My first clinical class was with Sharon. It was my first day, and she scared the hell out of me. This tiny 5’3″ woman who was twice my age and 1/2 my weight was terrifying. Her directness, no “B.S.” attitude and inability to tolerate anything less than perfection from her students was legendary. Over the years, I attended the first gynecology-only class she offered at Five Branches, took one-on-one clinic supervision hours with her and chose her as my acupuncturist. Years later, in my Doctoral Program, she taught a wonderful fertility module that deeply influenced the way I treat infertility.

I can still hear Sharon’s favorite sayings, “Tong ze bu tong, bu tong, ze tong” which roughly translates to “Pain there is no flow, no pain, there is flow.” and “Spleen 6, three birds, one needle! Spleen 6 (Sanyinjiao) is called “three yin crossing” in Chinese. This acupuncture point is used to treat many health conditions but is ESPECIALLY useful in gynecology as the three yin meridians that innervate the reproductive organs cross here.

Dr. Feng, in the clinic. "Feng" means wind in Chinese. I can not conceive of a better name for Sharon. She moved like the wind, treating four people on her one-hour lunch break.

I am greatly indebted to Dr. Sharon Feng. It is with sadness and great appreciation that I write of her. And now, over a year after her passing, her patients continue to come through my door seeking treatment. They present with a wide variety of issues: painful/irregular periods, infertility, menopause, past due date/breech, cyclic acne and PMS….but they all have a deep reverence for Sharon in common.

Sharon was a Medical Doctor in China and a strict Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner.  I wrap TCM, Classical Chinese medicine, Japanese acupuncture and other holistic approaches into my treatment of gynecological disorders, so my practice differs from Sharon’s style. However, Dr. Sharon Feng was my first OB/GYN teacher. She shaped my perspective on treating Women’s Health and I will forever be grateful to her.

This is an excellent example of the type of inquiries I get weekly. The following excerpt of our communication is posted with her permission and request to remain anonymous. Her email is in italics and my response is bolded.

Hello, I am searching for a practitioner with knowledge, patience, and a history of success in treating women with PCOS.

I am hoping you would answer a few questions for me to help me decide if I should come to your office for treatment…A little bit about me:I am 34 next month. I was diagnosed with PCOS about 6 months ago after having trouble trying to conceive. I started acupuncture treatment in July to help regulate my cycles (before by diagnosis of PCOS). I went for weekly appointments from July through Mid October. Although at times it seemed to help, my cycles were still not regulated. I think I might not have given acupuncture a fair chance. For one, I did not know enough about my condition to explain my needs to the practitioner. Now that I have been charting my CM and BBT, I can bring these charts to a practitioner for a better understanding of my needs. Although the acupuncturists I saw at Five Branches were very knowledgeable, the environment seemed much too rushed. I am afraid I did not get the focused attention I was looking for.

Can you answer these few questions for me?How many women have you treated with PCOS?What were your results treating PCOS?How do you believe diet effects PCOS?Have you treated women who were taking Clomid? Did any become pregnant after treatment?Have you used women’s charts to aid in treatment?Have you read the Infertility Cure by Dr. Randine Lewis Ph.D? (this book was what convinced me to try acupuncture again, now that I am more aware of my cycle through FAM charting).

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions,Sincerely looking forward to reading your response.

My Response:

First of all, I’d like to say I appreciate the time you are putting out in terms of these thoughtful questions in an effort to find the best practitioner for you. I will try to answer them to the best of my ability. I have treated several with a PCOS diagnosis, and many more who I believe had PCOS but went undiagnosed.

What were your results treating PCOS? This is a difficult condition, NOT impossible to treat, but it takes diligence on the part of the patient. To answer this question, two patient histories come to mind:

1. I treated one patient several years ago for three months with acupuncture, herbs and dietary suggestions. In this time her cycles regulated, she lost weight and reached her health goal which was to have regular periods.

