I have recently met many women who suffered from diminished ovarian reserve (DOR). They all had similar conditions: low antral follicle count (AFC), low AMH or elevated FSH and E2. They have tried to conceive for many years and failed multiple medical treatments, including IVF. Some of them had been persuaded into using donor eggs.

DOR can happen at any age. Although aging is definitely a contributing factor, others risk factors are less well known especially in young women. Contributors to DOR may be related to lifestyle, diet, genetic factors, infections and hospital-related factors. Women who have lower ovarian reserves also indicate they have lower egg qualities. Most of the woman do not know they have diminished ovarian reserves until they have difficulty conceiving. DOR is usually treated by hormones or hormone receptor antagonists. These patients have also either tried timed-intercourse or IUI or IVF, but they do not always have good results.

Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture have been used to help these types of patients for decades. Clinical studies have shown increased chances of pregnancy after treatment with Chinese medicine.

Kristy is one of these DOR cases.  She was a 38 year old mother and she had tried for two months to conceive a second child. We had helped her conceive her first baby naturally after two failed IVF cycles, multiple IUI, and one miscarriage two years ago. Her son was eight months when she came in. After she stopped breast feeding, she found out her period was getting shorter and shorter: there were only 21 to 23 days per menstrual cycle.  She knew something was wrong. She decided to return and ask for help with preparing for the next pregnancy.

Kristy was a thin lady. She was 5’5” and 110 lbs. Her blood work showed she had positive cardiovascular antibodies (CVA) years ago. She was a business woman, and she was under a lot of stress. Her lifestyle consumed her body essence and it leaded to a condition of essence deficiency.  Here was her test result: FSH 3.8IU/L. LH 2.47IU/L. Estriol 143 pg/ml. AMH 0.39. The antral follicles count (AFC) was 5. According to test results and her CVA condition, we differentiated her health condition as essence deficiency with blood stasis. We introduced her Chinese herbal medicine. She took them everyday and received treatment twice a week. She finally conceived on the third month of treatment and she continued acupuncture until week 18 of pregnancy!