Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and its treatment in Chinese medicine
FSH is a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland (also known as “gonadotropin”). The target organ of the FSH hormone is the ovaries in women, and testicles in men.
Role of FSH hormone in the monthly cycle:
At the beginning of the menstrual cycle, the pituitary gland secretes the hormone FSH which is a follicle stimulating hormone which aids in the development of the primary follicle – a unit of ovarian cells containing an egg. Towards the middle of the cycle, the LH hormone will be released and it will cause ovulation. FSH plays an important role in the fertility of women and men. FSH helps women control the menstrual cycle and the stimulation of follicles that develop into ovarian eggs. In men FSH helps sperm production.
FSH levels in the body:
When a woman has high or low level of FSH, it is very difficult to get pregnant naturally. Normal levels of FSH range from 2 to 10 units. Too low level indicates a dysfunction of the pituitary gland. FSH level of more than 20 units indicates a problem with ovarian function, and difficulty in getting pregnant, mainly due to poor ovarian egg quality. FSH values greater than 20 units, indicates very low chances of getting pregnant, and a need for egg donation. Kupat Holim (HMO) does not approve treatments when FSH levels are higher than 20.
Ovarian dysfunction is common in women aged 38 years and older, but can occur at any age. A very extreme increase in FSH levels can be seen to levels above 100.
The reason for the difficulty of getting pregnant with high FSH:
High FSH causes poor quality or quantity of eggs. In healthy young women, with large and high-quality eggs, a small amount of FSH is sufficient to induce ovarian stimulation and ovulation. However, with age the older the woman gets or the hormonal problem, the smaller the quantity of eggs, and the lower her eggs quality, the more FSH is required to get pregnant. Therefore, in these cases, the FSH levels in body will be high. The problem is that although there is overstimulation of FSH, the body fails to reach the required egg quality needed to become pregnant.
Conventional medicine and FSH are high:
Unfortunately, conventional medicine has little to offer women with high FSH. Usually, the treatment that doctors offer in this case is strengthening other hormones in the body using birth control pills. This treatment should restore the menstrual cycle and reduce FSH hormone levels. The problem is that this process can not improve egg quality.
Chinese medicine and the ability to become pregnant with high FSH:
High FSH levels is one of the most common fertility problems in women, especially after age 35. Women with high FSH usually have a very difficult time getting pregnant. But you do not have to accept the bad news and you can overcome the problem – even if the doctor tells you that there is no solution and turns you into an egg donation (that’s what the doctors suggested to me when I discovered I had a high FSH).
With the help of Chinese medicine, including acupuncture, herbal medicine and according to the need for nutrition and moxification it is possible to:
- Reduce in a relatively short time, the high levels of the FSH hormone.
- At the same time also balance the hormonal system and excess hormones.
- Bring about calm and a sense of inner peace despite all the difficulties and waiting for the desired pregnancy.
- Prepare the uterus and eggs to receive sperm and achieve normal and good implantation.
- Bring the entire body with all its systems and mind as well to the most optimal and balanced condition possible to achieve good and healthy pregnancy.
Many studies in the world indicate that Chinese acupuncture has a positive effect on the balance of FSH levels. At my clinic, as well as in other Chinese medicine clinics, you can find many cases where women arrived frustrated or discouraged after the doctor determined that they would not be able to get pregnant because of high FSH levels – however, within two to three months with acupuncture treatments, there was a significant improvement in FSH test results.
Acupuncture and high FSH treatment:
According to Chinese medicine, high FSH and poor egg quality are not necessarily a problem of the ovaries or of any hormonal gland, but a problem of general imbalance in the body that usually considers the mental and emotional states of the woman and considers her diet and even levels of stress and anxiety. Chinese medicine sees the person as a whole and handles all aspects of the body, in addition to using acupuncture points that help balance and strengthen the hormonal system. This process gives the body the health balance it needs to produce eggs of good quality and maintain the hormonal balance.
As we get older, our bodies can give less resources to the reproductive system. This is a natural process and yet for women up to age 45 there should be no problem getting pregnant. Nature created the women so that the menstrual cycle and all hormonal activity associated with fertility would occur as usual in every healthy woman until the age of 49-52.
With acupuncture, it is possible to balance the hormonal system, to increase blood flow to the ovaries and uterus, while at the same time to reduce stress levels – and in response, FSH levels are reduced and the reproductive system is back on its own without the need for external hormonal stimulation. The Chinese combination of acupuncture with personalized herbs and dietary guidelines improves FSH levels in more than 90% of cases.
At Maoz Marpe Clinic:
At the clinic, we treat many cases of FSH when doctors have already sent the patient to egg donation procedures and are now mothers of children from their own eggs.
We use Chinese methods that have been proven to improve the success of treatments with the goal of achieving pregnancy in the shortest possible time and keeping it until the birth of a healthy fetus.
