximize a future couple’s ability to conceive, in addition to their health and vitality.

Traditional Chinese Medicine consists of acupuncture and herbal therapy to treat and prevent disease. This effective form of medicine has stood the test of thousands of years and practiced by almost a fourth of the world's population and continues to rise above and improve health in our modern culture. The evidence of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TOM) treating infertility dates back to 11AD.

We have what you want you want…RESULTS!

At Alderman Medical Acupuncture we employ almost three decades of specialization in proven techniques to treat infertility and enhance reproductive health in men and women. In addition, we also provide specialized care in treating the following conditions that can affect reproduction and health:

• Regulation of the menstrual cycles
• Pre-menstrual Syndrome (PMS )
• Endometriosis
• Menopausal symptoms
• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Blocked fallopian tubes
• Certain causes of miscarriage
• Decreased libido
• Decreased sperm numbers, quality and motility

Acupuncture is Proven Effective
Acupuncture and herbal medicinals are a time tested, normalization process that is gentle and scientifically proven effective method to assist in fertility issues in both men and women. This ancient art and science is now embraced by current western medical research that documents the significant potentials for fertility-boosting benefits.

A recent study conducted by physician-scientists at New York Weill Cornell Medical Center cites acupuncture as a promising effective fertility enhancing treatment. An article in a recent issue of Fertility and Sterility--co-authored by Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, Dr. Pak H. Chung, and Dr. Raymond Chang of Weill Cornell--provides a summary of current research that supports acupunctures potential benefits for fertility treatment, including the stimulation of increased uterine blood flow and fertility hormones.

This lead review article reports that acupuncture treatment has the following potential fertility-boosting benefits:

• Increased blood flow to the uterus and therefore uterine wall thickness, an important marker for fertility.
• Increased endorphin production, which, in turn, has been shown to affect the release of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), a decapeptide involved in regulating reproduction.
• Lower stress hormones responsible for infertility.
• Impact on plasma levels of the fertility hormones: follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), and Progesterone (P).
• Normalization of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, a key process in fertility.
• A positive effect for women with polycystic ovarian syndrome, a hormonal imbalance present in three percent of adolescents and adults.

Recent medical research has proven that acupuncture can improve the outcome of Assisted Reproductive Techniques, improving ovarian response and uterine receptivity.

A research study titled Influence of Acupuncture on the Pregnancy Rate in Patients Who Undergo Assisted Reproduction Therapy was published in Fertility and Sterility (VOL. 77, NO. 4, APRIL 2002). The study evaluated the effect of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in Assisted Reproduction Therapy (ART) by comparing a group of patients receiving acupuncture treatment shortly before and after embryo transfer with a control group receiving no acupuncture. Results showed that clinical pregnancies were documented in 34 of 80 patients (42.5%) in the acupuncture group, whereas pregnancy rate was only 26.3% (21 out of 80 patients) in the control group.

• Regulating and normalize hormones and the endocrine system that regulate the menstrual cycle and ovulation.
  
  
• Stimulating ovulation
  
  
• Increasing blood supply to the uterus, which improves ovum implanting once fertilized.
  
  
• Relaxing the uterus, and can aid in the correction of nutritional deficiencies that can make it difficult for a woman to sustain a pregnancy.
  
  
• Affecting the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, which plays an important key role in fertility.
  
  
• Making changes to the central nervous system altering the regulation of blood pressure and flow as well as body temperature.
  
  
• Stimulating the central nervous system causing neurotransmitters and neurohormones to be released, thereby boosting your body’s natural ability to heal itself.
  
  
• Maximize the Reproductive potential.

Optimize your reproductive health by
cultivating the soil before planting the seed.

Our bodies are created to live in vitality, be fertile, conceive a newborn and experience the joy and love of family. While infertility may appear to be the core of the problem, it is actually the manifestation of a deeper underlying imbalance. It cannot be understated that experience matters in any form of medicine and especially treating imbalances causing infertility. Dr. Alderman’s experience and knowledge is unsurpassed in our Treasure Valley. You owe it to yourself, schedule your FREE consultation. Dr. Alderman’s care and overall goal is to prepare your body for conception and pregnancy.

The appropriate treatment for an infertile condition depends upon the accurate diagnosis. Defining the precise disharmony preventing a successful pregnancy is one of the primary underpinnings of effective infertility treatment. This is where experience matters. Dr. Alderman’s comprehensive evaluation will help uncover the cause of the imbalance, and institute treatment strategies. If accepted as a patient, you will be making a major step in allowing your fertility to express itself naturally.

