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Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am not a medical doctor. I have been a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 17 years and I will be speaking from my clinical experience helping thousands of women conceive. The office of Aimee E. Raupp, M.S., L.Ac and Aimee Raupp Wellness & Fertility Centers and all personnel associated with the practice do not use social media to convey medical advice. This video will be posted to Aimee’s channels to educate and inspire others on the fertility journey.

SEE TRANSCRIPT BELOW OR CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR THE FULL VIDEO.

Aimee Raupp:

Hi, everyone. Hello. I'm coming to you live today for a Q and A. This isn't ask me anything about fertility Q and A. So you can ask me anything about supplements, about diet, about lifestyle, about your journey. The only thing I ask of you when you ask these questions is to use the question button. Down in the bottom right corner where there's a little circle with a question mark, submit your questions there, and then I will start answering questions. And I can give you guys a half hour of my time. When that half hour is up at 12:45, I need to go because I have another call. But I'm going to let the questions roll in. This is just a live Q and A. Ask me anything about fertility.

Someone says, “I can't hear.” Can anybody else hear? Is the volume okay or is there a volume issue? Will someone else reply and say you can hear me or you can't? Well, someone ask a question so I think… Two questions have rolled in, so I think you guys can hear me, so the person who said they can't hear, check your phone, try leaving Instagram and coming back.

Yeah, this is a live Q and A. You can ask me anything fertility related and I will do my best to answer you and your question. The only thing I ask, again, is if you post comments, I'm not going to answer the questions here. Again, Holistic Classy Soul, I'm not going to answer questions in the comments, so you need to ask them in the question box. Go to the little circle with the question mark, ask questions there. Questions are rolling in. I'm going to let it get to a larger number, and then I'm going to start answering them. My battery is running low on my computer, but that's fine, I don't need it right now.

Okay. Again, Leidi, ask your questions in the question box, not in the comments. Any questions that come in the comments, I'm not going to answer. Love you guys, but I'm going to try to keep it really organized. All questions go to the question box. And if you don't have a question box, you need to update your Instagram.

Okay, elevated thyroid 4.77. How does that affect fertility? Implantation egg quality, hormone level to sustain a pregnancy; it affects pregnancy across all the boards because hormone is thyroid hormone is the master hormone, and if it's out of whack we need your TSH between to be between a 1 to a 2.5. You need thyroid medication and support. And that's what I would recommend.

PMS symptoms. I don't have many, but am experiencing nights with two days before a period. Not usually. I don't usually flag that as too concerning. It's usually from a drop off of hormones, so I think it's okay. We still would say in Chinese medicines it's a sign of some yin deficiency, so really focus on the good quality fats, really go with fats.

What do I think of seed cycling? I think it's completely harmless and can be fine. I think seeds are great for building the yin, as I was just saying to the previous person. And so I don't often practice with seed cycling in my practice but do recommend seeds a lot, as long as they're well tolerated by the person. Julian Brighton had a great post I think yesterday or within this week about how the different seeds help with progesterone, estrogen, that type of thing. 100%. We love seeds in Chinese medicine, seeds are all about fertility to us because it's the seed that then gives birth, so we love using seeds and eating seeds and consuming seeds. I'm a huge fan of sunflower, sesame, black sesame, pumpkin, even flax, just has to be fresh ground.

Having a hysteroscopy and laparoscopy done. What is it open on those procedures? What do you mean? I'm not sure what that question is. I think it's smart. If you've had four cycles and two transfers that didn't implant, it's really smart to go and look at the uterine cavity, make sure there's no endo, adeno implantation. I'm sorry, infections. I think that's really smart. Make sure you get a uterine biopsy while they're in there, an endometrial biopsy to make sure there's no infection in the uterus.

