Are Chinese Fertility Herbs Safe During Pregnancy?

Faith asked, "In case a pregnancy occur in the process of this herbal treatment, does it have any effect? or should we stop the medicine.

I answered:

Hi Faith,
That is a very good question.

I am EXPECTING you to get pregnant. I will never give you any herbs that you can't take when you are pregnant. You can take your herbs until they are finished. We sometimes continue to give herbs to help hold the pregnancy too. You would stop taking those at week 13.

Patricia

To Get Chinese Fertility Herbs 

How Does a Chinese Herbalist Choose the Right Herbs

Hi Patricia . Just wondering what we're some of the rationales behind the questionnaire I had done. 

Hi Glodene, 

Traditional Chinese Medicine has been around for more than 3000 years. This is WAY before any lab tests. We rely on what the body is actually doing to determine what is going on in the body. So, I asked all kinds of questions to see what kind of balance your body is in. The better the balance the better the reproductive system. 

You have signs of imbalances like scanty fertile discharge, vaginal dryness, lower libido, 1-2 times getting up at night to urinate, agitated in the evening and hot hands and feet.  These are signs of what Chinese Medicine calls "Kidney Yin Deficiency". You also get yeast infections, have low energy and crave sweets and have had 2 miscarriages. These are signs of "Spleen Qi Deficiency". You are also get some breast distention before your period. This is a sign of "Liver Qi Stagnation".

I pick herbs to put into your formula to help these systems. When everything is well balanced women get pregnant easily and hold it.

I know this is a little complicated or at least it was when I was learning it. We don't really talk about balance in Western Medicine other than to say things like "balance the hormones". If you have low estrogen your doctor might give you it inn a pill but they don't have anything that will get the body to increase it on it's own. That might be why there are so many side effects. In Chinese Medicine we give herbs to help the body do what it should be doing on it's own. When it is doing it's job we don't have to treat that problem any more... well, unless it goes out of balance again.

Hope this info is helpful.  

Patricia

 

The Effect of Sugar on Fertility and Teeth

This is an interesting conversation between myself and a patient who is a dentist. 

Hi Patricia,

I'm doing some research on diet and fertility and coming up with some interesting findings

that have me really alarmed about what I eat!

I know sugar is evil, I know most Americans have an acidic pH (I used to test my patient's

saliva as part of their initial exam).

I never delved into what acidity does to the body other than enhance the rate at which oral

bacteria can dissolve tooth structure.

I found this excerpt from the phionblance.com website especially interesting, as it describes

me quite well:

"The individual tends to be touchy and irritable, to worry too much, and to sleep poorly, and may even become depressed. The noxious effect of acids on the nerves is easily explained: minerals like magnesium, calcium, and potassium that the nervous system needs to function properly are precisely the alkaline minerals the body takes away to neutralize acids. Individuals suffering from acidification often are sensitive to the cold, have low blood pressure, and are subject to episodes of low blood sugar. All the functions of the endocrine glands tend to slow down, except for those of the thyroid gland, which become hyperactive. The immune system is weakened as well, and recurring infections of the respiratory tract (colds, laryngitis, flu, bronchitis) or urinary tract (cystitis) appear with distressing frequency due to the combination of low immune response and the ease with which microbes can penetrate the body through tiny lesions in the mucous membranes of the respiratory and urinary tracts"

I'm wondering, on behalf of those struggling with fertility issues, what you can tell me about whether acidity directly affects fertility?

Best, Carolyn

PS: I seem to have more congestion since this new formula arrived. Lots of throat clearing and nose-blowing, even when there's no dairy in m diet!

Hi Carolyn,

Are you going to get your Ph levels checked? I know there are some people who think that the Ph levels are very important and that most people don't. I have never heard of a Reproductive Endocrinologist (fertility specialist) who checks for this.

We don't look at the body the same way in Traditional Chinese Medicine. All those symptoms you mentioned would be caused from a "Spleen Qi Deficiency" and a "Kidney Yin Deficiency".

The dietary recommendations are the same though.

How are your headaches?

How about the hot flashes?

Sleep?

Bowel movements?

Pimples?

Sometimes these herbs can cause too much moistening and some congestion. I will have to increase the herb that prevents this. They can cause the bowel movements to become too soft too.

You should be about ready for herbs. Are you?

Chinese Fertility Herbalist

Patricia Karnowski M.S.O.M.

