Preseed.com Blog

The June 2009 Fertility & Sterility Journal has an interesting new paper by Chambers et al (91:2281-2294).  In this they compared economic aspects of assisted reproduction technologies in several countries.   The statistics are good for people to review.  Specifically, the cost per live birth for an IVF baby was the highest in the US at $41,132 (average per cycle cost of $12,513).  This represented 50% of disposable income in the US, and was  the highest percentage of any country.  Meanwhile only 24% of estimated demand for ART was met in North America.  Not surprisingly, given the news stories around this, the US also has the highest  overall multiple birth delivery rate at 33%, as compared to 17% in Scandinavia, Japan or Australia.    

The US media fixates an inordinate amount of attention on assisted reproduction as “the cure” for infertility, when in reality only about 1.5% of all children are born from assisted reproduction and over 95% of infertile couples do not pursue these technologies.  Although these techniques certainly have blessed many couples with children, who otherwise would not have become parents; it is important for us to realize the low success rates (~28% per cycle)and high cost in dollars and in complications for the offspring (especially with multiple births).

Methods to optimize fertility through natural reproduction and less invasive procedures should continue to be developed.  But it is important to remember that the assisted reproduction industry has a strong incentive to push couples to in vitro methods, especially when much of it is paid for out of pocket.

Tracking your cycle and optimizing timing of intercourse by understanding your own cervical mucus production is critical.  I strongly recommend Toni Weschler’s book.  Taking fertility vitamins such as the FertilAid products can help boost cervical mucus production and sperm quality.  Have testing to ensure your Fallopian tubes are open early in the process.  And read a good resource on optimizing the whole process such as Dr. Robert Greene’s book.  I do not sell any of the above products.

We do sell Pre-Seed.  Which we think everyone who is trying to conceive should at least try J.  It doesn’t harm sperm or embryos, so there is nothing to lose, and the amazing Users’ Stories we receive tell of Pre-Seed’s role in assisting folks on their TTC journey.   

Pre-Seed is designed to be INSERTED INTRAVAGINALLY.  This is for a reason.  It mimics fertile cervical mucus in pH, osmolality and thickness making a familiar optimal environment for the ejaculated sperm.

I am always amazed at the stories of women splitting applicators and not using the Pre-Seed internally as it was designed.  I am not quite sure why they would want to use the product other than as it is recommended and as has functioned so well for thousands of other couples.  To save the cost of latte, at the same time they are literally standing on their heads to become pregnant.

Remember our products always carry their “Love it or its Free” guarantee.  Of the approximately 150,000 boxes of Pre-Seed sold last year, less than 0.01% were returned for a refund.  

So the math is in your favor to try Pre-Seed and to use it as recommended.

Blessings ~
Dr. E

An excellent review article was just published from our good colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic,  “Role of antioxidants in the treatment of male infertility” by JC Kefer, A Agarwal & E Sabanegh, International Journal of Urology (2009) 16, 449–457.

The paper nicely reviews some of the external sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can negatively impact male fertility.

Specifically addressing:

• Industrial compounds:  “For example, the compound phthalate is found in a broad spectrum of plastics used in food packaging, as well as beauty products and exposure to this chemical can occur via oral, skin, or inhalational routes. Phthalate exposure has been shown to cause DNA damage in sperm, as well as impaired spermatogenesis.”
• Cigarette smoking:  Not surprisingly, men who smoke have decreased sperm quality, including “decreased sperm counts, motility, and morphologically normal sperm”.
• Exercise-induced oxidative stress:  Both lack of exercise and intensive levels of exercise have both been shown to generate high levels of oxidative stress and may interfere with sperm production. “For example, Manna et al. have described in a rodent model that increased levels of exercise correspond to a reduction in sperm quality and testicular function, including decreased sperm counts, testosterone levels, and testicular oxidative stress”. 
• Elevated temperatures:  Men with a fever showed a 35% decrease in sperm concentration, a 7% decrease in normal morphology, and a 20% increase in immotile sperm following febrile episodes. Also, these parameters worsened with increased duration of the febrile episodes. “Tiemessen et al. examined the relationship between underwear style and intrascrotal temperatures, and hypothesized that scrotal hyperthermia due to tight-fitting underwear may cause decreased sperm parameters. The authors followed 20 patients wearing loose-fitting underwear for 6 months and tight underwear for 6 months with semen samples analyzed every 2 weeks for one year.  Although 50% of patients did not complete the study, the results nonetheless demonstrated an approximately 50% decrease in sperm parameters in the group wearing the tight-fitting underwear, which improved after switching to loose underwear. This rapid reversal of sperm parameters following cessation of tight-fitting underwear is encouraging, and may be useful in the counseling of the infertile male.”

