I’m a puzzle solver, always have been, and my puzzle of choice is unexplained infertility. ‘Unexplained’ is not the same as ‘inexplicable’, and that is what gets me out of bed every morning.
Unexplained Infertility is not a diagnosis – it is a label given to people by people who cannot figure out what is going on. If I had an issue with my heart, I would expect someone to work out what that issue is, not to brush it off as ‘unexplained’. I would need someone to figure it out, so I could have the problem addressed. Yet when it comes to fertility, it seems to be OK to simply brush it away with the term ‘unexplained’, to which the only solution offered is to try IVF – but IVF is not usually a good idea for unexplained infertility cases because the same thing that is preventing natural conception is likely to impact the potential for successful IVF.
The term ‘unexplained infertility’ makes me feel uncomfortable. The vast majority of people with unexplained infertility are struggling with under-investigated infertility because they are only talking to people with a one dimensional view of infertility and how to investigate it. In most cases, people have been told they have run ‘all the tests’ and that ‘everything is normal’. That is usually a long way from the truth. In reality, there are usually some really obvious signs and symptoms of areas that need a closer look, and indications that further tests are warranted. In some cases, people have run the right tests, but the data is not being interpreted correctly.
When I work with someone who is struggling with unexplained infertility, I come at the problem from many angles.
- I have a degree in Chinese Acupuncture which has instilled in me an open minded, inquisitive approach to looking at anything that impacts health and wellness. This ancient knowledge is rooted in patterns and relationships between different aspects of health and I bring that perspective to the table.
- I hold the Advanced Diploma in Fertility Support which means I have an unusually strong understanding of the mechanisms of infertility to layer into my thought process as I assess and unpick a case. This training has given me the confidence to dig deeper.
- To cap this all, I have built the most wonderful network of like-minded experts in this field (Chinese herbalists, experts in visceral and pelvic structures, specialist ultrasonographers, urologists, male fertility experts, reproductive immunology experts, functional nutritionists, immune system investigation experts, spiritual healers and more). If I think someone doesn’t look right, but it’s outside of my expertise to understand why, then I will go and find the right person to unravel that part of the puzzle. (A pet-peeve of mine is when a doctor or holistic practitioner insists that if they can’t fix it, no-one can – I am always willing to bring in outside expertise if needed because at the end of the day, this is about getting a positive resolution for my clients, not about my ego!).
In most cases, I can figure things out – I transform confusion into clarity, driven by experience, science and intuition (and in the more complicated cases, with the help of a SWAT team of likeminded doctors and holistic fertility experts). IVF on it’s own is very rarely a solution – many of my clients come to me after multiple failed IVF cycles.
In my substack, I will be sharing my knowledge and opinions to help people to find their way through this. If you want to follow along as I share this, please sign up.
https://fertilitydecoded.substack.com/
If this has resonated with you, if you feel you are screaming inside for someone to actually listen to you and help you to figure out what is going on – reach out. I would love to help you to pick apart your case, and I am always open to taking on a new puzzle!
Kind Regards
Alex