IVF Expert Randy Morris Performing IVF with low sperm counts

Randy Morris, an IVF expert, discusses how to do IVF with low sperm counts



According to Randy Morris M.D. if a man has very low sperm counts, then standard IVF may not work due to failed or poor fertilization.



Dr. Morris states that the technique known as ICSI or intracytoplasmic sperm injection can overcome these problems and result in normal fertilization and pregnancy.



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Randy Morris Endometriosis Surgery

Randy Morris is an IVF and Infertility Expert at IVF1 in Naperville, Illinois.

Endometriosis is a common problem which can cause both infertility and pain.

Dr. Randy Morris grades endometriosis based on how much of it is present in the body. Learn about the staging from Randy Morris M.D.

Also discussed in this video is the impact of surgery on the ovaries which can compromise ovarian reserve.


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Randy Morris Naperville Restaurant Fire

Randy Morris tells the story of how a special air filtration system protected his IVF lab from a  Naperville Restaurant Fire

Fertility pills to get pregnant - TTC - InfertilityTV

Which fertility pills to get pregnant work? More importantly, which ones don't work or are dangerous? Dr Randy Morris MD-The BOARD CERTIFIED fertility expert with weekly #TTC tips on #InfertilityTV
Fertility pills to get pregnant
The are several different #fertilitypills you can use to get pregnant. I’ll discuss the ones that work first but stick around to the end to hear about the ones that don’t work or are dangerous.
#Clomid, or clomiphene citrate, is probably the most widely used fertility pill in the world. Clomid is used to help women who don’t ovulate but also for women who already ovulate to produce more eggs at one time.
A typical course of Clomid goes for five days. Monitoring for ovulation is important. With clomid you can use a home ovulation predictor test or be monitored in the doctor’s office with blood tests and ultrasound.
Like all fertility treatments, the success rate with Clomid decreases as women get older. Plus, out of every hundred pregnancies on Clomid, about 15-20 will be twins. Triplets and more are pretty rare.
Clomid will not work for everybody. If clomid is going to work for you, you will usually get pregnant in the first four months. So if you are not pregnant by then, think about moving on to something else.
#Letrozole, also known as #Femara, is another fertility pill. Like Clomid, letrozole is also given over five days. Its most common use is to induce ovulation in women with PCOS. In fact, well done studies have shown that for PCOS patients, letrozole is better than Clomid. More women will successfully ovulate and more will get pregnant.
You may hear about women using letrozole for other reasons. But there is no good evidence that it works any better than Clomid in other instances.
The risk for multiples with letrozole is about the same as it is with Clomid.
#Metformin or #Glucophage is a pill that was originally used to treat people with Type 2 diabetes. Metformin helps treat a problem called insulin resistance. Insulin resistance in women can interfere with ovulation. The two groups of women are most likely to have ovulation problems due to insulin resistance are women with PCOS and very overweight women with a BMI over 30.
If your doctor wants to start you on metformin, here are some quick tips. The optimal dose of metformin is 2000 mg a day. But don’t start at that dose. Metformin can cause side effects such as bloating, cramping and diarrhea. Start on 500 mg or one pill a day and work your way up gradually. Also, there are long acting versions of metformin. These will have the letters XR or ER which stand for extended release. We recommend extended release to make your life a little easier and further lower side effects.
The biggest benefits to metformin are that it does not increase your risk for multiple pregnancy and even if you don’t get pregnant, it will lower your chance for getting Type 2 diabetes
Which pills don’t improve fertility?
First, although prenatal vitamins are recommended before you conceive, they don’t actually do anything to help with fertility. You should absolutely take them, however, because they will reduce the chances for birth defect and help with fetal brain, eye and heart development
Supplements such as #CoQ10 and #DHEA are often sold on the internet as fertility pills but there is little evidence for any benefit for fertility
Herbal supplements should also be avoided. A review of scientific evidence failed to find a benefit of herbal supplements. People using herbal supplements, especially women trying to conceive, should be aware of the possible risks associated with lead exposure from herbal supplements.
Exposure of a fetus to high lead concentrations in the uterus could result in neurological defects, lower birth weight, premature birth, and an increase in birth defects. Adverse effects may even occur at lower levels than previously thought. All patients should consult their physician before beginning any such treatment.
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HSG blocked fallopian tubes - What now?

