Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Effectively Treats Infertility and Boosts IVF Success.

Chinese medicine has effectively treated patients across Asia for far longer than Canada has existed. The oldest written texts on TCM date back over 4000 years. Traditional Chinese medicine is an entire system of medicine based on the clinical practices and successful outcomes of generations of doctors.

Our practitioners at Total Wellness in Toronto have treated patients with a wide variety of fertility related disorders and an even wider variety of ages. Our patients have ranged in age from teens (seeking to balance their hormones and treat such issues as acne, PMS and so on), to patients well over 45 with complete pre and peri-menopause issues.

Some patients attend Total Wellness seeking lifestyle guidance, such as which foods to include when trying to conceive (hint: warming foods, but not as in warm temperature in degrees Celsius), which foods to avoid (hint: cooling foods, caffeine, etc).

Some patients attend Total Wellness seeking acupuncture and Chinese medicine to treat specific disorders such as PCOS, endometriosis, abnormal menstruation, poor-quality or few eggs, hormonal imbalances or other specific diagnosis. While others have exhausted conventional medical routes, or have been left with a diagnosis of unexplained infertility, and are ready for our effective and supportive approach.

“Chinese medicine offers an explanation and treatment plan where perhaps other systems of medicine have not. This provides hope”, says Angela Fu, the clinical director.

Why Chinese Medicine

TCM and acupuncture are effective. They address blood circulation, lack of yang (warming) energy, and in western terms, regulating hormones and other supportive systems. Chinese medicine addresses some of the route causes of infertility, and does so without serious side-effects or contraindications.

Usual treatments include acupuncture sessions, Chinese herbs, moxibustion (to provide direct warmth into specific points), and lifestyle management.

Chinese medicine treatments also depend upon the needs of the person wanting to conceive. Each person receives a unique Chinese medicine treatment plan. This is because, unlike conventional medicine, which usually treats similar symptoms in the same manner, Chinese medicine recognizes that patients with the same symptoms may have very different route causes. And conversely, patients with very different symptoms may have a similar root cause. It is the suspected cause(s) that dictate the specific Chinese medicine treatment.

“Our first appointment with a patient tends to be quite long. We really want to get to know the patient, their medical history and lifestyle factors. That helps us to determine the starting point for treatment”, says Fu.

From a Western medicine viewpoint, the mechanisms of Chinese medicine can seem a little strange. TCM talks of hot and cold (yang and yin), qi (life energy) and organ systems that describe more than the physical organs of the same names. Sometimes, the English language uses direct or literal translations of Chinese medicine systems, and such literal translation can lead to confusion.

But the fact remains, the TCM system provides effective results.

Our acupuncture and TCM treatments help treat an array of fertility and reproduction related matters. We frequently attend IVF clinics to support retrieval and implantation stages of IVF.