This paper goes on to have an excellent review of the studies evaluating the impact of antioxidant vitamins on sperm quality for trying to conceive men.  Fertility vitamins such as FertilAid for Men, have these antioxidants in them and are probably a good choice for most men to take while trying to conceive.

Cheers ~
Dr. E

We want to know all the interesting places in the world Pre-Seed and Pre are part of your lives! 

Send us your photo of Pre~Seed or Pre’ in the interesting places you live or travel to, and INGfertility will chose two monthly winners for a free box of product.  These will include one winning photo for exotic international locations and one for photos and love “Made in the USA” ;-)  

Winners will be chosen on the 15^th of each month. 

Please email us at orders@ingfertility.com with:

• Your photo
• Your contact info (include your name, shipping address and phone number)
• The location of your Pre~Seed or Pre’
• And a little about your life journey.

Don’t worry we never provide your contact information to anyone, and we will  only use initials and hometown when posting the photos. 

Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

Click here to read a fun post about how this whole Traveling Lube thing got started: We want to know all the interesting places in the world Pre-Seed and Pre are part of your lives!

INGfertility, LLC, the maker of Pre~Seed^® Intimate Moisturizer, as well as Pre’^® Personal Lubricant, announced this week that their lawsuit against a competitive manufacturer has been resolved. INGfertility now has acquired rights to the name of the competitive product, Pre Conceive plus, which will no longer be sold. 

Because published medical studies have shown that personal lubricants can harm sperm and or embryo development and should be avoided when conception is desired, internationally recognized Sperm Physiologist Dr. JE Ellington developed INGfertility’s Pre~Seed^®.  Pre~Seed^® was specifically created to relieve vaginal dryness without harming sperm, for use by couples who are trying to conceive children.

“INGfertility has submitted written comments to the FDA, about the need for warnings on lubricants so that consumers and physicians are aware of how toxic to sperm or embryos most lubricants are,” states Ellington, “Being allowed to claim that our products do not harm sperm and embryos–was based on numerous studies reviewed by the FDA.  It is important that consumers are able to clearly identify products that have passed this kind of rigorous testing.”

Pre~Seed^® has been sold since 2002 and continues to be available at an expanding number of pharmacy and internet locations throughout the US.

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Related Information about Pre Conceive plus
Related Science Information about Pre Conceive plus

*Pre Conceive plus, which will soon no longer be available in the US, shares the same ingredients and osmolality as Conceive plus.  Learn more at www.preconceiveplus.com.

We wanted to let everyone in on a little tip from all the gals at INGfertility

We all love to use Pre’ Lubricant for washing and shaving intimate areas.  It isn’t irritating like many shaving gels and soaps.  It also allows for a great close shave for anyone, anywhere.  Many of us keep a tube in the shower just for this purpose.  Try it and let us know how it works for you!

