Infertility: Insights from Traditional Chinese Medicine - Traditional Chinese Medicine

Are you already infertile?

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Six years ago, I was pregnant and underwent a medical abortion at six weeks due to financial pressures when I was younger.
Since then, I have frequently experienced delayed menstruation, and my menstrual flow often seems to end quickly by the third or fourth day.
Before each normal menstrual cycle, I typically have a week of persistent brown spotting.
During this period, I have consistently returned to the same obstetrics and gynecology clinic for follow-ups.
The doctor performed ultrasounds and did not mention any issues with my uterus or ovaries.
Last July, I suffered from depression and took antidepressants while being treated at a major general hospital.
I continued taking the medication until early December of last year, during which my menstrual cycle was quite irregular.
Since early December, I have stopped taking the medication.
My last menstrual period was on January 23, 2008, which was induced by a menstrual induction injection due to high work stress.
Initially, my obstetrician prescribed oral medication to induce menstruation, but after completing the course, I experienced a week of brown spotting.
Therefore, I returned to the clinic for confirmation, and after an ultrasound, the doctor recommended a menstrual induction injection.
After the injection, my period arrived in three days, but it was accompanied by severe menstrual cramps.
Previously, I had received menstrual induction injections during my teenage years, but it had been over ten years since I last used one.
Although I experienced cramps during my periods, they were not usually severe.
I wonder if the intense menstrual pain is related to the menstrual induction injection.
This time, my period started on March 6 (also induced by oral medication) because I had been experiencing brown spotting since March 1 without seeing my period.
I consulted my obstetrician, and after an ultrasound, the doctor prescribed oral medication to induce menstruation.
However, this period also came with severe menstrual cramps, and I am unsure if this is related to the oral medication.
On March 7, I returned to discuss my desire to conceive and to regulate my menstrual cycle.
After another ultrasound, the doctor prescribed Clomiphene for me, starting on March 8, taking one pill in the morning and one in the evening for five days.
I will return on March 18 for a transvaginal ultrasound to check the follicle development.
I would like to ask the following questions:
1.
Am I infertile? (Based on my symptoms, please provide your assessment, thank you!) I have previously asked doctors and nurses at the clinic, and they said that since I had successfully conceived before, I cannot be considered infertile.
Is this correct?
2.
Should I undergo any further tests?
3.
Given my symptoms, what are my chances of conceiving?
Additionally, since July of last year (2007), I have not used contraception (previously, I used condoms).
However, from July to December, due to taking antidepressants, my sexual activity with my husband was limited to once or twice a month, and sometimes we did not have intercourse at all.
It was not until February of this year that we resumed having intercourse once a week.
Does this count as infertility? My current height is 154.4 cm, and my weight is 47.9 kg (my weight ranged from 39 to 43 kg from July to December).
Could my low weight be a factor in my inability to conceive? Thank you for your response!
After my husband had a semen analysis, the results were as follows:
1.
Gross appearance: Volume: 1.5 ml, Color: Gray, pH: 8.0, Viscosity: -, Liquefaction: <60, Odor: -
2.
Microscopic Examination: Sperm Concentration: 60 (million/ml), Total sperm count: 90 million, Motility (2+3): 66.70 (%), Motility (3): 16.70%, Morphology: 18.80%, WBC: 1-3 million/ml
3.
Anti-sperm antibody: IgG: <104.
Others: RBC: 1-3
The obstetrician suggested that our chances of natural conception are very low.
Is this true? (Can traditional Chinese medicine help?) The doctor also indicated that the success rate for artificial insemination would not be high due to my husband's poor semen quality, and therefore, suggested proceeding directly to in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Is this the only option left for us? Please, I seek help from a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner to see if there is still a chance for natural conception and how my husband can improve his condition.
On March 20, 2008, I will receive an ovulation trigger injection, and the doctor advised us to have intercourse on March 21 and 22.
However, if the doctor says the chances of natural conception are low, what should we do? My husband is 38 years old.
I am pleading for assistance as a woman who is on the verge of despair in her quest to conceive.

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Ling, 30~39 year old female. Ask Date: 2008/03/20