2. I treated one patient about 3 years ago who came at the urging of her girlfriend. She had a lot of psychological challenges around weight and her eating habits and would not entertain the idea of dietary/lifestyle changes. She also did not want to take herbs. I saw her twice a month for 2 months and then we both decided that this was not the ideal path for her at the time.

How do you believe diet effects PCOS? This is a very interesting and complicated question. In short, I think it is pivotal. I have done a lot of work with insulin resistance and believe it plays a huge role in this disease.

Have you treated women who were taking Clomid? Many.

Have you used women’s charts to aid in treatment? Yes, they are a less expensive way to follow hormonal shifts than salivary hormone panels, though sometimes these are helpful too.

Have you read the Infertility Cure by Dr. Randine Lewis Ph.D? (this book was what convinced me to try acupuncture again, now that I am more aware of my cycle through FAM charting). Funny that you ask me that. I think this is a great laywoman’s guide to fertility. You may also enjoy Fertile Soul Cycle Companion Journal by the same author. I just ordered two copies of this book for the library at the Fertility Physicians of Northern California.

So, I’d like to give you a little background on me, my practice and how I work with Women’s Health. I attained my doctorate in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) with a dual specialization in Women’s Health and Pain Management. I am continuing on to do research with the Fertility Physicians of Northern California for my PhD in Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine. I am also the only certified specialist in Oriental Reproductive Medicine in Santa Cruz county. The majority of my patients are women and it brings me great joy to help them shift their health and achieve their goals. During your initial visit we will go over your medical history in detail, go over the herbs/drugs/supplements you may be taking and your typical diet. I’ll do an assessment using Chinese and Japanese methods of diagnosis and and acupuncture treatment. The session will conclude with a treatment plan detailing appropriate modalities for treatment such as acupuncture, specific herbal formulas, dietary suggestions and other self care measures.

Hope I answered your questions and gave you the information you are looking for. Take care and good luck to you!

Nothing makes me happier than following up with a patient who became pregnant under my care. For example, yesterday Isaw a patient who I haven’t seen since her first trimester. Now she is in her 36th week. She wrote of her experience during her first trimester:

I am research scientist, and I have always been a little skeptical about acupuncture and other non-western medical practices.  After my experience with Dr. Rozenn, however, I enthusiastically recommend her for the treatment of fertility issues. My husband and I were trying to conceive for the second time and after a year, we saw an M.D. specialist in infertility.  He explained that Western medicine had no easy answer for my particular issue (my cycles were  short and he suspected I was ovulating before my eggs were mature), and recommended that I try meditation or yoga as a first strategy.  He also mentioned that there was a program available that combined standard infertility treatment with acupuncture.  After talking to a friend of mine (who recommended Dr. Rozenn), I decided to try acupuncture alone for three months and then reassess my options. Dr. Rozenn was willing to work with me either with or without parallel treatment from my M.D. and was positive but realistic about my chances of conceiving.  I appreciated that she did not discount the role of Western medicine in infertility treatment, but I opted for a non-parallel approach.  I decided to follow all of her recommendations to the letter so that I would have no doubts at the end of three months that I had given the process my all.  I changed my diet, took herbal and other supplements, saw Dr. Rozenn on a weekly basis and opted for abdominal massages from Brianna Brownfield (Dr. Rozenn’s assistant, whom I also enthusiastically recommend).  I noticed changes in my cycle within one month of starting my treatments, and within two cycles my standard headache (a hallmark for 12 years), did not accompany my period.  During my third cycle since start of treatment, I ovulated on day 14 for the first time in 7 years, and I am now thrilled to say that I am 11 weeks pregnant.  I am entirely convinced that it was the treatment program that I pursued with Dr. Rozenn that enabled my husband and I to conceive this baby. If you are in a similar situation, I encourage you to consider Dr. Rozenn and acupuncture as a treatment option.  I am so grateful that I was able to conceive without risking multiple births or spending enormous sums on IVF.  This experience has convinced me to consider acupuncture among the practices I typically pursue to maintain my general health. Thank you, Dr. Rozenn and Brianna!