Happy Spring!
Dr. E

Dear Friends, A truly inspirational story of hope!  I can’t wait to hear the tales of “The Sisterhood of the Travelling Lubricant” Blessings ~ Dr. E

Dear Dr. E,  I have been having infertility issues for the past 12 years which has never been diagnosed as something specifically wrong, just “unexplained infertility.”  My darling son was born in 2004 on my third try at IVF, when I was 39 years old.  When he turned 1, my husband & I started trying for a second.  I became pregnant on my own (for the first time in my life!) but unfortunately had a miscarriage at 9 weeks.  I lost confidence that I could do it on my own again, so I started doing IVF’s once more.  After 5 rounds & 20 good embryos inserted with none of them implanting, I gave up.  I was researching adoption options for a few months & even made an appointment to see an adoption lawyer when a friend of mine told me about Preseed in November, 2008.  Two of her other friends who had spent years TTC had recently become pregnant using Preseed.  After all the money I had spent on IVF, I figured why not give this inexpensive (and MUCH more fun sounding) option a try?

I bought a package and only used two of the applicators the first month of trying, December 2008.  I didn’t even know I was pregnant until 6 weeks in because it didn’t even occur to me that it might have worked so soon!  I am now 20 weeks pregnant with a daughter and excited beyond belief.  Did I mention that I am now 44?!  It’s truly a miracle!  I gave the remainder of the first box of Preseed to a friend who’s TTC and the second box I had bought to another friend and hope that if they conceive while using it, we can call ourselves “The Sisterhood of the Travelling Lubricant”!!!
   
My husband & I cannot possibly thank you enough for your miraculous product which we are telling everyone about.  You have brought so much joy into our lives.  We’re so grateful that we heard about your product and only wish we had heard about it earlier!)  Now I want to ask my IVF doc for a refund for those 5 insanely expensive IVF’s!

With Great Appreciation, D F

P.S.  My husband is so impressed with your results, he’s dying to buy stock in your company!

Earlier this month, at the American Society of Andrology Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, INGfertility presented a study titled “Prospective Study of FertilAid Vitamin in Men with Low Sperm Quality”. This was a 90-day, randomized, placebo controlled clinical trial. The “design” of the study was important as it minimizes bias and provides more meaningful information with regard to the actual benefits of the vitamin supplement. The study was open to trying-to-conceive men with abnormal sperm parameters. Individuals who qualified for study participation were randomly (by chance) assigned to take either the FertilAid for Men supplement or an identical placebo for 90 days. Sperm samples were collected by masturbation prior to starting the treatment and at the end of treatment. It is difficult to recruit participants for these types of studies because most trying-to-conceive men are not interested in having a 50:50 change of receiving a placebo.

Fourteen men completed the trial. Eight of the 14 subjects were randomized to FertilAid for Men and 6 were randomized to placebo. No significant difference existed for demographics or sperm parameters between the groups at initial analysis. In spite of the small sample size, significant improvements were found for men taking FertilAid for Men, with regards to the total number of normal-motile sperm in the ejaculate.  This is the overall number of normally shaped and swimming sperm.  Total normal-motile sperm counts, and total motile counts have been shown in several studies to have a positive predictive relationship with fertility outcomes.  Although the mechanisms are not clearly understood, antioxidant enriched vitamin supplements such as FertilAid for Men may benefit subfertile men by boosting levels of endogenous antioxidants in semen. Several studies have reported that this population of men has low semen levels of antioxidants making their sperm more susceptible to reactive oxygen species damage, including damage to sperm chromatin. 

The feedback from our presentation at the meeting was very positive. Physicians and other scientists were particularly pleased with the randomized and placebo controlled design of the study. A frequently asked question was the cost for the supplement. The monthly cost (based on prices posted on the internet) of approximately $30 was thought to be very reasonable by those who inquired.

The manufacturer of FertilAid for Men (Fairhaven Health) contracted INGfertility to design and conduct this study. INGfertility does not sell FertilAid for Men. It does, however, include rebate coupons for FertilAid in some of its Pre-Seed packages, based on Dr. E’s endorsement and recommendation of this product for couples who are trying to conceive.

For a more detailed look at this poster, please click on the image above.

