The Egg Whisperer Show

On the podcast today, I’m answering a question from Phylicia who wrote in to Ask The Egg Whisperer. She wants to know about embryo glue and how it works. Here’s her question: “Hi Dr. Aimee! I’m 35 and currently doing IVF. I have severe endometriosis with adhesions on both ovaries and patchy adenomyosis on the back wall of my uterus (as seen on a recent MRI).  I’ve gotten the ok to start ivf and try a fresh transfer and my question is, what are your thoughts on embryo glue? I’m wondering if it makes sense to glue my embryos to the front wall in my uterus since there is no adenomyosis there. Is that a crazy idea?? Does embryo glue work that way?” This is such a great question, because it gives me a great chance to talk about embryo glue. Here’s the thing. “Embryo glue” is a great marketing term, but it’s not quite what you think it is.  It's just a trademarked name for something that really isn't what it is.  Don't you feel fooled? I certainly did. When I first learned about it, I was so hopeful thinking it was something that actually works like glue. When you look at the literature and the science behind it, you realize that it’s just a clever name for fluid we use in the lab. It really isn't glue. Every lab has their own special sauce. So talk to your doctor about what their sauce includes.  At the end of the day, once we put an embryo in, I think of it as a peanut in a chunky peanut butter jar. When you take that chunky peanut butter jar and you shake it, nothing's going to happen to the peanuts inside. But there is no way to stick an embryo to a specific location within the uterus, even though I love the idea itself. So for you, Phylicia, it is not a crazy idea at all. One day, maybe we're going to use something like that. I imagine, almost like a little robot camera that we can send in with the embryo. We can almost have little joysticks outside and we can show the embryo where to go and direct it into that spot and maybe use something like embryo glue or something like that to get it to implant better. To submit your own question to Dr. Aimee for a future episode of Ask The Egg Whisperer, click here.  Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School

Today on the Egg Whisperer Show podcast, the first question I answer is from Rebekah. She shared her background, and asked if it’s better to freeze eggs or freeze embryos. Here’s her question: “Hi Dr. Aimee - thanks so much for your show. It has been super helpful in educating me about my health & how to think about this process. I am 35 years old and would like to have two kids, I just learned that my AMH is abysmal for my age (0.6) and my FSH is slightly high (11.6) (my own words, don’t worry, my doctor is more gracious!). Do you think I should consider having eggs or embryos frozen before trying IUI or IVF/transfer? Just wondering how I should be thinking about this - since I cannot know the rate at which my supply is diminishing, I’m wondering if it’s smart to start thinking about #2 right now. Also, how do you decide between freezing eggs or embryos? Is one option ‘heartier’ than the other? Thank you!” Of course my response is meant for education (and shouldn’t replace the info you get from your own doctor) - here are my thoughts on her situation: If you were a patient of mine, I would want to give you at least a 50% chance of having at least two children with the fertility preservation work that we're going to do right now. I would talk to you about whether you want to have a baby as a  single mom by choice in the next 5 years.  If in the next three to five years, you think that you want to be a single  mom by choice, then I would say consider making embryos. Our eggs don't wait for the right partner. They have a different timeline. And that partner may not come while you still have good eggs. It’s up to you to choose the love of a child over the love of a partner that you wait for.  To submit your own question to Dr. Aimee for a future episode of Ask The Egg Whisperer, click here.  Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School

Yesterday, Dr. Renée Hilliard and I talked all about Sex, Love, and Relationships - and I received SO many questions from all of you that I'm having her back for part two. We'll be talking about how to best cope with the stressors of life that negatively affect intimacy. I'm also asking her some of the questions you sent in about how to better enjoy sex, how to improve intimacy, and how to drop into your body to be open to receiving pleasure. ⠀ Read the full show notes on Dr. Aimee's website Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School Subscribe to the newsletter to get updates Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America’s most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org.

There’s no better week to talk about about sex, love, and relationships, and no one knows more about these topics than my friend, Dr. Renée Hilliard. She’s joining me on the podcast today.. Dr. Hilliard is an OBGYN and Sexual Medicine Expert. She runs the popular "Seriously Sexy" program. She teaches people how to slow down and enjoy sex. We're going to talk about relationships, communication, desire, and how all of it relates to your fertility. Read the full show notes on Dr. Aimee's website Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School Subscribe to the newsletter to get updates Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America’s most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org.  