Dr. Alderman’s treatment approach can be an integrated medical approach combining Western science and a fertility specialist. Dr. Alderman would be pleased to consult and form a team approach in assisting you with your fertility.

Eastern medicine differs from that of western medicine in that a Doctor of Oriental Medicine seeks to determine the underlying imbalance by understanding the body’s individual emotional and physical patterns. This diagnostic process goes beyond the signs and symptoms process in that of western medicine.

The following are a list of diagnosis from a western medical perspective that is provided to inform and demonstrate how inclusive and effective acupuncture and related therapies can be...

...Secondary Infertility
Secondary infertility is defined as the inability to become pregnant, or to carry a pregnancy to term, following the birth of one or more biological children. Even though the couple already has a child, the couple experiences secondary infertility as the loss of a child, the loss of pregnancy, and the loss of childbirth. Many couples are caught completely off guard by the difficulty of having a second child because they hold the belief that past fertility insures future fertility. Although over three million Americans are affected by the painful experience of secondary infertility, it generally remains an unacknowledged and invisible condition from a western medical perspective. At Alderman Medical Acupuncture were pleased that so many of previous family of patients have a greater understanding of health and inner balance through Eastern Medicine. Many have sought timely and effective treatment at our clinic and have again conceived without the usual emotional trauma experienced by most couples affected by Secondary Infertility.

Even though secondary infertility has a higher prevalence rate than primary infertility, couples are far less apt to seek treatment for this condition. These couples are vulnerable to feelings of self-blame, particularly if they seek treatment at a later time and the interventions are unsuccessful. Often they feel regretful at not having taken a more aggressive approach to treatment when they were younger, as advancing age is often an issue in secondary infertility, from a Western medical perspective.

The emotional experience of secondary infertility often is a compilation of the majority of our deepest negative emotions and can lead to depression. Couples may feel guilty for experiencing normal grief and worry about how their anguish will affect their existing child. The powerlessness to produce a sibling for the existing child often produces feelings of sorrow, as does the inability to perpetuate the parenting role. Many feel distant from their friends as those who were a great source of support when parenting the first child are now linked to sensations of pain and jealously.

At we understand the deep emotional impact on any health issue and especially primary and secondary infertility. Allow Dr. Alderman to put this diagnosis in the past and experience the miracle of giving life and extending family.

... Advanced Maternal Age
At Alderman Medical Acupuncture we have the experience to “turn back the reproductive clock” and will help women of any age as long as they are menstruating and ovulating. Dr. Alderman has helped women into their late forties conceive healthy children, free of genetic defects.

...High FSH
When the pituitary gland emits high levels of follicle stimulating hormone, it means that the ovaries are not responding adequately to its message. To lower FSH, we must improve the ovaries’ response to the pituitary gland’s messages. We have helped women conceive naturally and carry to term, with FSH values over 100.

...Poor Egg Quality
Egg quality refers to how ready your eggs are to become fertilized and develop into embryos. You may have thousands of eggs waiting around in your ovaries, but if none of them are prepared to be fertilized, then you may have difficulties becoming pregnant.

Your eggs need to have certain characteristics to develop successfully into embryos. These include:

• the proper chromosomes
• the ability to combine with sperm
• energy to split after fertilization

Eastern medical strategies are aimed at enhancing the core energies of the body which can affect the quality and energy to split and continue growing once fertilization occurs.

...Hormonal Imbalance
Hormonal irregularities are common. When the body gets out of balance your hormones cannot respond and neurochemically communicate efficiently. We help to regulate and normalize your endocrine system to facilitate communication with the reproductive organs and respond with a healthy full term pregnancy.

...Luteal Phase Defect
A strong, 14 day luteal phase (the period after ovulation) is necessary for an effective implantation. Dr. Alderman will help lengthen, strengthen, and improve the function of your luteal phase.

...Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome – PCOS
PCOS impacts the reproductive hormones, the ovaries, the pancreas, and many other endocrine glands. Diet, supplements, nutritional therapy, herbal remedies and acupuncture, included in Alderman Medical Acupunctures treatment strategy, improve and control the symptoms of PCOS so that healthy ovulation can result.

...Premature Ovarian Failure
When the reproductive system goes into false menopause early, it is signaling a severe imbalance that requires gentle rectification. Eastern Medicine and Dr. Alderman have effectively treated women who were previously diagnosed as irreversibly infertility with POF. At Alderman Medical Acupuncture we call these patients, mothers.

