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Register Online at http://www.eOmega.org or Call 800.944.1001 to Register

As noted in previous post, I am hosting a small group fertility workshop in Toronto (Canada) on Monday morning, September 8, 2008.  We’ll be discussing ways to optimize successful natural conception; in addition to fielding your questions on trying to conceive and maintaining fun in your relationship while “baby-making.” 

The session is being arranged in conjunction with Discovery and Channel 4 UK and will be filmed and featured in a science documentary about conception airing in 2009. A goal of the seminar is to include individuals with a range of fertility knowledge and experience. 

We are still looking for some gals who are relatively new on their TTC journey just to talk about basics and have fun learning together.  I promise I will take good care of you and we can read questions if you are too shy to ask a question out loud

Please pass this blog link to your TTC or friends’ community, especially in Toronto!  

Anyone interested in attending should send a brief email detailing their individual history and particular questions of interest to the programme producer, Jennifer Beamish at jennifer.beamish@blinkfilmsuk.com

Go on drop Jennifer a line!

Dr. E

In the August journal of Sexuality, Reproduction & Menopause (a publication of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine) Pre~Seed is mentioned for use by women with painful intercourse and vaginal dryness following breast cancer treatment.  We are pleased to see our isotonic product mentioned in this medical journal.  Pre~Seed or Pre’ can be used by women in all stages of life for isotonic, mild moisture & lubrication.  Limiting irritation caused by lubricant products during love-making is important for all women, but especially those that are already having pain at intercourse.  A recent study published by researchers at Ghent University discussed the potential for different  lubricants to cause mucosal irritation, (referring to the tissue of the vagina).  Most physicians are not aware of how hypertonic (or hyperosmotic) the leading brands of lubricant are formulated, which can lead to irritation.  The study abstract is cited below. 

Mucosal Irritation Potential of Personal Lubricants Relates to Product Osmolality as Detected by the SMI (Slug Mucosal Irritation Assay)
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 2008 May;35(5):512-516
Els ADRIAENS, PhD; Jean Paul REMON, PharmD.  Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Technology, Ghent University, Harelbekestraat 72, 9000 Ghent, Belgium

BACKGROUND: The slug mucosal irritation assay has recently been used as a sensitive measure of mucus membrane tolerance for vaginal microbicide products and carriers. In the current study, it was determined whether musosal irritation potency of personal lubricants is related to varying product osmolalities.

METHODS: Five commercial lubricants with an osmolality range were evaluated using the previously validated slug mucosal irritation assay. Specifically, Arion lusitanicus were treated with lubricants over 5 days to quantify mucus production and tissue damage, allowing assignment of each product into an irritation potency category (none, mild, moderate, or severe).

RESULTS: The irritation potency (assessed by the mucus production) of the lubricants showed a significant, quadratic relationship with the product osmolality (P = 0.001; R (2) = 0.99). Femglide, a hypo-osmotic lubricant (32 mOsm/kg), caused a negative mucus production. Pré, an iso-osmotic lubricant (316 mOsm/kg), caused no changes. Two moderately hyperosmotic lubricants, Replens and K-Y jelly (2143 and 2463 mOsm/kg), induced mild and moderate irritation, respectively. The highly hyperosmotic lubricant Astroglide (5848 mOsm/kg) resulted in severe irritation and tissue damage.

CONCLUSIONS: Commonly used personal lubricants show a full range of mucosal irritation potential, which is related to product osmolality.

Our own Dr. E (Joanna Ellington) will be hosting an intimate fertility workshop in Toronto (Canada) on Monday morning, September 8, 2008. She’ll be discussing ways to optimize successful natural conception; in addition to fielding your questions on trying to conceive and maintaining fun in your relationship while “baby-making.” 

