Archive for IVF

Wurn Technique as a Pre IVF Treatment?

April 24, 2012 Clear Passage Physical Therapy 2 comments

“If I had just known about Clear Passage Physical Therapy and just done the research early on and found out about this place, it would have just saved us so much. It saved my world. It changed my world. I wish I would have known that early on. It would have made so much a difference for us.”

How does it work?

Uterine adhesions, spasm and cervical conditions – fibrosis (stiffening) or stenosis (closing) – can complicate an IVF transfer, hinder embryo implantation, and prevent pregnancy. We decrease adhesions and spasm, and improve mobility and function of the cervix and uterus using the Wurn Technique.  Following treatment of the area, we find that positive changes are generally palpable to us and to your physician. IVF transfer then becomes easier and implantation rates appear to increase significantly.

pre-ivf

A Clear Passage patient became pregnant after treatment with the Wurn Technique

Success with Clear Passage Physical Therapy

Success rates with IVF remain around 30% per attempt and 41% per transfer, as reported by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The Wurn Technique (practiced by Clear Passage physical therapists), has been shown to increase in vitro fertilization (IVF) success rates to 67% when used prior to IVF transfer.

Women who had not become pregnant in two or more prior IVF attempts achieved a 71% pregnancy rate and 57% live birth rate with their first IVF after receiving this therapy. As is the case with the patient in the video, who endured seven failed IVF cycles and later became pregnant after receiving therapy at Clear Passage.

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Learn About FSH and Infertility

December 29, 2011 Clear Passage Physical Therapy No comments

 

As we age, fertility declines; it’s as simple as that. Medical literature is replete with references that indicate that a woman’s 35th birthday marks the decline of her fertility as she moves toward menopause. However, the age of this “marker” can vary from woman to woman.baby and mother

Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)

Reproductive endocrinologists and other  infertility specialists have  created specific criteria to measure declining reproductive ability as women age. There are several methods, but perhaps the most commonly accepted measure of age-related decline in fertility is to determine the level of FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) in the blood,  early in the menstrual cycle.

As a woman ages, her eggs have a more difficult time maturing.  Thus, the pituitary gland must create more and more FSH to stimulate follicle growth with each passing year. When physicians note this increase in FSH levels, they have a good indication that fertility is declining, and a measurement to quantify that decline.  FSH levels are a primary test for a woman’s ability to conceive and  carry a birth to term naturally, and by IVF if she plans to use her own eggs. Women with high FSH levels may be encouraged to adopt, or  to use eggs from another woman (called donor eggs). If the body’s  endocrine system could be adjusted to turn back time and proper  FSH levels could be restored, a woman would presumably have a better chance for a full-term pregnancy, whether naturally or through assisted reproductive techniques.

Clear Passage Physical Therapy and High FSH

Successful reproductive activity and hormone levels depend on a medically recognized communication loop between the ovaries (in your pelvis) and the pituitary and hypothalamus glands (in the center of your head.)

Housed within a well-protected cavity of the sphenoid bone in the center of your skull, the pituitary gland is considered the “master gland” of female reproduction. While physicians recognize that a communication loop occurs among this gland, the hypothalamus that borders it and the ovaries, several feet away, the exact mechanism of that intricate communication loop remains a mystery. That loop, called the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, is largely responsible for whether or not a woman can bring a fertilized egg to maturity, during the process of reproduction.

The physical therapists initially thought that they could not affect hormone levels because it was assumed that the communication loop had nothing to do with the biomechanics of bodily structures. However, they have come to question that assumption as more and more women treated with POF become pregnant and deliver healthy full-term babies, despite having very high or menopausal FSH levels before therapy.

Watch one of Clear Passage’s Success Stories below:

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Clear Passage Helped This Couple

December 21, 2011 Clear Passage Physical Therapy No comments


Following a positive diagnosis of a hydrosalpinx by HSG, this couple traveled to Clear Passage’s National Headquarters in Gainesville, Florida in search of a less invasive treatment for their infertility. Watch their story in the clip above to hear how they eventually overcame their infertility struggles.

What Exactly is A Hydrosalpinx?

A hydrosalpinx is a collection of watery fluid within the fallopian tube, usually as a result of damage at the distal (far) end of the tube, near the ovary. It not only renders the affected tube(s) totally ineffective, it may also lessen the effectiveness of various infertility treatments (e.g. in vitro fertilization [IVF]).

Diagnosis can be made by ultrasound, hysterosalpingogram (HSG), laparoscopy or laparotomy (open surgery). Many couples face infertility following the diagnosis of a hydrosalpinx.

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Fourth Times a Charm

July 29, 2011 Clear Passage Physical Therapy No comments

Natural Pregnancy after Three Unsuccessful IVFs – Faith’s Story

After trying to conceive for over a year, I started down the path of infertility treatments. I was 35 years old and the doctors reminded me that I was getting “old.” I started with IUI treatments (two), but when both failed the doctors told me I should start IVF treatments.

I had my first IVF and had three embryos transferred. A few months later, I started experiencing a lot of pain. I went to the hospital and the doctor discovered one of the embryos had implanted in my right tube causing an ectopic pregnancy. He immediately scheduled me for surgery to remove the tube.  After the surgery, the doctor told me I had a lot of scar tissue at my right tube and that I probably had scar tissue surrounding my left tube, as well.

