I am 39 years old and have been trying for 5 years to conceive. Following a laparoscopy in 2010 it was discovered that I had endometriosis and blocked tubes so we went on to have IVF. After three IVF cycles and two miscarriages we went for further testing. I was then diagnosed with autoimmune issues. My Cytokine and Natural Killer Cell Levels were both outside the acceptable range. I was put on a course of humira and my Cytokines went higher. At this stage my TNF (CD3+CD4+) was 38.9 and my IFN (CD3+CD4+) was 30.0, after a second course they came down to TNF (CD3+CD4+) 32.1 and IFN (CD3+CD4+) 16.7. The TNF levels should be below 30 and the IFN below 20 but as I could not have any more humira we went on to have another two IVF cycles with additional autoimmune treatment of steroids and intralipds. Both these cycles failed, the last one was in December 2012.
We decided to change to a UK clinic for our next cycle and I also contacted Siobhan Kehoe and met with her for the first time in late January 2013. Siobhan is a herbalist and acupuncturist who specialises in Chinese Herbs, she is also a registered nurse and midwife and has worked with a fertility clinic in Ireland. Siobhan was recommended to me by a past patient and her qualifications gave me the confidence to make an initial appointment with her. Siobhan told me there was no point in me rushing straight into another IVF as my body was too tired after the other cycles and advised me to take a break for a few months and take Chinese Herbs. We agreed to do this and I started on the herbs. We organised our consultation with the clinic in UK to get things moving and they requested that I get my cytokine levels retested again which I did at the end of February. I was amazed when I got the results, my levels have dropped down significantly, TNF (CD3+CD4+) 26.7 and IFN (CD3+CD4+) 10.9.
The only thing different that I was doing leading up to the test was taking Chinese herbs so I believe that they are responsible for the lower result.
Fiona, Co. Cork