910-420-2194

Chinese FertilityFormulas.com

Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 9am to 7pm EST

Hi Patricia,

I use the phionbalance.com test strips and my salivary pH is between 6.25 and 6.5

My headaches have been subsiding although my neck is still sore.

Pimples are still an issue, but definitely calming down.

Sleep is a little better, especially since I'm now completely off caffeine.

Bowl movements are regular (the more fiber the better!)

Hot flashes still going strong.

Soooo, when you say the dietary recommendations are the same, do you

mean that it would benefit me to cut out the sweets (I already started) and

eat less animal products?

Carolyn

Hi Carolyn,

Yes, you should cut out sweets (completely if possible) and absolutely no artificial sugar. Red meat is only okay to have if it is a very small amount and as long as you eat a lot of veggies (especially cooked cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower) with it. When you eat alkaline foods it pulls the pH to 0 (neutral).

Chinese Fertility Herbalist

Patricia Karnowski M.S.O.M.

910-420-2194

Chinese FertilityFormulas.com

Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 9am to 7pm EST

Patricia,

What are the dangers of artificial sugar? I'm trying to learn more about

what happens with the sugar alcohols like sorbital, maltitol, erythritol,

and so on.

Carolyn,

I was first alerted to the problems of artificial sweeteners especially aspartame, when my sister who is a nurse at the University of Michigan hospital started talking about all the teenagers who were coming in with brain tumors. The thing they had in common was the high amount of diet Mountain Dew they were drinking. It was happening so much that all the nurses were talking about it.

Google "artificial sweeteners + tumors" and you will see lots of information on this. There is also a link to cancer too. Since I had another sister who died of breast cancer at age 39 and then I had uterine cancer at age 43 my gynecology oncologist told me to stay away from it too. It was the only dietary recommendation she gave me.

Then I found out in a nutrition class that artificial sweeteners are the most acidic thing that we eat. It is way worse than sugar which is worse than meat.

Chinese Fertility Herbalist

Patricia Karnowski M.S.O.M.

Hi Patricia,

Oy. Mountain Dew.

It's not just for breakfast anymore...

You should see what's happening to people's teeth!

Carolyn

Really? You are seeing changes in the teeth?

Patricia

Are you kidding me?

The trend since fluoride and dental sealants were introduced was a dramatic

reduction in caries.

But, since the introduction of soft drinks in schools, super-size soft drinks for

small change at the local quickie mart, and with school age kids drinking coffee

deserts for breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, that trend has been reversed.

1. The sugars feed the bacteria that produce the acids that dissolve the teeth.

2. The phosphoric acid in the carbonated drinks impairs the buffering ability of the saliva.

3. The metabolism of the sugars, as you know, creates acidic body fluids, which also impairs

the buffering ability of the saliva

So along with the bacterial acids, we also see "acid erosion" , which is a direct dissolving of the

enamel due to the acidic environment. Just google "acid erosion teeth" and look for images.

I looked at the images... GROSS!

I thought that the dental sealants had taken care of all this.

I had to laugh when I saw the fake whiten teeth mixed in with all the horrible decayed teeth.

Chinese Fertility Herbalist

Patricia Karnowski M.S.O.M.

Sealants only protect the "pits and fissures" of the chewing surfaces of back teeth.

People still need to floss in order to clean in between.

And the rest of the enamel is still unprotected. (As you could see).

Sealants are a help, but only for a certain type of decay.

Carolyn

You did not say that I should order your herbs. Is that right?

Chinese Fertility Herbalist

Patricia Karnowski M.S.O.M.

Right. Could anything in there be causing sinus congestion?

Hi Carolyn,

I have a lot of herbs in the formula to moisten. This might cause congestion. It doesn't usually but it could. I need to add herbs to the formula to clear this.

Chinese Fertility Herbalist

Patricia Karnowski M.S.O.M.

Alrighty. I'll finish this formula first? Too costly to waste!

Carolyn

Definitely,  finish the formula that you have. 

Chinese Fertility Herbalist
Patricia Karnowski M.S.O.M.