...Endometriosis
This devastating condition can cause severe pain and prevent implantation. We effectively treat the cause of the endometriosis and in many cases, alleviating it altogether. The source of the endometriosis must be curtailed and the body’s reaction must settle down before the body will allow conception and pregnancy – through assisted technology or naturally.

...Uterine Fibrosis
Also called myomas, fibroids can mechanically obstruct and inhibit implantation. Dr. Alderman has successfully resolved fibroids in women who previously could not conceive, allowing them to carry their pregnancy to a healthy full term.

...Unexplained Infertility
There is no such thing as unexplained infertility. According to principles of Traditional Oriental Medicine, there is always a reason, and it is Dr. Alderman’s experience and education that makes the difference to find this reason. Put your health in the hands of experience.

...Stress and Infertility
Yes, stress negatively impacts your fertility. Scientific studies have demonstrated that your body cannot be in fight mode and receptive mode at the same time. For thousands of years Traditional Oriental Medicine as recognized how stress impacts physical health. “What affects the mind affects the body,” says Dr. Alderman. Acupuncture affects the central nervous system causing neurotransmitter and neurohormones to be released calming our emotions and cellular body.

...Tubal Obstruction, Pelvic Adhesions
Previously considered untreatable, Traditional Oriental Medicine can dramatically improve circulation to the pelvic organs, resolving many mechanical barriers to conception. Again, experience matters and Dr. Alderman has treated thousands of women for this and other female health issues for now almost three decades.

...Male Factors in Infertility
It is not unusual for women to be unfairly blamed for the inability of a sexually active couple to conceive. In reality, men suffer from infertility issues just as frequently as women. Thirty five to forty percent of infertility problems among couples are actually caused by male conditions. Several factors may be responsible for male infertility, including low sperm count, abnormal sperm shape and size, and reduced motility. Lifestyle, genetics, and physiological changes can also raise or lower male fertility levels, and can significantly affect a man's ability to produce offspring.

Research demonstrates that acupuncture can have an effect on sperm production and quality, without causing any changes in behavior or sexual desire. A recent trial published in Fertility and Sterility has shown just how effective acupuncture can be in the treatment of this condition, leading to significant increases in the number of normal sperm and equally significant reductions in structural defects.

In the study, 28 men who were diagnosed with idiopathic infertility received acupuncture twice a week over a period of 5 weeks. Compared to the control group, motility levels increased significantly in semen samples in the men receiving acupuncture. While median motility levels increased from 32% to 37% in the control group, they increased from 44.5% to 50% in the acupuncture group. The number and percentage of healthy sperm also increased dramatically in the acupuncture patients.

In addition, significant changes in sperm structure and quality were seen in the samples from the acupuncture group. Before treatment, only 22.5% of the sperm samples in the acupuncture patients contained normal-shaped acrosomes, a cap-like structure that develops over the anterior portion of a sperm cell's nucleus. After treatment, the median percentage of normal acrosome shapes showed a "statistically significant improvement" to 38.5%.

Similarly, the percentage of sperm with a normal axoneme pattern increased significantly among men receiving acupuncture. (The axoneme is a microscopic structure that contains a series of tubules arranged in a distinct pattern, and is believed to aid in sperm motility.) Prior to the start of the study, the correct axoneme pattern was present in 52% of sperm in the control group, but only 46.1% in the acupuncture group. After 5 weeks of therapy, the median percentage increased to 52.2% in acupuncture patients, but actually decreased to 38.2% in the control group.

Dr. Alderman's decades of experience and treatment protocols dramatically increase the fertility potentials of male sperms overall quality, structural integrity and motility. Dr. Alderman believes that this simple, effective and noninvasive treatment can bring a couple trying to conceive, one step further down a healthier path of being called parents.

...Anovulation or Amenorrhea
Anovulation is a condition where some women do not properly develop and release a mature egg every month as they should normally. We call this condition anovulation. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome – PCOS is a very common contributing factor to infertility.

Amenorrhea is the disruption on the normal menstrual cycle. The menstrual cycle is an orderly progression of hormonal events in the female body that results in the release of an egg. Menstruation occurs when an egg released by the ovary remains unfertilized; subsequently, the soggy decidua of the endometrium (which was primed to receive a fertilized egg) is sloughed in a flow of menses in preparation for another cycle.

