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It was such an honor to present at this year’s FSOMA Conference on Treating Male Infertility Utilizing TCM and Acupuncture Principles.
I offer my sincerest gratitude to FSOMA and my attendees!
Please continue to reach out with any questions you may have on this subject or anything else regarding my specialty, men’s health and andrology!
Find below the article I have published in this year's FSOMA Conference Journal.
A 31-year-old patient came to me with the chief complaint of male infertility. In his case, he had low sperm morphology and motility which was diagnosed in 2020.
He and his wife intended to have children. They had a healthy sex life and after six months of trying with no success of conception, she had a complete medical workup herself to determine if she had any infertility issues. She did not, which therefore, led them to investigate his fertility health which further led to the findings of low sperm morphology and low sperm motility. He was prescribed Clomid (causes an increase in FSH and LH, this in turn increases testosterone) which didn’t improve his conditions over the course of another six months. He quit taking it because he “wanted to move forward with a more natural approach.” This is when he turned to me for care.
The patient’s history revealed that he was a former smoker of many years and was a recovering alcoholic. At the time of his first appointment with me, he had been smoke and alcohol free for two years. He also had a history of high cholesterol, hypertension, Bipolar disorder, Psoriasis and poor hearing. Otherwise, he was in good mental and physical health at the time of our initial meeting with a clear complexion and vibrant Shen in his eyes. He had sustained no injuries to his genital area, there was no history of abuse and he didn’t suffer any pain or dysfunction in this area either. He had normal bowel movements though he reported his stools were a bit loose and urination was normal. He currently had a moderately stressful job, slept 8-9 hours a night with no trouble falling or staying asleep. He drank 2 cups of coffee daily but otherwise drank water to maintain hydration and he ate a clean and healthy diet of lean proteins and a lot of vegetables with a few fruits and whole grains. He did, however, have a 40-hour-a-week job indoors at a desk and was also completely sedentary. He was taking Vitamin C, D, E, Zinc, Fish Oil, Cholest-Off and Ashwagandha.
The patient presented initially with a thin and wiry pulse; a pale, swollen tongue with a thick white coat and mapped spot on his right Liver area. This along with his symptoms, history and biomedical diagnosis led me to place a differential diagnosis on him of Spleen Qi Deficiency with Liver Yin Deficiency and Damp Retention in the Lower Jiao. The Liver Yin damage was born of the alcoholism, which in turn led to the inability to absorb proper nutrients which caused the Spleen Qi Deficiency, both of which led to Damp Accumulation (Retention by the time he made it to me) in the Lower Jiao. The key points I utilized to treat him at this first session are as follows: Lv 14, 3, 2; Sp 6, 9; St 40; and Gb 41. At this time he opted out of herbs to see if the acupuncture alone would suffice. I did, however, have him continue his vitamin and supplement regimen and asked him to start walking at least 30 minutes a day for at least 5 days a week. We also discussed the importance of him having sexual intercourse with his wife 2-3 times a week, especially, during her time of ovulation. If they felt like connecting through intercourse at other times, I let him know that’s perfectly fine and very healthy and that the rest of her cycle month could still carry potential for conception.
By his second treatment one week later, my observations were that his pulse was now only slightly wiry and his tongue was normal red, slightly swollen with a thin white coat. His only symptoms were “some fatigue and a few loose stools but not as many as before our initial treatment,” but he was otherwise feeling really well. My differential diagnosis at this treatment was Spleen Qi Deficiency as I saw no signs nor did he have any lingering symptoms of Liver Yin Deficiency or Damp Retention in the Lower Jiao. Therefore, I focused on that and did some general acupoints for male infertility: Sp 6, 3; St 36; left-side LingGu DaiBai in combination with right-side Lv 3; Tituo and Rn 4. I asked that he continue the same sex, supplement and exercise prescription from the prior treatment plan, which he had been following studiously.
Over the next few weekly treatments his tongue and pulse stayed the same although his stools had started to solidify and he no longer complained of fatigue. He also reported a new sense of calm and positivity towards his fertility health and their chances of conceiving. As with anything we treat and especially with fertility care, there is almost always an emotional/Shen component. Fertility can be stressful for both parties and carry some health concerns depending on the route taken to treat fertility, especially female fertility. So with this patient, as with nearly all, I was sure to add Shen calming points within each treatment. Some of the key points in these subsequent treatments included: the above mentioned points with the additions of Ki 3, Buddha’s Triangle, St 30, Lv 8, Du 20, 24, Yintang, and Shenmen.