Corresponding with a Patient

I think it might be a good idea to show you a correspondence between me and a patient. I am changing the name to keep her privacy. This is her third month taking Chinese herbal formula from me.   Receipt Statement for Angelina Jolie (hahaha... I am just joking about it being Angelina Jolie. I am not really working with her but everyone needs a laugh once in a while) Date: 7/25/12  Chinese Herbal Formula:  30 day supply $120 Includes shipping fee  Total paid via paypal Angelina, I have made big changes in your formula. Your period sounds very good. I took the herbs out of your formula that you can't take when you are pregnant that are used to clear the tubes. The only way to know if your tubes are open and clear is to go for another HSG test.  I have added herbs to help with the headache and pain you felt with the last period. You can try get pregnant now. You need to be following your cycle to know when you are ovulating. Ovulation usually happens midway between periods though women in their 40's sometimes ovulate earlier than this. I have a lot of women who ovulate as early as cycle day 9 (cycle day 1 is always the first day of the period). You can use an ovulation predictor kit (purchased at the drug store) starting on cycle day 9 to see if you can see your ovulation. The best time to use the kit (you will urinate on a strip of paper) is between 3-3:30 pm. You should do this once a day until you see that you are ovulating. You are probably ovulating on cycle day 13 but start checking earlier than this in case you are ovulating earlier. I don't want you to miss it. When you see that you are ovulating you should have intercourse that day (best day) and the next 3 days (4 days total). When you are ovulating you should see that your vaginal discharge has turned clear and slimy. This is the fertile cervical mucus that helps the sperm swim towards the egg. Don't check when you are sexually aroused  as you wont be able to tell the difference between this mucus and normal sexual secretions. If you are ovulating but don't see this mucus you should get a vaginal lubricant called "Pre-Seed" which you will see in the drug store right by the ovulation predictor kits. This is the only vaginal lubricant that acts like the fertile mucus. All the others will kill the sperm or not allow it to swim properly. You only need to use this vaginal lubricant during ovulation. It doesn't really matter the rest of the month.   The herbs should help with the fertile discharge but we don't want to wait around for the herbs to work. If you are ovulating and don't see enough good fertile mucus just use the Pre-Seed. You will be receiving the herbal formula from Kamwo Chinese Herbal Pharmacy located in New York City. The formula will be sent out today. Since you are on Staten Island you will get the package very quickly.  If you have any problems with the delivery please contact me rather than the pharmacy and I will track down the problem.   Your formula contains the following herbs: shu di huang shan zhu yu fu ling mu dan pi ze xie ye jiao teng zhi my chuan xiong yu jin sheng jiang bai shao chi shao   Dissolve 2 scoops in warm/hot water. Take 3 times a day with food. Do not take the above formula during your period.   If you have any adverse reactions (problems) to the herbs, please stop taking them and contact me and I will decide how to proceed.     Do not double up on herbs. If you miss a dose just skip it and wait to take the next regular dose.    Please consult me before you take any medications or herbs along with the herbal formulas. If your doctor prescribes medication for you and you are not able to get a hold of me for any reason, stop taking the herbs and follow your doctor’s orders. Stop taking the herbs 3 days before any planned surgery including a tooth or gum surgery. If you have an emergency surgery you would stop taking them as soon as possible.  Do not take them again without consulting me first.      If you would like to look up the functions of the herbs in your formula you can look at the herb guide on the Chinese herbal pharmacy’s website   http://www.kamwo.com/help/help.html . Keep in mind that this is Traditional Chinese Medicine and the workings of the body are not always the same as Western biomedical sciences. So you may not completely understand what they are talking about. In this particular formula how the herbs work together in more important than the function of each particular herb.   Angelina, it will not hurt and may even help to continue using the castor oil packs but remember you can't do this if there is any chance that you are pregnant. Since you will not know if you are pregnant for 2 weeks after ovulation it would be better to stop when you ovulate.  Castor Oil Packs- Pour castor oil onto a rag. Place this over your fallopian tubes. Put another rag over the top of this one. Then put a heating pad on medium/low over the top of this for 20 minutes a day. Massage the area afterwards for a few minutes. Never do this during your period or if there is a chance you could be pregnant.    I will need to check on your progress before ordering your next formula. So, email me or give me a call in enough time (3-5 business days) before you are finished with this batch of herbs to allow for shipping time. One important thing: I never "auto-ship" products to my patients. Likewise your credit card will never be charged unless you specifically place an order.  Feel free to contact me via phone or emails anytime while under my care. I do not generally answer the phone on the weekends but I check my emails often on the weekend and if you need to talk to me I will call you if you ask me to in an email.   Best Regards, Chinese Fertility Herbalist   Patricia Karnowski M.S.O.M.   910- 420-2194 office hours: Monday to Friday 9am- 7pm EST    www.FertilityFormulas.com