If your HSG showed blocked fallopian tubes could you still be able to get pregnant without IVF or surgery?  Learn how from Dr Randy Morris MD-The BOARD CERTIFIED fertility expert with weekly TTC tips on InfertilityTV

You’ve just had an #HSG and your doctor told you that you have #blockedfallopiantubes and you can’t get pregnant on your own. What do you do now? First, don’t panic! There may be a number of options for you.

First step, get more information.  How many tubes are blocked?

If only one tube is blocked, it is still possible to get pregnant on your own without any treatment. Although the chance for pregnancy is a little lower than for women with two open tubes, it is not 50% lower.

If both tubes are blocked, then the location of the blockage is important. There are two common locations for blockage.

-- Proximal blockage is where the tube is attached to the uterus.

-- Distal blockage is at the far end, near the ovary.

Proximal blockage may not even be a real blockage. Sometimes, during an HSG, the muscle around the tube may contract, pinching off the tube. This may look like a blockage but it isn't real. A repeat HSG will often be normal.

At IVF1, we can also put a catheter into the tube so the spasm doesn’t impact the dye flow.

***A real blockage can sometimes be fixed - without surgery.***

This technique uses a wire which is pushed through the tube to clear the blockage from the tube. This technique has allowed many women to avoid having the more expensive #IVF treatment.

Distal blockage cannot be fixed without surgery. Surgically opening the end of a tube is possible but the pregnancy rates are low and there is a higher risk for a tubal pregnancy to occur afterward.

If all else fails, patients with tubal blockage generally will do well with IVF.

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Music: Divider - Chris Zabriskie (CC BY 3.0)

First Time IVF Success - More Tips From The Expert

First time IVF success - More tips from Dr Randy Morris MD-The BOARD CERTIFIED #fertility expert with weekly TTC tips on InfertilityTV #IVFSuccess Tip #1 - Frozen Embryo Transfer #FET In the last several years, the technology for freezing #embryos has improved dramatically. Survival rates upon thawing have never been higher and pregnancy rates with frozen embryos have skyrocketed. We now have proof that the chance for first time #IVF success with a frozen embryo is higher than with a fresh embryo. Why is this true? With these new freezing methods, the embryos are essentially the same whether fresh or frozen. The difference is in the uterus. When you stimulate the ovaries in a fresh cycle, changes in the uterus may interfere with implantation. These changes are more easily controlled on a frozen embryo transfer cycle. IVF Success Tip #2 Diet It is really difficult to do studies on the impact of diet on IVF success. The proof that diet or dietary changes has an impact is not strong but these are easy, common sense things to do. A 2018 study found that patients who adhered most closely to a Mediterranean Diet had higher #pregnancy and delivery rates compared to patients who did not follow that diet. What is a Mediterranean Diet? Concentrate on these items: -- Fruits and vegetables - for every meal -- Whole grains- daily for example wheat, corn,oats, barley and quinoa. -- Eggs, cheese and yogurt - daily -- Change your oil to Extra Virgin Olive Oil for cooking and instead of salad dressing -- Fish and seafood - at least two times per week -- Avoid red meat and sweets IVF success Tip #3 Evaluate for Chronic #Endometritis There are three ways to evaluate the uterine cavity. -- #HSG --Saline ultrasound and -- #Hysteroscopy. Only hysteroscopy allows you to look for inflammation of the uterine lining. This is known as chronic endometritis. Chronic endometritis has been associated with IVF implantation failure. Diagnosing and treating it before embryo transfer can increase your chances for a successful first IVF attempt. This is not just shameless promotion for InfertilityTV. All of our recommendations in the 100 or so episodes of InfertilityTV are based on actual scientific evidence. Patients who follow our advice are going to be more successful so Subscribe right now! #RandyMorris #DrRandyMorris #RandyMorrisMD Increase your "Infertelligence" TM Subscribe to Infertility TV now!!! A new episode of #InfertilityTV is broadcast weekly every Thursday afternoon or visit our website at IVF1.com ******************************************* Do you want to become a patient at IVF1? ******************************************* Register online here: https://patient.ivf1.com/PatientPorta... Or call: 630-357-6540