After five treatments, the first two a week apart and the rest two weeks apart, the patient went for a semen analysis and to his delight and relief, the results showed improvement in his morphology and motility. A month after that, before his next appointment, he called to say that his wife was pregnant! At this time he chose not to continue treatment as he didn’t see a reason to. He was feeling overall extremely well and wanted to focus his attention going forward on his wife’s pregnancy.
This turned out to be a quick case of improvement! There are many pathways to male infertility, some easier to treat than others and gaining a clear and concise understanding of how to identify the causes from a biomedical and Traditional Chinese Medical perspective is paramount to successfully treating male infertility. My course aims to provide you with information so you can in turn, use the knowledge offered to start to treat this condition successfully within your own practice!
Today I’d like to talk about FSOMA, an association I’m very proud to be a member of, educate for and volunteer for!
FSOMA’s mission is promoting the health of Floridians by advancing the practice of Eastern medicine. It was founded in 1993 serving the Acupuncture Profession for over 30 years.
Our core strengthens include:
Promoting & Protecting the Acupuncture Profession.
To give support for your business.
To improve your clinical results.
We do this by:
Supporting your business with classes, with a business and insurance help desk and mentoring.
Improving your clinical effectiveness with quality CEU classes.
Protecting your profession legislatively and in the courts.
Promoting your practice and profession to the public and other medical professionals.
I have personally had a wonderful experience with FSOMA as an Acupuncture Physician and as an educator! They’ve have helped me in both of these career fields and I’m very grateful aside from being impressed by how hard everyone works to keep this profession moving forward!
You can join us at: Join FSOMA
Or supports us at: Support FSOMA
And you can see more of what we’re all about at: FSOMA Home Page
I recently received an email from a potential patient with questions about Acupuncture and ED (Erectile Dysfunction). I’ve decided to share them here for other potential patients whom may have similar questions.
1) In terms of treating ED via acupuncture - What effectiveness have you seen with it as a treatment?
- Great success! Success in the quality and quantity of erections.
2) If I am having discussions with a local acupuncturist, is this a "common" thing for acupuncturists to handle or would I need to be seeking someone with more "specialization".
- Unfortunately, this is currently, not a "common" condition for Acupuncturists to treat but it is gaining traction. I do offer consultation services to other Acupuncturists to help guide them in successfully and effectively treating this condition. If you cannot find a Specialist, any acupuncturist can start to treat this condition, even successfully with your commitment to them, caring for yourself and your honesty with them. — I often also educate on the subject and class posts can be found here, on my blog with dates and the links to sign up!
3) What questions would you recommend I ask a local acupuncturist if I am seeking treatment for ED through them?
- Do they have experience in treating it? If not, are they comfortable taking it on? Would they like or be open to guidance from an expert in the field? Do they know someone they can refer you too if they are not comfortable treating ED?
4) Are there certain certifications or types of acupuncturists I should be looking for?
- For any Acupuncturist, you should make sure they are licensed in the state in which they practice which should be found easily on their website (ie. their lic. #) and preferably, are also NCCAOM Diplomates (our certifying body for acupuncture and oriental medicine). As of yet, there is no specific certification for acupuncture in treating men's health such as there is with female fertility but I intend to change that!
5) Would the treatment be for a finite duration (think i need antibiotics for an infection and then am done once the antibiotics course is complete) or would it need to be a long term recurring (i.e. the useful effects only last as long as i continue seeing the acupuncturist)
- Every individual is different. Everyone responds to acupuncture differently which determines the course of treatment. In general, ED is something that with a few months of consistently weekly treatment, will resolve but that depends on the severity of the condition and how well you respond to treatment. Thus far, in over 10 years of specializing in men's health, the only individuals I have needed to treat it long-term for are either gentlemen over 75/80, gentlemen who are on many different medications wherein ED is a side-effect or gentlemen who have had damage from injury/accident/surgery.
Too All: I have been successfully treating ED and other men's health conditions since 2012! Acupuncture is an effective treatment that centers on treating the root cause with no side-effects in comparison to what Biomedicine offers which is medication (they all have side-effects) or invasion procedures such as surgery/implants which also have side-effects and neither treat the actual root of the condition.
I hope this helps you all make a sound decision! And know that I am always here as a resource!