What's your take on DHEA? I only have one ovary without a fallopian tube due to ectopic. Only one way of conceiving is through UIVF. It looks like I have poor ovarian response. There's only two eggs retrieved last cycle. Got fertilized, but don't grow embryos. DHEA can help. I never really go over 25 milligrams per day as a recommendation, but I always test DHEA S levels and testosterone levels to make sure that DHEAS is needed. In your case, it could be meds that compromise quality, it could be quality is compromised. I would really follow the egg quality diet supplements. You can't out supplement lifestyle and diet, so I would really make sure you get back to the basics: rest, nourishment, enough deep sleep and soulfulness and joy and that kind of stuff. Follow egg quality diet. You can do DHEA, but I would really test it first before you do it. And I would never, ever, ever put anyone on 75 milligrams of DHEA day.

Best probiotic for UTI, usually for E.coli, three losses and endo. Seen immunologist. Okay, good, I'm glad you're seeing an immunologist. I'm sorry you've had these losses. Make sure you have an endometrial biopsy and make sure there's no E.coli in the uterine lining. Best probiotic for UTI. I have some women's probiotics listed on my site. If you go to aimeeraupp.com/fertilitysupplements, you'll see them there. But I think Garden of Life makes a good one. That's a good women's probiotic that I like.

Just a thank you. I'm on Monday 20 of the egg quality diet. All right, I love it. Thank you. And for all of you that are doing the egg quality diet and love it and like it and are seeing results, please leave a review on Amazon because it helps other women so much. You guys are warriors and you are part of a tribe, and so it is part of your responsibility to spread what works to other women.

I'm 42, and this cycle will be my first attempt at trying to conceive. Other than making more conscious choices, you're reading your book, thank you very much, Adrian, should I be doing any more active due to my age versus waiting six months to see? Yeah, you could maybe give it three months, but I would do a semen analysis, I would get your vitamin D, your thyroid checked, get a complete iron panel; make sure all that's working well.

In what part of my cycle should I test thyroid AMH DUTCH test? Well, thyroid and AMH can be done at any point in time. DUTCH test, if you're cycling, should always be done six to seven days post ovulation.

Pregnant at 43, IVF. Congratulations. Occasionally bleed a little, have brownish discharge. Is this from the aspi? I don't know what an aspi is. You mean from when they do the ultrasounds? Yeah, occasional bleeding in pregnancy can be normal and common. As long as baby's fine. Congratulations, by the way.

Okay, was speaking to consultant today and she's giving the IVF success rate 10% starting IVF in March. What can I do before then to maximize the results? Done the egg quality diet to phase two. I would do the 100 days of the egg quality diet at the minimum. Bath and beauty products, acupuncture, Chinese herbs, Mayan abdominal massage, castor oil packs, all of the things, and good luck. Okay, for some reason it's not letting me share the responses. I don't know why.

That's so weird. Allergy to fish, so can't take fish oil. What alternatives do you recommend? If you can't do fish, then there are some algae supplements that are non-fish containing. You could do that. And then this is a case where maybe I would say, okay, you're going to have to get EPA and DHA from… Spirulina has a little bit, but you might not be able to do that too from the iodine if you have an iodine reaction. Then I would do flax seeds. I would do the seeds, basically, to get it in that way. But you can also just Google that. For some reason it's not letting me share these questions. I don't know what's going on. Okay, something's going on.

I found out today that I have a T-shaped uterus and surgery is suggested. Is this truly a reason for not getting pregnant or having an early miscarriage? It can be because it could be compromised blood flow to certain areas of the uterus, and so you don't get enough lining up there to hold implantation.

Okay, so weird. Okay, my egg retrieval is about a month away. Should I wait until after egg retrieval prior to transfer to start the diet? I already have been gluten free, dairy free, soy free for the last year. My egg retrieval is about a month away. I would look at phase three of the egg quality diet and incorporate as much as you can of that, like the liver support soup, making sure the macronutrients, like the fat, the protein. I would try to get into the macros right now. It's so weird.