Now, in her 36th week, she is beginning a cycle of 4 “Pre-Birth” acupuncture treatments. This is a specific protocol routinely practiced in Germany. The practice was incorporated by midwives in Germany because of research showing that these four treatments can:

• Promote an easier delivery
• Reduce the duration of labor
• Reduce the pain of labor

When my fertility patients get pregnant, it is so exciting! But that is only part of the journey. Depending on their circumstances they may come in during their first trimester for morning sickness or to help hold the pregnancy. Later on, they may receive treatment for back or stomach pain. Then, at the end of the third trimester they begin the Pre-Birth acupuncture series. Occasionally patients will seek to promote the onset of labor or strengthen/regulate contractions.

I have had several patients bring their children in for treatment for colds, colic, pre/post immunization care, etc. It is such a joy to be a family doctor.

I feel so fortunate to be the only acupuncturist from the Santa Cruz area who has done a preceptorship at RMFC, the fertility clinic with the largest database of acupuncture + IVF patients in the world. During this training I observed artificial reproductive medicine techniques (ART) such as IVF, IUI, and ICSI (a fertilization technique used to combine sperm and egg during IVF). It was an amazing view into the world of Western reproductive medicine. While I have been using Oriental medicine for several years to enhance fertility naturally and in combination with ART, like the great majority of acupuncturists, I have never actually SEEN these procedures.

Being a researcher as well as a clinician, my second objective during my week-long stay was to write a prospective research study on acupuncture and IVF. In retrospective  study of over 800 patients the Cridennda/Magarelli Acupuncture Protocol (CMAP) has been shown to:

• Increase the number of pregnancy rates AND  healthy babies
• Decrease the number of miscarriages
• Decrease the number of birth complications
• Normalize key stress/reproductive hormones
• This protocol helped all patients, but especially “poor responders” who are women over 38 whose partners have poor sperm quality

Now we want to know if the changes in stress hormones in the blood of these patients reflect changes in stress hormones in the follicular fluid (the fluid in which the egg grows in the ovary). This could lead us to a better understanding of how the CMAP improves IVF success rates.

I started providing the CMAP to my patients undergoing IVF because of the research behind this protocol. It has made such a difference in so many of my patient’s lives. In my clinical experience, combining the CMAP with IVF improves outcomes dramatically. This motivated me to add to the significant bank of data behind this protocol, so I went to Colorado to write a study.

Our study was submitted to the Internal Review Board and we are now waiting for their decision, cross your fingers!

* How a person’s constitution plants the seeds that can give rise to symptoms and ill health

* The importance of strengthening the constitution first to facilitate deeper healing and the true resolution of symptoms

* Factors that slow or interfere with the body’s ability to heal, thus turning an acute problem into a chronic one such as: hormonal factors, poor digestion, structural issues, toxicity from drugs or environmental influences, stress and nervous system/adrenal gland imbalances

* The specific relationship between structural issues and gynecological problems

Would it surprise you to know that high heels may contribute to painful periods and infertility? Or that the chronic shoulder pain you suffer from may be caused by constriction in your lower back and pelvis? Or that your headaches and sinus congestion can affect your pituitary (the master glad that controls all of your hormones)?

The best part is that there are specific treatment strategies to address all of these issues!

Given that my clinical doctorate is in Women’s Health and Pain Management and I’m pursuing a PhD in Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, this powerful seminar on holistic gynecology was based in line with my training and philosophy of healing AND expanded my knowledge base.

I feel so excited to share this information and experience with my patients!