On today’s podcast episode, I’m talking about preparing for embryo transfer. I find that it’s helpful to think about embryo transfer the same way you might think about having a very special guest over for dinner (pre COVID, of course).  What are you going to do if you have a very special person over?  You’re going to make sure everything is absolutely perfect. When it comes to preparing for an embryo transfer, you want to take the same approach. Your metaphorical home in the house analogy is your uterus. The devastation of doing more tests and finding out that something might be wrong that you have to fix is kind of a pain, but the devastation of going through a transfer that doesn’t work is also pretty darn awful. Because I work so hard to help families, if I can do anything to prevent someone from not experiencing the devastation of a negative embryo transfer, I’m going to do everything possible to clean up that house and make sure it’s perfect. What I recommend is that people do 3 tests before embryo transfer to make sure your uterus is absolutely perfect prior to your embryo transfer. They are: Hysteroscopy Saline Infusion Sonogram Hysterosalpingogram Read the full show notes on Dr. Aimee's website Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School Subscribe to the newsletter to get updates Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America’s most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org.

On the podcast today, I’m answering a question from Vicky who wrote in to Ask The Egg Whisperer. She wants to know “How much caffeine is ok for the 90 days pre IVF, during stim and after embryo transfer?” I get a lot of questions about how much caffeine is OK during IVF, and when patients are pregnant. It’s my opinion that in the three months before IVF, drinking coffee is not going to hurt your fertility. However, this is a situation where it’s best to go by the saying “everything in moderation.” When it comes to caffeine during stim, I actually sometimes recommend that my patients consider drinking coffee. Why? The meds can make you feel super sleepy when that estrogen fog rolls in. Those same medications can also make you constipated, and a little bit of caffeine can certainly help with the problems of constipation too. After embryo transfer, same thing: those meds just make you feel so sleepy, and sometimes you need a little bit of a pick-me-up.  However, once you're pregnant, coffee can make your heart race. It might make it harder for you to sleep, and cause insomnia, and that can be super irritating. So be careful if you're someone who feels a little anxious. You may want to consider limiting your intake. That said - “One to two cups per day don’t drive an embryo away.” To submit your own question to Dr. Aimee for a future episode of Ask The Egg Whisperer, click here.  Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School

Today on the Egg Whisperer Show podcast, the first question I answer is from Ashley. She asked one of the most commonly asked questions that I get from my patients: “We did our first frozen embryo transfer last week and I just had my second positive beta test! We haven't had sex since before the transfer, what do you think about waiting until after the heartbeat or even until after the first trimester to resume having sex? Thanks so much! Love your show :)” So, most people don’t talk about this very much, but when you're pregnant sometimes you feel a little bit more sexual than when you're not pregnant. This doesn't happen to everybody. But there are people that actually call me panicking about it. Feeling more sexual can also be really, really normal in pregnancy.  So, certainly talk to your doctor to make sure they recommend the same thing. My show is about education and information. What I tell my patients is this: You can have sex up until the embryo transfer day. After the embryo transfer, I recommend having sex after your pregnancy test. Around eight days post transfer with really strong levels, then you can be sexual.  And believe it or not, this is probably one of the most commonly asked questions of fertility doctors.  To submit your own question to Dr. Aimee for a future episode of Ask The Egg Whisperer, click here.  Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School

On today’s episode, I’m sharing a recent Ask the Egg Whisperer session. In it, Aura wrote in to ask about menopause. She shares this, “I’m 36 years old and my period stopped in January of last year. Is it possible that I have started menopause? I really would like to have another child. What’s your advice?” It is so hard to be in this kind of situation. You’re not sure what is going on, and your period hasn’t come for over a year. So what I would say is, “test don't guess.” My recommendation would be to get your levels  checked. See what your AMH level is. You don't have to wait for cycle day three to get your levels checked. Since your period hasn’t started, you can do this any day of the week. Also check FSH, estradiol and progesterone too.  These levels will provide answers. And the answer may not necessarily be what you were hoping to learn. The information will guide you toward what you should be considering next.  To submit your own question to Dr. Aimee for a future episode of Ask The Egg Whisperer, click here.  Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School  

