Men, Low Sperm Count and Acupuncture… (Berkeley Acupuncture)
An excerpt from a London lifestyle magazine.
London – Ciaran Hannington and his wife Jennifer had been trying for a baby for a year without success, so decided to go to their GP for help. They were expecting to be told the problem was due to Jennifer having polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition associated with abnormal hormone levels that can affect fertility.
However, just to be on the safe side, the GP said they would also carry out tests on Ciaran.
‘I remember being told there wouldn’t be any problems,’ says Ciaran, a 27-year-old trainee teacher who lives with Jennifer, a health visitor Acupuncture Center 27, near Milton Keynes, Bucks.
In fact, Ciaran’s sperm count was so low he was told he was subfertile.
‘I don’t think it really sank in at that point,’ says Ciaran. ‘I just said: “Right then, OK.” It was only later that I sat down and thought about it and realised the severity of the situation. I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve cried over it. And I have wondered if I will ever be a dad. It’s difficult because there are things that can be done for Jennifer’s condition, but nothing that can be done for me.’
Since learning about his fertility problems last year, Ciaran has undergone a series of checks, including gene tests to discover why his sperm count is so low.
‘They couldn’t find a reason and have said it’s just one of those things,’ says Ciaran. ‘It does seem strange because I come from a big family – I’m from a family of four, and my mum and dad come from reasonably big families, too.
London – Ciaran Hannington and his wife Jennifer had been trying for a baby for a year without success, so decided to go to their GP for help. They were expecting to be told the problem was due to Jennifer having polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition associated with abnormal hormone levels that can affect fertility.
However, just to be on the safe side, the GP said they would also carry out tests on Ciaran.
‘I remember being told there wouldn’t be any problems,’ says Ciaran, a 27-year-old trainee teacher who lives with Jennifer, a health visitor who is also 27, near Milton Keynes, Bucks.
In fact, Ciaran’s sperm count was so low he was told he was subfertile.
‘I don’t think it really sank in at that point,’ says Ciaran. ‘I just said: “Right then, OK.” It was only later that I sat down and thought about it and realised the severity of the situation. I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve cried over it. And I have wondered if I will ever be a dad. It’s difficult because there are things that can be done for Jennifer’s condition, but nothing that can be done for me.’
Since learning about his fertility problems last year, Ciaran has undergone a series of checks, including gene tests to discover why his sperm count is so low.
‘They couldn’t find a reason and have said it’s just one of those things,’ says Ciaran. ‘It does seem strange because I come from a big family – I’m from a family of four, and my mum and dad come from reasonably big families, too.
A lot of times, men in Ciaran’s position try to figure out what contributed to their low sperm counts… food, wine, recreational drugs, mountain biking? The truth is… it doesn’t matter. We can do a full Chinese medicine intake at Tao to Wellness and start treating the problem NOW! With Chinese medicine, we can use different points and herbs to affect sperm count, motility and morphology depending on what the problem is. We also have different lifestyle, diet and supplement recommendations. True, it takes time… much like women, a man’s sperm takes about 88 days to mature in the epidydemis so the sooner we get started the better.
Christina “Mei Wen” Martin, L.Ac., Dipl.AC, MTOM, FABORM.
Christina Martin is the founder of Tao to Wellness. She is an Acupuncturist, Chinese Herbalist and Teacher and has been in practice for over fifteen years. She holds a Master’s Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine and is California state licensed and a nationally certified Diplomat of Acupuncture. She is also a Fellow of the American Board of Reproductive Oriental Medicine.