Dennis Clifton, PharmD

What an incredible TTC journey for D & M!  Let’s all send them sticky baby dust thoughts and prayers!  ~~~~~ Dr. E

I am a 32 year old women and my husband is 36 years old. We have been TTC for a few months now, and have been having unprotected sex for at least 10 years. Some how I never got pregnant after all these years. It wasn’t until the past few years we started trying to conceive but nothing happened. We decided to see a fertility doctor in December 2008 and all the testing began. They did an HSG and found out that one side of my tubes was blocked. My husband’s sperm was tested normal. I was on Clomed for a few months and had no luck conceiving. I took hormone injections prescribed by the fertilty clinic. Still we didn’t conceive that month. My husband had googled fertility lube on the web and came across Pre-Seed. We read all the success stories and got all excited and felt there was still hope for us to have a baby. Once we received the Pre-Seed in the mail we tried it that month. We actually didn’t follow the instructions properly and ended up applying the Pre-Seed after ejaculation. In turn we didn’t conceive that month. Not a total surprise. Anyways, during the next cycle we used the Pre-Seed exactly as directed and applied it before having sex and NOT after. The next month my period was abnormally late, so I took a pregnancy test and found out that I was 5 weeks pregnant.

I’m now in my 8th week of pregnancy. We both truly believe that Pre-Seed is the reason why we conceived after all these years. Thank you for a great product. I just wish the fertility clincs and other doctors would have told us about Pre-Seed instead of us wasting our time and money on  hormone injections, Clomed, HSGs and other uncomfortable tests. Thank You again for a miracle product!!!  ~ Sincerely, D&M 

Last week at the American Society of Andrology Annual Meeting in Philadelphia,  a new study reported that in vitro fertilization and embryo development in an animal model, were decreased following exposure of sperm to most lubricants specifically developed for trying to conceive couples.  These studies found that only the FDA cleared (”approved”) formula used in Pre~Seed® and Pre’®  did not interfere with fertilization or development of cattle embryos over a week of culture.  Specifically, Dr. Ray Wright of Washington State University - a previous human Embryologist, incubated bull sperm with 10% concentrations of four different lubricants marketed to not harm sperm or interfere with fertility.  These lubricants included: Pré^® Lubricant (also available as Pre~Seed^®); PRE Conceive plus^TM; ConceiveEase^TM; and the Australian product FertilityCare^TM.

Following a 30 minute incubation of sperm and lubricants, sperm were placed with cow eggs and fertilization rates observed in the laboratory.  Embryos were then allowed to develop for 7 days.  This experimental design is valuable because sperm can have damage from exposure to lubricants that does not kill them, but will impact their ability to fertilize an egg and the ability of the resulting embryo to develop normally over time. 

In this study, sperm exposed to other “fertility” lubricants resulted in embryos that developed at a significantly lower rate than did embryos exposed to no lubricant or  Pre’®.  In fact, the rate of normal embryo production was reduced by 17% or more following sperm exposure to the other products.  

Although this study did not evaluate directly what happens for a couple using the fertility lubricants during intercourse, it does underscore the importance of thorough testing of sperm function before a lubricant can claim it “does not harm sperm”.  Pre’® and Pre~Seed® have been extensively tested, which you can learn more about by going to the Science section of www.preseed.com .  The tests and clinical studies we perform on Pre’^® and Pre~Seed^® have been reviewed by the FDA. The results of this testing have allowed us to receive the FIRST and currently  ONLY clearance for lubricants to be used during fertility interventions and as safe to use when trying to conceive. 

INGfertility did pay a contract fee for service to Dr. Wright’s laboratory to have the testing reported here done.  This fee structure ensured that Dr. Wright could publish the data, regardless of study outcomes.  Obviously, we were excited, but not surprised,  to see these results which further substantiate the “fertility-friendly” quality and safety of our Pre~Seed® and Pre’® formula.  You may click here to review the presented study.  I hope that you will forward this exciting new report to your trying to conceive community!

Blessings-

Dr. E

I wanted to let you all know about an awesome documentary called “The Great Sperm Race”, showing tomorrow March 23, 2009 at 9 pm on British Channel 4.  I had the opportunity to help with this project and found it to be very well done and scientifically accurate.  Here is an article about the show in the UK Guardian today.  

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/mar/22/fertility-problems-relationships

Blessings-
Dr. E