The session is being arranged in conjunction with Discovery and Channel 4 UK and as such will be filmed and featured in a science documentary about conception airing in 2009. A goal of the seminar is to include individuals with a range of fertility knowledge and experience.  Specifically, they are looking for a few true novices who are just starting their journey, as well as some of our long timers, who know a great deal about this all.

Please pass this blog link to your TTC or friends’ community.  

Anyone interested in attending should send a brief email detailing their individual history and particular questions of interest to the programme producer, Jennifer Beamish at jennifer.beamish@blinkfilmsuk.com

From all of us at INGfertility

See the great mention of Pre~Seed this week (August 25, 2008) in Woman’s World under their “Ask America’s Ultimate Experts” section.  The Pre~Seed mention came from Toni Weschler, the international bestselling author of Taking Charge of Your Fertility.

Toni’s book is a MUST read for every woman, whether trying to avoid or achieve conception.  I have bought this book for all the young women in my life (sisters, son’s girlfriends, etc…).  Most of us gals do not understand our cycle and how to use cervical mucus to track your fertility.  Toni’s book will show you how.

I really enjoyed this Woman’s World magazine also!  I hadn’t read it before, but I learned to eat English muffins instead of bagels (well unless I do the Oprah detox diet they recommend). 

Only two weeks until I go to New York to be in a Discovery Channel sperm special, maybe I better start that diet!!!

Take Care-

Dr. E

Hello,

We are a doctor and dentist couple and were trying to conceive a baby naturally, and succeeded on the second month of using Pre~Seed. We also used a fertility monitor at the same time. By this time, we had been trying for 6 months in total. We really believe that Pre~Seed helped us, and are very thankful. We had no idea that trying something so simple would be so effective. I am sure I am voicing the thoughts of several couples who have tried this product. Just wanted to express our appreciation to Drs. Ellington, Oliver, Clifton and the team.

A recent article in Fertility & Sterility (2008:89;1718) found that semen sample quality was statistically improved if men collected their samples at home versus in the clinic.  In fact, the number of men with abnormal sperm counts (<20 million/ml) dropped from 30% with semen collection in the clinic to 18%, with collection at home.  The percentage of men with normal progressive motility (or swimming sperm) also increased with home collection. The samples in this study were collected by masturbation.

This information is consistent with several studies that show a beneficial relationship between how relaxed and sexually stimulated a man is, at the time of ejaculation, and sperm quality.  This is important for couples who are trying to conceive for several reasons.

1)  Having a sample that accurately reflects the man’s sperm sample saves everyone from the grief and added costs or interventions that may occur with an incorrect diagnosis of male factor infertility.  You must always have two samples one month a part to diagnose a male factor.  And it would be best if at least one sample was collected at home.

2) When doing procedures such as IUI or IVF, you want the very best sperm quality  and count you can have.  Your results are directly related to these parameters.  Collecting at home and following some of the subsequent recommendations can optimize this.

3)  Even if you are trying naturally at home to conceive, make sure one of your “baby-making” sessions is GOURMET– Take your time, try something a little different, keep it spicy!  Basically make sure that at least once in your fertile time you go that extra mile for great sex, not “have to” sex.  This will help him produce more sperm.

Finally, whether you are collecting a semen sample for the lab, or baby-making at home, you can use Pre’ and/or Pre~Seed, to make things feel better, and add extra slippery, while providing an optimal sperm environment.  Some labs will tell men to use no lubrication for sample collection.  This doesn’t feel good!  We have many sperm labs that use our products for semen collection, and Pre’ has a specific indication of use for semen collection.  So have no concern in using our isotonic formulation.

Be aware though that labs, do NOT like messing with samples from home.  It is a hassle for them.  You may have to just straight up tell them, you will be collecting it at home and bringing it in.  They can complain, but they need to accommodate you in this request or you should find a different lab.  And you must get the sample to the lab within an hour.  If you can’t, rent a hotel room- the effect of the two of you having fun collecting this sample together versus DH standing in a white room, will pay off! 

