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Polycystic ovarian disease & abnormal uterine bleeding – Treatment

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 11:42:56 +0000

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine system disorder amongwomen of reproductive age. Women with PCOS may have enlarged ovaries that contain small collections of fluid — called follicles — located in each ovary as seen during an ultrasound exam.
Infrequent or prolonged menstrual periods, excess hair growth, acne, and obesity can all occur in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. In adolescents, infrequent or absent menstruation may raise suspicion for the condition. PCOS is also one of the leading cause of anovulatory infertility.
Evaluation and diagnosis of PCOS is based on clinical history, ultrasound findings and hormonal tests(blood tests).
Obesity plays a central role in the cause and aggravation of signs and symptoms of PCOS and hence weight reduction and maintaining an ideal body weight is an important part in management of PCOS and related issues.
Infertility in women with PCOS is usually due to lack of formation of mature follicle as a result of hormonal imbalance. And treatment is by taking medication for ovulation induction under the guidance of your doctor.
Menstrual cycle is normally 25-35 days with a flow of about 3-4 days. An average of 2-4 pads may be soaked per day without any significant passage of clot.
Excessive bleeding, increased duration of blood flow, short or long cycle duration, irregular menstrual pattern including spotting are classified as abnormal uterine bleeding.
Excessive bleeding is termed menorrhagia and causes fall in blood haemoglobin levels(anemia) and tiredness affecting daily activities and requires medical attention.
Irregular spotting especially if it happens in between cycles or after intercourse also deems evaluation by your gynaecologist.
Prolonged cycles or very short cycles may be due to improper ovulation (egg production and release) and may require further evaluation especially if there is delay in pregnancy.

The post Polycystic ovarian disease & abnormal uterine bleeding – Treatment appeared first on Aspire Fertility Center.

Preparing for IVF

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 11:39:16 +0000

Infertility has become an increasingly common affliction in the 21st century. Reproduction is what most would consider to be a basic need and to find it may be out of your reach can leave one disheartened and disappointed. Fortunately, good research and development in medicine have ensured infertility is not the end of the road, but merely a sharp turn along the way to fulfilling your heartfelt desire. Procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) have allowed a lot of couples to conceive, but going through the whole treatment can be stressful and emotionally challenging and one would need to be thoroughly prepared to ensure the best chance of success on the first attempt.

Getting Ready

The first step in preparing for IVF is to understand the current status of your reproductive system as well as that of your partner. This helps the doctor understand what needs to be done, how your ovaries may respond to the treatment and the number of embryos that will need to be transferred to ensure maximum chances of success. This will be determined through a series of screenings:

Ovarian Reserve Testing – A procedure that analyses hormone levels in your blood, this helps the doctor gauge the quantity and quality of your eggs.
Semen Analysis – This procedure is usually conducted during the early stages, but can also be conducted before the IVF treatment starts.
Infectious Disease Screening – A customary screening for sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS.
Uterine Cavity Exam – The doctor will examine the uterine cavity to check for any abnormalities that could affect the treatment.

Preparing your body and mind

As a hopeful mother, it is crucial to condition your body and ensure the best environment for your baby’s development right from the early stages. A healthy diet, particularly applied for a period of 30 days before initiating treatment, can help build the health of the egg and increase your chances of success. A good fertility diet would be rich in antioxidants, minerals and vitamins to prevent free-radicals from damaging egg and sperm health as well as provide sufficient nutrients to support the baby during the initial stages of the pregnancy. And while supplements aren’t ideal, they can help ensure you have all the right nutrients required for successful IVF treatment.

Now given stress can affect your chances of a successful pregnancy, it is important to go into IVF treatment mentally prepared to tackle emotional challenges. The treatment has more than its fair share of ups and downs and as each stage gives way to the next, the anticipation and stress levels continue on an upward curve with a failed cycle bringing it all crashing down. This can severely affect one’s marriage, relationships and even change you as a person. Knowing the challenges that come with each IVF cycle, it would help to keep your personal life stable so as to keep away other sources of stress. It is important for you and your partner to maintain a healthy relationship without making IVF the sole focus of your thoughts. An IVF cycle is without a doubt, a challenging experience and whether or not it ends in success, emerging from the treatment with a strong spirit is the best thing you can do for yourself and your loved ones.