Afraid of Not Getting Pregnant

I received this email from a patient today:

“Just an FYI... after my GI bug 2 weeks ago, I had horrible epigastric pain for about 10 days.  My fatigue that had started after ovulation last cycle has continued.  I had an upper respiratory infection which began on the day of my insemination on Monday.  I am starting to feel better (as far as the cold) but now I have dark circles under my eyes which had gone away in the last couple of months.  My skin is still pretty good and I am sleeping better.  I don't really have any irritability and only become depressed when I find out month after month that I am not pregnant.  The depression is not a premenstrual symptom.  I feel like I am going backwards.  Also, in my reading I have come across a few other herbs that I have questions about...would huang qi or shan yao help me?  The GI bug and the cold are unusual, as I rarely get sick”

I am sharing this email correspondence because it illustrates so clearly how the journey can sometimes go as my patients are trying to conceive.  Nobody comes to me at the beginning of the journey though I wish they would. They come to me when everything they have tried has failed and they are ready to give up but they are going to try one last weird thing… Chinese herbs.

Here is my response back to her. I want to address everything that is concerning her:

“When you have a GI bug it can really drain you. Make sure that you eat really well and you should take a probiotic to get the intestines back in order.

I don't think that Huang Qi would be good for you. It can create a lot of bloating and heat. I have added American Ginseng to your formula in hopes of increasing your energy. Shan Yao is good but it is pretty mild.

The dark circles around your eyes are coming from a "Kidney" deficiency not a "Spleen" Qi deficiency. Lots of herbs in your formula address this. You are not slipping backwards. You just had a GI bug.

Make sure that you get a lot of sleep. This is going to help the most.

I know what you mean about feeling depressed about not getting pregnant. I wish there was something that I could say or give you that could take this depression away but you have a real reason for this feeling. If we take away this feeling it wouldn't give the full respect that this feeling deserves. We can't drug away or herb away your longing for another child. You have this feeling that there is a baby wanting your love and you can't seem to get to this little soul. The thought of this makes me want to cry and I haven't even met you in person..

I will tell you something personal about me as it might help you. I was never able to have children myself. I had ovarian cancer. I am fine so don't give a thought to this part of the story. I couldn't believe that I was never going to have children when I was struggling with this. I LOVE kids and I wanted one of my own. I thought my life would be horrible without them in my life every day. All of this happened a long time ago for me(I am much older than you). Anyways, now I have to admit that it is completely okay that this never happened for me. I LOVE my life and there doesn't even feel like there is a big hole in it like I thought I would always feel.

I am telling you this to let you know from personal experience that no matter what happens for you around this, you will be okay. I hope that you can find the place inside of yourself that knows what I am telling you is true. Perhaps you need to go off by yourself, preferably in nature which will remind you that nature is much bigger and wiser than we are, and connect to your inner wise woman who can trust that you will have an amazing life no matter what happens with all this. I think it might give you peace so that you can continue this journey without letting the depression and fear take over.”

And this is how she responded back:

“Thank you for your very kind words and all the effort you have put forth in my behalf. Your words made me cry.  I consider myself very lucky to have your support in this journey.  I appreciate your compassion and most of all your honesty.”      

The truth is that she is right. I do everything I can to help my fertility patients. I have so much compassion for their difficult and lonely journey. 

Fertility Herbalist
Patricia Karnowski M.S.O.M.

910-420-2194
www.fertilityformulas.com

Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 9am to 7pm EST

Natural and Effect Help for Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

Poly cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) can be one of the most difficult conditions to have when you are trying to get pregnant. Woman with PCOS have a hormone imbalance  where the testosterone levels are too high. The developing egg is trying to grow in this high testosterone, bad environment. Sometimes the eggs don’t develop at all. The egg won’t ovulate (release from the ovaries) and women will not have a menstrual period. Women with PCOS can go months without a period. 

Sometimes rather than an egg forming and releasing, a cyst will form. Not all women with PCOS will have cysts on their ovaries but most do. Some will have a row of cysts developed over the months. In the worse cases her ovaries will look like a bunch or grapes with many cysts covering the ovaries. A waxy coating will form over the top of the cysts making it even more difficult for an egg to get through.

