Infertility case sharing - Traditional Chinese medicine and IVF

Maggie, 35

I wasted 3 years in Traditional Chinese Medicine to condition my body, hoping to give birth to babies for my husband, but I didn’t realize that my method was wrong until now!” As a manager in the banking industry, Maggie and her husband strived to get pregnant but still failed. Since she was already 32 at that time, she worried that further delay would make it even harder for her to get pregnant. Thin stature with cold limbs, she sought help from Chinese medicine practitioners in hope of helping her to get pregnant. However, 3 years later, pregnancy remained as a dream.

In order to have a taste of motherhood, Maggie was stuck with Chinese herbs almost every day in those 3 years. Though her physical condition has grown stronger, pregnancy is still a mere dream. Even her husband didn’t blame her, Maggie still felt extremely guilty and grumbled to her best friend. Her friend asked whether she has been examined by medical doctors. All of a sudden, she was preoccupied with the perception of poor physical condition that led her to seek help from Chinese medical practitioners, instead of having any fertility examination with her husband.

Since she was already 35 by that time, she immediately consults a gynecologist. The culprit of her infertility was found under laparoscopic examination, which was blockage on one side of the fallopian tube and diseased on the other side. Thus, she underwent IVF treatment as suggested by the doctor, however, the pregnancy ended with ectopic pregnancy, which gave her a hard blow.

“I was overwhelmed after the IVF, thinking that I can finally have a baby. 2 weeks later, I was informed by the doctor that I had an ectopic pregnancy, I was devastated at that time and my tears just kept dropping.” As recalled by Maggie, when the doctor explained to her that the chances of pregnancy is low, since the diseased fallopian tube may cause another ectopic pregnancy and the toxins accumulated in the blocked fallopian tube may poison the embryo. Therefore doctors suggested removal of the diseased fallopian tube and performing IVF in the next menstrual cycle.

Due to Maggie’s age, after the injection of hormones stimulating ovulation, only 4 ova were ovulated. Luckily, 3 embryos were cultured successfully in the second IVF surgery. Doctor placed 2 embryos in her uterus and one finally developed into a fetus. After 10 months of pregnancy, Maggie was able to give birth to a lovely baby girl at the age of 37. “My husband and I were so touched when our daughter was born and were grateful for doctor’s help. Actually I wanted another IVF treatment for another baby, but the doctor said I was too old and the number of ova was insufficient. So I had to let go of the thought.”

Thinking of the past, Maggie still regretted the idea of not consulting a gynecologist at the very beginning in those 3 years; otherwise she would be the mother of 2 children. “Doctor told me that Chinese medicine can condition my body condition but the condition of fallopian tubes can only be observed under HSG, even the common gynecological exam cannot reveal the problem.” Maggie now suggests all of her friends to seek help from gynecologist besides traditional Chinese medicine for infertility problems; otherwise they may miss the chance of getting pregnant.

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Readers should consult their physician before considering treatment, and should not interpret their condition solely based on the information above.