I am so excited to be attending the seminar, ”Gynecology, Fertility and Promoting an Easy Labor” in Costa Rica. It will be taught by one of my esteemed Japanese Acupuncture teachers, David Euler. Topics will include:

• Menopause Support
• Infertility Causes and Solutions
• Endometriosis, Ovarian Cysts
• Irregular Cycles, PMS
• Healthy Pregnancy and Delivery

The timing couldn’t be better, given that this month is National Women’s Health Month. While I am away, Jessica Parker, LAC, MTCM will be seeing patients on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. I will be back in the office on Saturday, August 21st and look forward to sharing my experiences with you!

and no, its not just because you think it will…

The following is an abstract from a very interesting study conducted in Germany. It has been well established that acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicinals can dramatically improve semen parameters. But why? Is it the “placebo effect”? Not according to this groundbreaking research, the Correlation of psychological changes and spermiogram improvements following acupuncture.

The following is an abstract of this research study:

The purpose of the study was to find the correlation between the effect of acupuncture on fertility and psychological effects. To investigate its influence on male subfertility, 28 patients received acupuncture treatment after informed consent. We evaluated subjective parameters by written psychological tests, while objective parameters consisted of measuring concentration, volume and motility in the spermiogram before and after acupuncture. There was a significant increase in sperm quality in all parameters but volume. The psychological test showed no change caused by acupuncture. Hence, we believe, that the effect of acupuncture on sperm quality is not caused by placebo-mechanisms.

Dr. Rozenn has extensive training and experience working with male fertility and erectile dysfunction. She has taught doctoral students to improve virility with herbal formulas, acupuncture, nutritional supplements and lifestyle/nutritional counseling. Click on Schedule Appointment at the top of this site to get started!

]]> http://acupuncturesantacruz.net/acupuncture-improves-sperm-counts-and-motility/feed/ 0 http://acupuncturesantacruz.net/acupuncture-ivf-research-update/ http://acupuncturesantacruz.net/acupuncture-ivf-research-update/#comments Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:07:26 +0000 Dr. Rozenn http://acupuncturesantacruz.net/?p=960 I just got back from teaching Chinese Medicine and IVF–East-West Synergy in Yo San University’s Doctoral of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) program. The class focused on helping women (and men) have a successful IVF cycle with Chinese medicine. It also included a synopsis of current research, some of which is so powerful I feel compelled to share it with you.

In a blinded, controlled clinical trial which lasted 7 years and included over 800 patients, researchers in Colorado Springs found that

the specific “Cridennda-Magerelli Acupuncture Protocol” dramatically improved IVF success rates in the following ways:

• Significantly higer rates of healthy babies
• Less ectopic pregnancies
• Fewer miscarriages
• Fewer multiple pregnancies
• Normalization of FSH, prolactin and cortisol
• Improved blood flow to the uterus, which is essential for embryo implantation
• Couples where the women is 38 or older and the man has poor sperm quality showed dramatic improvement

These results are amazing! I had the opportunity to speak at length with Dr. Magarelli about his study and he and I are planning to conduct further research into how acupuncture corrects imbalances in key reproductive hormones in women going through IVF. 

I am happy to provide the Cridennda-Magarelli protocol for patients going through IVF. Simply click on “Schedule Appointment” at the top right corner of the website to get started!

Millions of couples in the United States struggle with infertility. In 2/3 of couples the “problem” does not clearly lie with the female or the male; both partners have some degree of subfertility. For example, she may have irregular cycles and he may have a boarder line low sperm count. In this common scenario, the optimum chances for conception are reached when both partners enhance their health and boost their fertility. Several research studies have demonstrated that Acupuncture and Oriental medicine can drastically improve: sperm counts, morphology, motility and regulate the menstrual cycle, trigger ovulation and balance hormones.

To better serve my patients I now offer a special Fertility Program for Couples appointment. During this visit I will meet with both partners to review their fertility history and each person will receive an acupuncture session and comprehensive treatment plan outlining herbal and nutritional supplement prescriptions, diet and lifestyle suggestions as well as acupuncture and/or massage therapy recommendations.

To make an appointment, simply click on “Schedule Appointment” at the top or on the left hand side of this site.