How to increase estrogen. Would you recommend estrogen cream in the first part of the cycle? No, I wouldn't, I would just lots of fat, lots of fat, lots of protein, lots of rest and relaxation and nourishment. That's what helps build the estrogen. Estrogen is our blood one of our vital substances in Chinese medicine, so really eating regularly throughout the day. Every meal needs to have lots of protein and fat, lots of healthy, green, colorful, all sorts of colored vegetables. Beets are really good for boosting blood and estrogen liver's really good, as in the organ meat, Chinese herbs, acupuncture.

Okay. Oh my God, this is so weird. I've been filling out my kinks and I have improved tremendously with none of the symptom for SIBO or high histamine, but I do have a bit of gas still, especially at night and in the morning. Is that normal? Weird question. If it's not stinky, I might think it's just digestion working itself out. If it's stinky, it's something in there. Maybe you try adding a digestive enzyme and see if that helps. Yeah, and then just really note is it every single night? And what are you eating? And could it be something in the foods?

My iron levels are 21.5, ferritin 36. Does that sound okay? Is ferritin low? Ferritin's a little low. Depends on the ranges. My computer just died so I can't always search it. I always forget the units. But I think ferritin's a bit low. Whatever the range is on the lab, you always want to be in the middle of the range. And if it's low, that will impact fertility. Iron and ferritin definitely impact fertility if they're low or if they're high.

Okay, just found out I have Hashimoto's, my TSH is now down to 2.9, T 4.79. Do you recommend Levothyroxine? Probably, because the TSH is going to jump around. And 2.9 is still higher than we want it to be for fertility.

There are great thyroid supplements out there too. And sometimes changing the diet can really make big differences. Hashimoto's does not like gluten, dairy, or soy, so I would really recommend cutting those. Thorne makes a good supplement called Thyrocsin. And then Ortho Molecular makes a something that is also really helpful.

If I take liver pills, do I need to have liver support soup? Yes, they are two completely different things. Liver pills are the organ meat. It's liver from grass fed animals. It's actually organ, the liver, organ, meat. Nutrient dense, super rich and all your B vitamins and antioxidants. Liver support soup is about detoxifying your liver. And it's full of green vegetables and great vegetables for supporting liver detoxification like beets and carrots and garlic and turmeric and all of these things. Two different things.

What should I do if I have fibroids and adeno even after having surgery to remove them? The high quality diet strictly and Wobenzym, castor oil packs, Mayan abdominal massage. Consider a few months, one to two months of Depot Lupron. If you're doing fertility treatments, that can be helpful too. It's obviously a much more aggressive procedure, but that can help too because it just shuts everything down. I've seen a handful of my adenomyosis patients especially who are having failed implantation, when they do the Depot Lupron for one to two months, I think it's six weeks is what people are recommending now, seems to really help.

I eliminated eggs and other things for three weeks and reintroduced eggs while reading 100 Quality Diet, and eggs are a big part of my diet. Do I need to cut them out again? No. Whenever I do phase two or phase three, I have the whole egg because, same as you, I've cut them out, and I know that they're fine for me.

How would you suggest I raise ferritin, please? I'm taking iron. Maybe not take the iron supplement. Take a food-based iron supplement. Simply Heme. It's on my website. Simply Heme is the iron supplement I recommend or straight up liver pills. I just was introduced to a product by Standard Process called Ferrofood. That looks amazing, too. And Ancestral Supplements make something called blood vitality, which I use a lot to help boost ferritin. And the previous ferritin question too, look into the blood vitality by Ancestral. That's a really good product.

Okay, let me just see. Okay, what is a good alternative to avocado? I don't like avocado. I've tried. Just don't eat it then. Have another fat. Ghee is a great fat, coconut is a great fat, coconut oil is a great fat, seeds and seed butters and things like that. Just leave the avocado out of the picture, then. And if you're doing egg quality diet, obviously I know you can't do seeds and seed butter in phase three until you're reintroduce, then just do more of the other fats that we talk about.

