February 8th, 2007, 8:21pm.
I am finally home after another thirteen hour day. I think that I treated 23 patients today. Several with PCOS, one with bilateral tubal blockage, one low sperm count, one elevated fsh, one idiopathic (no known cause) and many others with many other pathomechanisms. I feel so empowered because I have the opportunity to empower my patients by educating them as to the best way to traverse this most arduous of journies. Though I recommend that patients get various tests including the typical hormone panels to the more sophisticated immunological tests, they can only do so much with the results garnered from these tests. I give them herbs, do acupuncture, and hope that their reproductive endocrinologists treat appropriately and not just perform a 'cookie-cutter' treatment.
I figure that a great way to help patients thoughout the country is to try and educate the acupuncturists who are treating Them. If I can make them more effective clinicians, then patients will get superior care.
I am travelling to Los Angeles next week to do a two day lecture entitled 'East Meets West in Reproductive Medicine'. The lecture is for acupuncturists and herbalists who treat patients suffering with this most difficult of afflictions: infertility.
I believe that the acupuncturists treating this disorder have huge hearts and mean well and are so sincere in their desire to help. The problem is that most of them don't understand much about the Western medical mechanisms of action of infertility and thus treat solely on the Chinese medicine modality. Traditional Chinese medicine offers an entire compendium of effective treatment strategies for the infertile couple but, when combined with Western medical knowledge the treatment approach, in my opinion, is broadened. Let me provide a clinical example: I will speak herewith in Chinese medicine terms. If a patient has no signs of stasis of blood and stagnation of qi does that mean that they do not have stagnation of qi and stasis of blood? No! If the acupuncturist knew to inquire about endometriosis and found that the patient did in fact have endometriosis, then the acupuncturist could safely diagnose this patient with stagnation of qi and stasis of blood even without signs or symptoms indicative of this Chinese medicine diagnosis. There is another diagnosis in Chinese medicne known as heat-toxin. If a patient has no signs or symptoms of heat toxin can we be sure that they do not have this disorder? No. We can only be sure if we inquire about the tubal status of the patient. For example, if the patient has a hydrosalpynx then in fact they do have heat-toxin in the liver channel as their diagnosis.
Part of my mission is to help educate acupuncturists so that they understand the importance of learning Western pathomechanisms of infertility so that they may include these findings in their evaluation and diagnosis. In Spanish there is an expression: 'Saber es Poder'. It means 'knowledge is power'.
I am thrilled to report that I have 75 acupuncturists signed up for my Los Angeles lecture next weekend. I feel blessed that I will have the opportunity to help make them better doctors so that they will be more effective in helping infertile couples achieve their goal of a full term pregnancy!
Thanks for reading.
mike berkley, L.Ac., Doctor of Acupuncture (RI)
Director, The Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness
Hi everyone, I think you'll find this article on cinnamon, insulin resitance and PCOS to be relevant. It says there was a recent pilot study at Columbia University showing that consumption of cinnamon reduced insulin resistance in 15 PCOS women. It sounds like taking cinnamon extract is beneficial.
Posted by: Lyn | May 30, 2007 at 02:20 AM