Remarkably, the other two embryos were still alive inside my uterus. However, on a business trip to California, I started getting sick. When they diagnosed that pain, the physicians said that my gallbladder had to be removed. When they then checked on the embryos, we found that they didn’t make it. Crushed, I had to have a D&C as well. After the last round, my doctor again reminded me that I was getting “old” and the only way to get pregnant was to go through another (fourth) round of IVF.

When I returned home, my doctor tried to be positive and said that we should start right away on another round of IVF, but when they checked my uterus, they found that I had remaining tissue and I had to have another D&C before we could start. My second round of IVF began and they transferred two embryos, but with no success.

When my third round of IVF began, the doctors discovered that my uterus lining was not thick enough, so they had to freeze those embryos until my uterus was “ready.” When the third transfer finally occurred; it was also unsuccessful.

After the last round my doctor again reminded me that I was getting “old” and the only way to get pregnant was to go through another (fourth) round of IVF.

I felt that my body had been beat up and I was sick of all the shots. I wanted to try to heal my body and think about next steps, which is when I found Clear Passage Physical Therapy. I found their clinic online and thought it might be the right path for me after what I had experienced. It made sense to me that my body needed to heal and that the therapy was something I needed. I could feel the changes occurring in my body. Even though the IVF doctors told me it would not happen (and I was too old) I have proved them wrong!

I spent one week (20 hours of therapy) at Clear Passage’s Gainesville, FL clinic.  All of the therapists were wonderful and I could feel the changes occurring in my body. I left Clear Passage feeling that my body was in a much better state than when I arrived.

When I returned home, I thought trying another other natural fertility treatment to help heal my body. I started to see a homeopath and began yoga to get my body in shape. I realized that I needed time to heal from all the treatments and surgeries and I wanted to feel stronger.

Then a few months later, I found out that I was pregnant – naturally! I am still a little shocked because I feel great. I think the reason why this worked for me is a combination of everything, but it started at Clear Passage. Even though the IVF doctors told me it would not happen (and that I was too “old”) I have proved them wrong!

Do you have a remarkable story to tell? We’d love to hear it. Leave us a comment below.

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My Infertility Story: 42 and Denied IVF

July 21, 2011 Clear Passage Physical Therapy No comments

Chloe’s Story

I met my husband at a sailing club in downtown Manhattan in July of 2000. I was 39 years old. We got engaged when I was 42 and since we both wanted to have a child, we didn’t waste any time.

I had taken an HSG dye test at an earlier age and the test had indicated that both of my fallopian tubes were totally blocked. At that time, the doctor thought that it might be due to just mucus so I was eager to find out if the HSG would be successful this time around.

Despite the technician’s attempt to force the dye through my tubes, they both remained completely occluded. My fertility specialist felt that surgery to unblock the tubes would be fruitless.

I did not get too discouraged, thinking that I could always do IVF.  But I was wrong. My hormone levels were too high to be accepted into the program.

Eventually I stumbled across Clear Passage Physical Therapy.  At the time, they had no published data about their success with hormonal dysfunction, but they had shown success with opening blocked fallopian tubes. I showed their literature to my fertility specialist, who shook her head and said, “I don’t think this will work, but if you are going to try it, do it soon so we can move onto other options.”

The following month, I spent a week at Clear Passage. Everything about the place seemed comforting. The therapists were highly trained in several physical therapy modalities. They were medically competent and emotionally intelligent. I felt as if they had a personal vested interest in helping me get pregnant.

I left Clear Passage and flew immediately to San Francisco to meet with a doctor who specialized in Chinese medicine. I worked with her for a week in different modalities and began taking her prescribed herbs and supplements to help with my hormone levels.

When I returned to my doctor the next month, I learned that my hormone levels had skyrocketed. I discussed the supplements and herbs I was taking and my doctor was shocked at the amounts of Chinese supplements and herbs I was prescribed. He advised me to immediately stop taking them and sure enough, the next month my hormonal levels dropped to a normal level. I knew that my hormone levels had peaked and then dropped because of the Chinese supplements, but I wondered if Clear Passage helped bring my levels to a normal level.I know they helped improve my hormones… because after just a few days of their therapy, my period has returned!

It didn’t matter what did it – if my hormonal levels were in range, all I needed was an open tube to become pregnant! I asked my doctor to take a look with a sonogram. I saw him shake his head. “You see that black spot on the screen? That is your left ovary stuck against your uterus. Your tubes are probably so damaged that the only hope for you is a donor egg.” After my appointment I walked through Central Park to home — and cried all the way.

That week I missed my period. Five days after my visit with the fertility specialist I took a pregnancy test. I was pregnant! That black spot on the screen was my baby.

It was then I knew that Clear Passage must have opened at least one of my tubes. Nine months later, I gave birth to my beautiful daughter, Natalie.

I was so happy with my time at Clear Passage that I recently returned for a bit more treatment. I hoped they could help me relieve pain I experienced after the C-section with my daughter. Due to stress in my life, I had also stopped menstruating eight (or so) months earlier.

While I suspected that Clear Passage helped my hormones before I conceived Natalie, I did not have hard evidence to say they helped that aspect. That changed with this visit. I know they helped improve my hormones this time because after just a few days of their therapy, my period has returned! In fact, my overall function is noticeably better.

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