Let me just see. These questions are getting all funny. T-shaped uterus, egg retrieval, increased estrogen. Aimee approved restaurants in New York City. Little Beat, Beat Table, Spring Bone, Brodo. Really, there's so many. I look for things that are doing farm to table, grass fed, local, good quality ingredients. But there's a lot. Those are just some. I haven't lived in New York now in six years, which is crazy pants. And any of the ABCs, ABC Kitchen, those are great restaurants. They're right near my office too. ABC Kitchen, ABCV. Love those places. And they always have really good quality food, too.

Thoughts on pre-implementation, genetic testing for chromosomal abnormalities? Yeah, I really think it's a personal decision. I don't think it's a deal breaker. And I think there's a lot that PGT testing can miss. I've seen losses with PGT normals. The stats are that it's less than 5% chance of miscarrying a PGT normal, but maybe we're seeing more than that now.

And then I am seeing doctors still recommending to do amnio or CVS even once you're pregnant with the PGT because PGT doesn't pick up for everything. Really depends on the case. If you're having a hard time getting blasted day five, then don't do it right. And if you're only dealing with one to two embryos, maybe you just freeze a day three and transfer. Yeah, I'd go back and forth.

Is fermented cod liver oil and no go then for Hashi's? I think I remember you said not for autoimmune. Yeah, I watch it for autoimmune because ferments and autoimmune can be triggering. Not everybody, but some. Then I do Rosita instead.

Tips for recovering after miscarriage and trying again. I'm sorry, my love. Acupuncture. I use Chinese herbs a lot to recover from miscarriage, castor oil packs, grieving, getting the anger out, journaling, spirit baby work, loving on yourself. I'm so sorry, Natasha, miscarriages suck.

Oh, thank you so much. Replying. You're very welcome. Thank you for being here.

Okay, best natural options to shrink fibroids. Is surgery the only option for uterine polyps? I've done it with Chinese herbs and acupuncture and dietary changes, castor oil pack squash Shaw, Mayan abdominal massage. It's doable, but sometimes you need surgery, too. But I really think the egg quality diet, that style diet, the castor oil packs, abdominal gua sha, Mayan abdominal massage, acupuncture, Chinese herbs can all really help, too. Oh, and the Wobenzym, too.

Okay. Book recommends 15 Grams. Yeah, so you only take half the dose. I just recommend 1,500 milligrams a day of liver. Three to four ounces a week is basically it.

Recurrent decidual cast. What questions should I ask? What are your thoughts? Is that the circ where you're getting the clusters on your… Oh no, decidual cast is when you pass that in your bleed, right? I would do a hysteroscopy and I would do an endometrial biopsy. That's what I'm thinking it is, if I'm remembering what a decidual cast is. And then I would also really think about Chinese herbs and acupuncture and doing the whole diet situation, really anti-inflammatory. To me, that's very stagnant, thick, something stuck in the uterine cavity, and so I do think a hysteroscopy would clean it out and clean slate it, but then now what to prevent?

And then I would also think about Wobenzym, digestive enzymes and get in there. And I checked out your page before, Hatch to Harvest; really cool work. I like what you're doing. Beautiful.

How do you do a castor oil pack? Just Google Aimee Raupp and the word castor oil and it's my number one watched YouTube video, and YouTube will find it. Again guys, this is a Q and A. All questions must be in the question box, otherwise I'm not going to answer them in the comments. I have seven minutes left, by the way. So bring your questions to the question box. Thank you.

Okay. Which elements of your recommended lifestyle choices in egg quality diet should we most be strict about if Hashimoto's is suspected? Gluten, dairy, soy. And I do see a lot of autoimmune patients really get triggered by beans and nightshades. Hashimoto's is an autoimmune condition, so you really want to work on the nervous system piece. Staying calm. I think everybody benefits from this. Sleep is so important. And then you want to watch anything with adaptogens in it.

