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#InfertilityUncovered

Anyone can be challenged to have a family. No matter what race, religion, sexuality or economic status you are, infertility doesn’t discriminate.

Together, we can change how others view infertility. It begins with being part of a national movement, National Infertility Awareness Week®. This week unites millions of Americans who want to remove the stigmas and barriers that stand in the way of building families

#InfertilityUncovered

#InfertilityUncovered — RESOLVE wants to use this theme to raise awareness about the significant lack of access to family building options and emotional support for millions of women and men struggling to build a family. National Infertility Awareness Week®, founded in 1989 by RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, is the largest public awareness campaign that addresses the public health issue of infertility. This year’s observance is April 21-27, 2019. As the public discourse around infertility is at an all-time high, we’d like to highlight the issues important to the millions of Americans struggling to build a family. Infertility does not discriminate based on sex, race, religion, age or even socio-economic status. Let’s uncover the issues of access facing the most vulnerable members of our community — those without access to insurance coverage for infertility care or the economic means to pay out-of-pocket for treatments, third-party options or adoption. And let’s get real about the support needed to resolve infertility.

What is Infertility?

Infertility is defined as not being able to become pregnant despite having frequent, unprotected intercourse for at least one year. The cause of infertility can affect one or both partners.

Causes of female infertility include ovulation disorders, uterine or cervical abnormalities, Fallopian tube damage or blockage, endometriosis, early menopause and pelvic adhesions resulting from prior infection or surgery. It can also be a result of cancer and its treatment, metabolic and autoimmune diseases and genetic abnormalities.

Causes of male infertility include abnormal sperm production or function, problems with delivery of sperm, toxins, medications, illicit drug use, cancer and cancer treatment.

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As a family physician by training, Dr. Boyle had experience treating patients with autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and multiple sclerosis (MS) with low dose naltrexone (LDN), as an “off-label” medication. He knew that modulating the immune system by stimulating endogenous endorphin production resulted in an improvement in symptoms. What he was surprised to see was how many of his infertile patients with autoimmune diseases became pregnant while taking LDN. He surmised that their infertility must be caused by an endorphin deficiency, and that LDN - well known to stimulate endorphin production - is responsible for restoration of fertility.

What are endorphins, how do they affect health, and what role does LDN play? Read here.

Based on LDN’s mechanism of action, Dr. Boyle has successfully treated many infertile patients with LDN due its ability to stimulate endorphin production in those patients who have shown symptoms of endorphin deficiency. He has also successfully prescribed LDN to women with endometriosis and has observed a lower incidence of miscarriage and better, healthier pregnancies for women who continue using it during pregnancy. Using LDN during pregnancy is safe and in fact, he has found that women who continue taking LDN until 37 weeks of pregnancy have better outcomes.

Read LDNscience’s interview with Dr. Philip Boyle.

Talk to your doctor about Low Dose Naltrexone, available at Annie's Apothecary.

Resources: https://www.ldnscience.org/lp/infertility-ldn https://infertilityawareness.org