Female Infertility Symptoms
Some typical symptoms for women experiencing infertility or conditions that can cause difficulty conceiving include:
- Lighter or heavier periods during menstruation
- Anovulation, a lack of menstruation
- Severe back pain, pelvic pain, or cramping during menstruation
- Irregular or variable cycle length
- Dyspareunia, or painful sexual intercourse
- Hair loss or thinning
- White discharge from nipples
- Growing dark hair on the chin, lips, or chest
- Increased acne or changes in skin condition
- Increased or decreased sex drive
Common sources of female infertility include:
- Endometriosis: The endometrium is a mucus membrane that grows during a woman's cycle, providing important support for an implanted egg and breaking down during menstruation, when it is released. However, if the endometrium develops outside the uterus rather than within it, these cells can create scar tissue, become inflamed, or form blood-filled cysts. These abnormalities can make sex painful or obstruct the fallopian tubes. Up to 50 percent of women struggling with infertility suffer from this condition.
- -Blood stasis and heat
- Uterine fibroids: Fortunately, abnormal growths within the uterine cavity are typically benign. In fact, as many as three quarters of women have fibroids, but never know it because they experience no symptoms. However, uterine fibroids can interfere with fertility when they block the movement of sperm and eggs in the fallopian tubes, cervix, or uterus.
- Tubal blockages or disorders: A fertilized egg must pass through the fallopian tubes to implant in the uterus, so any damage to or blockage of these tubes can cause infertility. Salpingitis, a type of inflammation caused by sexually transmitted infections, adhesions (scar tissue), pelvic inflammatory disease, or endometriosis, most often creates tubal blockages. Previous abdominal surgery can also increase the risk of tubal disorders.
- - Blood Stasis: Moving blood and warming Luo
- Abnormal ovulation: Producing healthy, mature eggs is key for conception. Ovulation disorders can create anovulation, when a woman's ova never develop or release as they should, or oligo-ovulation, when eggs release very inconsistently. Women with improper ovulation may or may not experience regular menstruation. Typical causes of ovulation problems include:
- Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA): A woman's hormonal levels are very sensitive to her daily habits. Excessive exercise, increased stress, or dramatic weight loss can interfere with ovulation and menstruation. Patients who suffer from functional hypothalamic amenorrhea can usually reverse this condition by reducing physical activity, decreasing stress, or gaining weight.
- -- Liver Qi Stagnation and Spleen Qi Deficiency
- Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI): Some women's ovaries quit producing and releasing eggs properly before age 40. This condition is similar to premature menopause but unlike in the case of premature menopause, some women with POI may still have occasional periods and can sometimes become pregnant with proper treatment.
- -- Kidney Qi and Yin Deficiency
- Menopause: At around age 50, women gradually stop producing ova. During this process, most women experience irregular periods and hot flashes from hormonal fluctuations. This process is entirely natural and normal, but it can make conception difficult or impossible.
- -- Kidney Qi and Yin Deficiency
- Diminished ovarian reserve (DOR): Women usually have about 300,000 usable eggs and release about ten percent of these during ovulation before menopause. However, due to surgical, medical, or congenital conditions, some women's eggs deteriorate and decline, causing infertility.
- -- Kidney Qi and Yin Deficiency, Injury of Chong meridian
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): If a woman's adrenal glands or ovaries become hormonally imbalanced and produce too much testosterone, small ovarian cysts can form. These can interfere with ovulation and cause infertility. Unfortunately, this condition is so common that PCOS is the number one cause of female infertility-- -- Kidney Qi and Yang Deficiency
- Luteal phase defects (LPD): The luteal phase of the menstrual cycle falls between ovulation and menstruation. During this stage, a woman's uterus develops a thicker lining to prepare for egg implantation. Patients who suffer from LPD do not develop a thick enough lining, making it more difficult for fertilized eggs to implant in the uterus. --Jing deficiency
- Irregular uterus shape: Anatomic abnormalities in the shape of a woman's uterus can make it more difficult for fertilized eggs to reach the womb and implant there. -Kidney deficiency
- Pelvic scar tissue: Women who have had pelvic surgery, an appendicitis, abdominal surgery, or a pelvic infection may have developed adhesions around their uterus, ovaries, or fallopian tubes that could make conception more difficult. --Blood Stasis and injury of BaoLuo meridian
- Cancer: Both cancer and the radiation or chemotherapy used to treat it can cause infertility. Chemotherapy in particular can lead to permanent ovarian failure in some patients. Women who have had ovarian or uterine cancer are more likely to have reproductive issues. - Kidney Qi deficiency and injury of BaoLuo
- Thyroid issues: Since the thyroid is closely tied to hormone production, any conditions involving this organ, such as hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, can prevent normal ovulation and menstruation from occurring.
- Medications: Certain types of medication can disrupt your reproductive cycles and make it more difficult to become pregnant. These include antipsychotic drugs; NSAIDs, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like aspirin or ibuprofen, when used over a long period of time; and spironolactone, a medication that helps patients who suffer from oedema, a type of fluid retention.
- Unhealthy lifestyle: To be fertile, a woman needs to lead a healthy lifestyle. Dramatic weight changes, excessive stress, overindulgence in alcohol, or smoking can contribute to infertility. - Liver Qi and Yin