Miscarriage and natural killer (NK) cells - Everything you know is wrong

Miscarriage and natural killer cells - Dr Randy Morris MD-The BOARD CERTIFIED fertility expert with weekly TTC tips on InfertilityTV

If you have suffered a #miscarriage or multiple miscarriages chances are you've gone online and done a Google search to try to figure out what the cause for the losses. And if you did that, you probably came across some web pages that talked about natural killer cells. This probably terrified you because what sounds scarier than “killer” cells attacking your pregnancy.

Here is the basic idea. You have a blood test to look at how many natural killer cells there are. If your levels are high that means you're at greater risk for having a miscarriage. In order to prevent miscarriage you do a really expensive therapy called intravenous immunoglobulin or IVIG. Unless you do this you are doomed to have miscarriages over and over. Sounds reasonable right? Unfortunately it is completely wrong.

Natural killer cells are one type of white blood cell and are therefore part of the immune system. They circulate in the blood and they can also be found in the uterine lining. In the blood, natural killer cells work as an early defense to destroy cells infected with viruses and cancer cells.

However in the uterus, these cells are not cell killers...in fact, they are distinctly different than the natural killer cells in the blood and have a completely different function. So let's not call them natural killer cells any more... let's refer to them as scientists do which are NK cells.

The most recent research suggests that NK cells in the uterus are essential to allow the embryo to implant and allow the placenta to grow in the uterus. In fact, uterine NK cells increase in number after ovulation around the time that an embryo is expected to implant. These levels stay high during early pregnancy. So measuring the number of NK cells in the blood or in the uterus is a useless test.

So what are all these NK cells doing in the uterus? In order to answer that question we need to ask another question first and that is how is it that an embryo which is foreign to the mother is not rejected by her immune system like a liver or a kidney transplant? The answer is that the mother’s immune system somehow learns not to reject an embryo. This is called immune tolerance. Recent evidence suggests that uterine NK cells are involved in the process of allowing immune tolerance to embryos.

In certain cases, based on the mother's genetic makeup and the father's genetic makeup, the mother may fail to develop tolerance to an embryo. There may be some embryos which therefore get rejected by the mother's immune system. this may be more likely to occur in situations like egg donation where there is twice as much tissue which is foreign to the mother. This is an area of active research.

In the meantime don't waste time and money doing blood tests for NK cells or biopsies of the uterus for NK cells. And certainly don't have treatments like IVIG which are risky and unproven.


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Recurrent miscarriage? New testing may finally help you find the answer

Recurrent miscarriage - Dr Randy Morris MD discusses old and NEW recurrent miscarriage testing. -The BOARD CERTIFIED fertility expert with weekly TTC tips on InfertilityTV

Approximately 1% of couples attempting pregnancy will suffer from #recurrentmiscarriage.. Evaluation of the causes of recurrent #miscarriage is extensive and includes evaluating a woman for problems with her uterus, immune system, hormones, blood clotting system, and testing for possible systemic diseases such as infections, diabetes and Celiac disease. Both the woman and her partner also have a chromosome analysis.

However, roughly 50% of the time, the causes of recurrent #miscarriage are not found. Numerous attempts have been made to look for specific gene mutations that may cause recurrent miscarriage. Several candidate genes have been studied but definitive evidence that they cause recurrent miscarriage was lacking.