Dr. Blake Evans has joined me a couple of times over the past weeks to talk about COVID19 and fertility. He recently published a paper entitled “COVID-19 vaccine and infertility: baseless claims and unfounded social media panic.” I know that many fertility physicians have had patients call their offices because there have been rumors on social media about false claims that the COVID vaccine is unsafe for women trying to conceive and already pregnant. These claims are untrue. The vaccine is safe in pregnancy. It does not cause infertility, and it does not cause miscarriages. And because education and empowering you with the best information out there is part of my mission, I want to keep talking about this topic so that fertility patients can make informed decisions about getting the vaccine. Today on the podcast, I’m airing a second conversation I had with Dr. Blake Evans about the paper, and about what he and his co-authors found to be true about  the COVID 19 vaccine and fertility, pregnancy and breastfeeding. The paper was published in "Fertility and Sterility" and is backed by ASRM (American Society for Reproductive Medicine). I hope you’ll tune in and share with your friends and family.  Here is a direct quote from the paper: COVID-19 vaccine truths for patients desiring conception or who are pregnant include: Available data indicate that COVID-19 vaccines do not cause infertility in women or men. In the randomized blinded Pfizer-BioNTech trial, a similar number of women conceived after receiving the vaccine as those who received the placebo. The coronavirus’s spike protein and syncytin-1 (protein that mediates placental cell fusion) share small stretches of the same genetic code but are otherwise completely different in structure. The vaccine does not induce an immune reaction against the syncytin-1 placental protein. mRNA vaccines are taken up rapidly by muscle cells at the injection site and the mRNA is degraded in the cell once the protein is made so it does not cross the placenta. COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for women who are contemplating pregnancy or who are pregnant in order to minimize risks to themselves and their pregnancy. This offers reassuring information based on what they have found to be true about the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. You should speak to your own doctor about getting the vaccine if you have any concerns or questions and make a decision based on what is right for you. Full article: https://www.fertstertdialog.com/posts/covid-19-vaccine-and-infertility-baseless-claims-and-unfounded-social-media-panic Read the full show notes on Dr. Aimee's website Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School Subscribe to the newsletter to get updates

On the podcast today, I’m answering a question from Diana who wrote in to Ask The Egg Whisperer. She has diminished ovarian reserve and wanted to know what she should do to have 2 children. Diminished ovarian reserve is a diagnosis often related to age, where the ovaries have a diminished supply of eggs.    Here’s what she had to say,” Just got diagnosed with DOR (amh 0.37 and 8 follicles) and a large fibroid (9cm, asymptomatic until recently which is why I booked my appt) and trying to figure out next steps. How would you advise to proceed, as I was not able to find that much info about this (dor + fibroid). How many cycles do you think I would need for 2 live births?”   I’m going to assume that Diana is about 37 years old (the average age of patients I see), and here’s what I have to say:  Knowing that you have eight follicles with a nine centimeter fibroid, I would say this let's take things in stages.  Stage one is the diagnosis phase. It’s important to take supplements to support your egg quality. We know another part of the diagnosis is the fibroid.   Stage two: Create an IVF plan that is based on your diagnosis. I’d focus on creating embryos and freezing them. And if you're a patient of mine, we would talk about something called PGT-A, I know this sounds like an alphabet soup of fertility, but it stands for pre-implantation genetic testing for aneuploidy.   Stage three: We would then plan your embryo transfer. That would include a myomectomy to remove your fibroid. We don't want that fibroid to compete with the growing embryo or pregnancy. Leaving it puts you at higher risk of having preterm labor and preterm delivery.    Talk to your doctor about the IVF protocol they're going to use for you. Talk to them about how many cycles they think that they're going to need to do for you to reach your family size goals, and then go for it.   And before you do surgery, make sure you're seeing a surgeon for that fibroid that is super excited to make your uterus as strong as possible to carry a pregnancy.    If you want to hear everything I have to say about Diana’s question, tune in today’s podcast episode at the link in my profile. It’s episode #302 and titled, “I was just diagnosed with DOR (depleted ovarian reserve). How many IVF cycles do I need to do to have 2 children?”   To submit your own question to Dr. Aimee for a future episode of Ask The Egg Whisperer, click here.  Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School