So what do we do? How can we get the testosterone levels to normalize so that a good quality egg will form? How do we help clear the cysts? How do we clear this waxy coating? 

Traditional Chinese Medicine sees this condition as a problem with a poor transformation and transportation of food function within the body. Maybe we in the west would call it a “slow metabolism”. This is causing stagnation to develop. Phlegm can easily develop with this type of stagnation. Chinese Medicine would call this a “phlegm accumulation” that is strangling the ovaries.  

There are Chinese herbs to clear this “phlegm” and also herbs to improve the food transformation function (improve metabolism) of the body so that the PCOS patient does form more “phlegm” (cysts). 

Okay so we can clear the cysts and we can treat the underlying cause of the cyst forming but what do we do about the high testosterone levels? This is the part any woman with PCOS is going to absolutely hate. She must change her diet. It is hard for anybody to change their diet but it is worse for women with PCOS because this imbalance will make her crave sugar. She has to fight the intense craving for about 7 days until the cravings stop when she stops eating all sugar. 

When a woman with PCOS eats foods that are high in sugars her blood sugar will go up very quickly and then drop just as quickly which makes her crave more sugar. When the blood sugar is doing this it will not allow the body to metabolize testosterone.  Doctors have started giving women with PCOS a drug called metformin to try to regulate the blood sugar levels. 

In China where the culture is very pragmatic the Chinese medicine practitioners don’t talk about “blood sugar levels” but instead they say, “Eat this and don’t eat that”.   When you examine what they have been saying you will see that they have known for thousands of years that the blood sugar must be regulated for these women to get pregnant. 

I am going to give you a perfects day’s meal plan to do this. Keep in mind that I am not a dietitian. I am a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine living in a Western world so I will give you my recommendations based on Chinese Medicine but tweek enough that you can go to the grocery store in the west and get the ingredients.

Here are the rules:

• You have to eat all the amounts and types of food I suggest

• You have to eat 3 meals (300 calories per meal) a day

• You have to have 2 snacks a day (150 calories per meal)

• You have to eat breakfast within one hour of waking up in the morning

• You have to have 30% proteins, 30% fats, 40% carbs (Use thedailyplate.com to log your food and keep track of these percentages.

• No more than 50% animal protein (chicken, fish, red meat including pork, veal, turkey, goat. You can only have one egg a day but you can have as many whites as you like)

•  All grains are WHOLE GRAINS

•          Vegetables are your first choice for carbs followed by fruit then whole grains.

•          Fats are best eaten in the form of nuts, seeds followed by olive oil

•          Aim for 1200 calories a day but you can go as high as 1500 once in a while.

•         Before bed take 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar in ½ cup of water.

 Here is an example of what would a day of meals look like?

Breakfast

·        1 egg plus 3 servings (9 tablespoons) egg white

·        1 multi whole grains toast (“Healthy Life Whole Wheat Bread” is low calorie, high protein)

·        1 fruit (med size apple, pair, ½ banana, 6oz berries or melon)

·        1 cup light soy milk

Morning snack

·        ½ cup nonfat cottage cheese

·        ½ cup cucumber, red bell pepper, onion

Lunch

·        ½ cup lentils (other beans are good too but if you get them out of a can rinse them to remove the salt.)

·        2 servings egg white (6 tbsp egg beaters) (high in protein but low in calories and carbs)

·        1 cup cooked vegetables

·        1 whole grain tortilla

·        1 tsp olive oil

Afternoon snack

·        1 oz dry roasted peanuts

Dinner

·        6 oz wild salmon (best choice), other cold water fish, chicken or turkey breast  

·        8 oz vegatables

·        1 fruit

There are so many egg whites in this plan because they are high in protein but low in fats which is always the biggest challenge to create in a meal.

Your “blood sugar” will be well regulated with this meal plan.  The “food transformational function” of the body will be nourished.   

An added benefit of this diet is that a woman with PCOS will lose weight which is almost impossible for with this imbalance. I have seen many young women up to age 26 who find that their cycles regulate and get they pregnant even without herbs.

Okay okay… I know it is hard to make such a big change in your diet but isn’t worth trying before you take drugs with all the side effects. The women who call me have tried the drugs with no results when this diet has helped.

Good Luck,

Chinese Fertility herbalist,

Patricia Karnowski M.S.O.M.

www.fertilityformulas.com