Traditional Oriental Medicine views the lack of ovulation or menstruation as an obstruction to the creative, reproductive life force. Dr. Alderman will help restore the functioning of your reproductive system so you can resume ovulating and menstruating.

...Autoimmune Infertility
When your body fights against aspects of the reproductive process, the immune system can react against hormones, sperm, embryo implantation, and placental blood flow. Dr. Alderman will help you to remain in receptive mode so the body will accept implantation and continued pregnancies.

Treatment Strategies
While infertility may appear to be the core problem, it is actually the manifestation of a deeper underlying imbalance. At Alderman Medical, our approach is creating a healthy and fertile individual. Dr. Alderman corrects the imbalance and leaves it to the body to do what it was created to do: live in vitality, be fertile and bring forth the miracle of creating life and family. Our overall goal is to prepare the body for conception and pregnancy in a professional, warm and sincere caring environment.

At ALDERMAN MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE OF IDAHO we offer FOUR treatment strategies: Assist future mothers who wish to conceive naturally without assisted reproductive therapies by In-vitro fertilization (IVF) and /or intrauterine insemination (IUI).

1. Assist by optimizing reproductive health prior to and during your first Assisted Reproduction Therapy by In-vitro fertilization (IVF) and /or intrauterine insemination (IUI).
   
   
2. Assist to optimize reproductive health prior to and during Assisted Reproduction Therapy by In-vitro fertilization (IVF) and /or intrauterine insemination (IUI). This program of care is recommended for patients over the age of 40 or who have failed IVF cycles in the past and are low responders.
   
   
3. A program to enhance the males reproductive potentials.

Natural Program - Optimizing Reproduction Health (ORH)
This is a comprehensive individualized treatment program designed to optimize a prospective mothers reproductive potentials with the objective to becoming pregnant and conceiving a health baby by natural means.
This treatment program is for women with female health issues affecting fertility and for prospective mothers who wish to enhance there bodies health, vitality and optimize their reproductive health.

Our programs are an individualized treatment regime based on the patient’s current health status, and Traditional Oriental Medicine diagnostic corollaries. Treatment length usually ranges from 16 - 24 weeks. The following treatment modalities and procedure will be provided:

• Initial Comprehensive Consultation
• Herbal Medicinal Restoration Formulas
• Acupuncture Therapy
• Nutritional Supplements
• Nutritional Counseling
• Stress reduction counseling
• Massage

First IVF Program - Optimizing Reproduction Health With Assisted Reproductive Thearpy (ORH - ART)
Designed to optimize reproductive health prior to and during Assisted Reproduction Therapy by In-vitro fertilization (IVF) and /or intrauterine insemination (IUI). This treatment regime is recommended for patients younger then 40 and who are undergoing their first IVF cycle.

This program consists of ten (10) acupuncture therapy treatments. This treatment strategy will consist of the following schedule:

• During your stimulation phase you will receive six (6) treatments.
  
  
• One treatment between the retrieval and transfer phase.
  
  
• Three sessions in the post transfer phase of you assisted reproductive care.

40 Plus Program - Opimizing Reproduction Health With Assisted Reproduction Thearpy (ORH - ART)
Designed to optimize reproductive health prior to and during Assisted Reproduction Therapy by In-vitro fertilization (IVF) and /or Intrauterine Insemination (IUI). This program of care is recommended for patients over the age of 40 or who have failed IVF cycles in the past and are low responders.

This program is composed of Eighteen (18) acupuncture therapy treatments that commence the month prior to starting your IVF cycle. This treatment strategy will consist of the following schedule:

• In your Pre-IVF cycle you will schedule two acupuncture sessions per week for four weeks.
  
  
• During cycle: Six acupuncture sessions during the stimulation phase. One acupuncture session between retrieval and transfer and three acupuncture session post transfer.

During IVF and hormone stimulation, Dr. Alderman does not recommended herbal formulas. We feel that herbal treatment and synthetic drug interaction have not been researched. Tradition Chinese herbal formulas are most appropriate for those wishing to conceive by natural means and/or prior to hormonal or IVF procedures.

Male Fertility Plus - Optimizing Reproduction Male Fertility
This program enhances the male reproductive potentials, by improving the quality, health and motility of sperm. This treatment strategy will consist of the following schedule:

• This is a six week program consisting of twelve (12) acupuncture therapy treatments.
  
  
• Herbal Medicinal Formulas
  
  
• Nutritional Supplements

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