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Male infertility- An issue that has been ignored!

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 11:37:26 +0000

Infertility these days has become a very common issue in almost every household. It can affect both men and women, therefore, the social stigma of blaming only the woman when a married couple is childless should be erased from our minds. There is as much possibility for a man to be infertile as much as it is for a woman. Anyone can be a victim of infertility and to determine the causes there are several tests that are performed both for men and women.

Age

Almost all men are aware that the fertility of women starts to decline after 35 years, yet they are not aware of the fact that even a man’s age can affect their fertility and the capability to be a parent as well. Even though it is less known about the effect of age on male fertility, the evidence of older men losing their fertility is increasing day by day.

The fact is that for a man who is over 45 years old, it may take five or more times longer to conceive as compared to a man under 25 years of age.

Obesity

There is a significant confirmation that male obesity has negative effects on fertility through changes in hormonal levels and also direct changes to the function of the sperm and the molecular composition of the sperm. Impaired spermatogenesis along with sexual dysfunction have been shown to drive other variables towards poor fertility potential by various research studies. The increase in BMI is directly linked to lowering sperm concentration, serum testosterone, and serum estradiol increase research prove it.

Therefore, men who are overweight or obese are at a greater risk for infertility and thus need constant monitoring as it not only affects fertility but also causes several other complications like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and so on. Overweight and obese men are more likely to have low sperm count, or not have any viable sperm as compared with men who have normal weight.

There are several tests and treatments nowadays even for men to determine fertility and the cause of infertility in men.

Tests

To determine male fertility, it involves the production of healthy sperms and its movements towards the egg. The tests performed for male infertility is to determine if any of the processes are damaged.

It is likely that men should undergo a general physical examination that includes the examination of the genitals as well. Precise fertility tests can consist of:

Analysis of Semen- One or more semen specimens may be asked to be produced. The semen specimen is then analyzed in a lab but sometimes in some rare cases, the sperm can also be tested for in the urine.
Testing of Hormone- Blood tests are done to establish and verify the level of male hormones such as testosterone.
Genetic Analysis- Genetic analysis is the testing to find out if there are any genetic issues that are causing infertility.
Biopsy of the testicles- In some rare cases, a biopsy of the testicles is done to ascertain aberrations impacting infertility and to obtain the sperm to be used during assisted reproductive techniques, such as IVF if required.
Additional Specialty testing- Sometimes rarely though, some tests may be done to assess the quality of the sperm so as to evaluate the semen specimen for DNA aberrations or abnormalities. Also, imaging studies like brain MRI, scanning of bone mineral density, ultrasound (trans-rectal or scrotal), or tests of the vas deferens could be done.

Treatments

The treatment for men usually comprises of treatment for common sexual complications or deficiency of healthy sperm. The treatment process can comprise of the following:

Changing the lifestyle aspects- Cultivating healthier lifestyle habits and behavioral aspects can help in improving the probabilities for pregnancy. Avoiding certain medications and alcohol, maintaining regular exercise are some habits that will help in keeping you healthy.
Prescriptions- Some medicines may improve sperm count and probability for accomplishing a positive pregnancy. These medications may enhance testicular function along with more sperm production and improving the quality.
Surgery- Surgery may be able to reverse a sperm blockage and restore fertility in some cases. Also in certain rare cases, improving the overall chances for pregnancy may be done by surgically repairing a varicocele.
Sperm retrieval- These techniques obtain sperm when ejaculation is a problem or when no sperm are present in the ejaculated fluid. They may also be used in cases where assisted reproductive techniques are planned and sperm counts are low or otherwise abnormal.

Generally, Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is taken into consideration only if the other above treatments do not take effect. The ART techniques used more commonly during male infertility issues are IVF and Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

At Aspire Fertility Centre, our expert doctors are ever ready to listen to your questions and problems in order to find a solution. So, so call us or visit our clinic and you can also write to us, always welcome to do so.

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