Also remember the VERY best way to collect a semen sample is with a special non-spermicidal condom made from polyurethane.  This has been shown in many settings to dramatically improve sperm quality and count for all the reasons discussed above.

Happy Collecting!

Dr. E 

Dear Friends,

One of  my dearest friends, Dr. Jane Helle, is a hypnotherapist here in Spokane http://apositiveyou.com/.  After working for so many years with infertile couples, I know how stressed out people can get, especially around love making and intimacy.     

Recently I asked Jane to make a CD to help TTC couples practice relaxation and refocus on enjoying their physical relationship.  Jane’s CDs have been a wonderful blessing to me during the 10 years I have known her.  They are easy to listen to, and can help you stay motivated for weight loss, smoking cessation and  stress relief.

This is Jane’s first CD for TTC folks.  I really want your feedback of what you like about the CD, ways you think it could improve, and future ideas for her new “Conception Series”.  In order to get this CD out to our community, we are offering a free CD ($16.95 value) to all our Users who purchase 3 or more 6 packs of Pre~Seed.  Just find our special offer on our order page http://preseed.com/products.php !

Thanks and be sure and email us with your thoughts once you listen to the CD a few times!

Take care-

Dr. E

I just signed off on our annual quality review, where we look at all complaints from users with regards to individuals experiencing irritation or infection after using Pre~Seed or Pre’.   I am very pleased to report that we had a very, very low rate of consumers contacting us with symptoms of irritation or yeast infection following the use of our products.  Only 0.002%  of users reported problems, or 1 occurrence for every 55,500 applicators sold.

This is in contrast to leading lubricants, where irritation rates as high as 20%, have been reported in the literature.  This review supports the recent publication by Adriaens et al (Sex Trans Dis, 2008) that found that our isotonic formula caused no irritation in laboratory studies, whereas the leading three lubricants (KY, Astroglide, and Replens), all which contain glycerin did cause irritation and even tissue damage.

Please help us spread the word on the very mild nature of our glycerin free product!   

Take care-

Dr. E 

I just came across an interesting resource for information on sperm and general male fertility.  The site  http://www.raysahelian.com/sperm.html is written by a Physician with an interest in nutritional supplements.  I have not tried any of Dr. Sahelian’s products that he sells.  However, I was very impressed with his summary of sperm production and his review of factors impacting sperm production.  It is very easy to read and well researched.   If you are wrestling with male factor issues, or just starting to work on “trying” to become pregnant, it is a quick read that introduces you to many of the factors that can impact male fertility.  There aren’t many lay (or average person) resources that accurately explain some ways you can try to improve sperm function on your own.

As I have mentioned here before, I don’t think any couple should go to advanced assisted reproduction without trying a good fertility supplement for several months beforehand (unless there are serious degrading factors for the man or woman where total fertility loss could occur if a couple waited) .   You can over supplement, so you want to avoid that.  But fertility blended supplements (such as FertilAid for Men, which we did a clinical study on) should be more broadly recommended by physicians, I feel.

Remember the life cycle for sperm is about 72 days.  So you can always monitor if something is working for you, by testing (via a sperm analysis), and then changing a behavior.  This could include giving up drinking  or cycling, or starting a vitamin or supplement, and then have a follow up semen analysis after a couple of months.  This will help you know if the behavior change is taking you in the right direction!  Follow up semen analyses are often less expensive than the first one, and overall the cost can be well worth it.  By knowing if an expensive vitamin is helping, or if giving up your favorite hobby of hanging in the hot tub is paying off, it can help move a subfertile couple into the range of normal fertility. 

Many fertility specialist loose patience with waiting for the man to improve sperm counts or function through life style changes, but they do work in some men.  So it is always worth the try to me!

Sperm tests need to tell you the count and the percent motile sperm, as well as other items.  Over the counter sperm tests that just indicate a count are pretty meaningless, and can be misleading.

Take care-

Dr. E