Decidual cast after blighted ovum. Yeah. I would still stay with what I said. Alexis of Baby Backs, I think is her name, Alexis Baxmeyer, she has a popular feed on Instagram, and she's now pregnant. She had small endoplasmic reticulum clusters on her ovaries. And she was about to do her 10th IVF, and then after that they were going to go to donor. And we worked together and she very strictly followed egg quality diet. I had her on herbs, she did her castor oil pack. My recommendation, she did ovarian PRP three times, I think, two or three times. And she did have adenomyosis. She also did Depot Lupron leading up to that last final retrieval, which got her one day three that they transferred and she is now healthily pregnant with. But I had the same approach, if you will, with the decidual cast. So PRP is another thing to think about.

Okay, mom died of estrogen dominant breast cancer. I'm so sorry. How does IVF affect that for me? I would maybe do a DUTCH test and I would maybe look at your genetics and make sure that you are processing estrogen properly. With IVF, I would do my liver support soup like it's going out of business for you. I would do it every day, all day. Take broccoli sprouts every day, all day. Then after you do stims, I would probably do a few weeks of dim, D-I-M. It's a indole-3-carbinol, which I don't normally recommend because it clears out good estrogen too, but after the retrieval… And castor oil packs over your liver to help your body process out the hormones, liver support soup, broccoli sprouts, and I would do at least I think two to three weeks of dim. Sending you lots of love. And also remember emotionally, my body is different than her body. I don't have to have the same response. My body is different than her body. And you really pay attention to all those environmental toxins, all of those excess estrogens in the pesticides, in the toxins, in the environment. You have a different body than she does.

What do I think about matcha powder? It really depends on the case. It can be really helpful, for some it can be really drying, so it depends on the case. Doesn't work for everybody, just like Vitex.

Intermittent fasting is not recommended, as I understand. I usually don't eat anything after 7:00 or 8:00 until 10:00 the next day. Is that also not good? I drink AGI or bone broth on an empty stomach in the morning. I don't think athletic greens has protein so just add some protein or the broth, and then I think you're fine, I do. But I also would add a caveat. Are your hormones balanced? Are you having trouble conceiving? Are your periods healthy? Are you ovulating efficiently? Do you have a good healthy menstrual bleed as per what I talk about in Yes, You Can Get Pregnant? If you don't, then the fasting might not work for you. It's really a case by case basis.

What supplements to take prior to FET? I don't change supplements as we head into FET, it's always still the same recommendation. You can go to my website or the books for all the supplement recommendations. I always make sure my girls are on a good quality fish oil, good prenatal, liver, vitamin D. Avoid adaptogens because some, like ashwaganda or nitrate… Well that, ashwaganda, is a nightshade. That's a great question. Goji berries are also a nightshade, just so you know. But some adaptogens, whether or not, if you have Hashi's, can trigger a TH1 or a TH2 response and could trigger your autoimmunity, get worse. Everybody's different, though; that's the crazy thing about it.

I already answered a question about DHEA. I use it when I test and know that DHEA is low. DHEAS and testosterone, I need to see them low. I'll usually do the DUTCH test or I'll do blood work, and then I supplement. But I never, ever, ever go over really 20 milligrams a day. I never will recommend 75.

Okay, tips for making phase two smoothie taste better. That's funny. I'm trying to think. Because you can't do fruit when you're in phase two, which is typically what makes it taste better, so just play around with ingredients. Maybe adding different vegetables, adding less avocado. Yeah, see, everybody's so different. Maybe adding some of the seasonings that you can have. A little bit of cinnamon, something like that.

Okay, I'm going to do this last question, then I got to… Off challenge. Turn off the cold shower, shower 30, 45 seconds. Is it okay? Yeah, I think it's okay, I do. That short period of time, that's okay.

Okay. I have to go. Goodbye, guys. Love you.

END TRANSCRIPT.

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