Recently, researchers found that women with variations in their #FOXD1 gene are TEN times more likely to have recurrent miscarriage compared to women without these variants. This is a more potent cause for #miscarriage than any previously studied factor. In fact, FOXD1 variants were found ONLY in women with recurrent miscarriage. They were never found in women without recurrent miscarriage.

Depending on the specific variant found, there are different possible treatments that can be employed to help reduce the risk for future miscarriages. Currently, this testing is only available at #IVF1.

This video focuses on:
#recurrentmiscarriagetesting
#recurrentmiscarriagetreatment
#recurrentmiscarriagesuccess

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Hashimotos, Hypothyroid and Fertility| Finally! A clear and logical expl...

Hashimoto's or Hypothyroid? Dr Randy Morris MD-The BOARD CERTIFIED fertility expert explains the difference on #InfertilityTV
Few things cause more confusion amongst my patients than the thyroid. But its really pretty straightforward once you understand some basic points.
The thyroid is a gland that both men and women have that is located in the front of the neck. There are two major hormones produced by the thyroid. T3 and T4. When the levels of one or both of these hormones are low, it is called #hypothyroidism or an under active thyroid. When they are high, it is called hyperthyroidism.
#Hypothyroidism is common in women, get more common as they get older and can cause them to have difficulty in getting pregnant. This occurs because hypothyroidism can interfere with ovulation. Treating hypothyroidism is an effective method to restore ovulation and improve fertility.
#Hashimoto’s Disease or Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is a condition in which the body has high levels of antibodies that attack and cause damage to the thyroid. A person who has elevated levels of thyroid antibodies might, at any given moment, have a thyroid gland that is producing too much, too little or just the right amount of thyroid hormones. So why bother measuring the levels of thyroid antibodies if the thyroid gland is functioning normally?
Well, we know two things about people who have high thyroid antibody levels:
First, They are mo re likely to develop thyroid problems in the future. So even if the thyroid is producing the correct amount of hormones today, these individuals are at greater risk than others for having hypothyroidism in the future. For women, this could happen during pregnancy or after delivery. So this helps doctors to identify women that need to be watched more closely for the development of thyroid problems.
Second, there is a fair amount of evidence that suggests that women with elevated levels of thyroid antibodies are at greater risk for miscarriage. One study found that the risk for #miscarriage was double in women with elevated thyroid antibody levels.
Do you have a topic or question you would like answered on Infertility TV? Let us know in the comments. You don't want to miss any episodes so subscribe to Infertility TV now and visit our website at ivf1.com
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Mini IVF| Fertility Expert Randy Morris answers - Is it right for you?

Randy Morris -The BOARD CERTIFIED fertility expert with weekly TTC tips on InfertilityTV

One of the reasons that #IVF is so successful is that it is a selection progress. If you start out with a large number of eggs, you are more likely to find some that will produce healthy embryos.

This is the reason why #fertility experts use high doses of fertility medications when women do IVF. These medications are the best way to try to get a large number of eggs. But are there some women who might be better off using low doses of injections or even oral medications to stimulate their ovaries. Let’s take a look.

First, ALL well done studies and the U.S. IVF database have shown that overall, pregnancy rates are significantly LOWER with mini-IVF than with standard IVF. This makes sense, fewer eggs means a lower chance for finding good eggs. There is NO evidence that egg quality is better with mini-stimulations.

However, there are some women who do not respond well to fertility medications. Even with high doses of meds, they may still produce very few eggs. Since fertility injections are very expensive, this can make the treatment very costly.

Using a medication like #Clomid will typically get only a small number of eggs to develop but it is much less expensive and easier to take - it’s a pill - not a shot. The egg quality is no better buts its not any worse either. So… instead of trying to get a large number of eggs at one retrieval, you can try to get just one or two eggs - but repeat the process several times.

So the main advantage of mini IVF is for women who would need a high dose of fertility meds. They can save a lot of money on expensive injections. The disadvantage is that they may need to have several egg retrieval procedures.

If you liked this video remember to like “THIS” video and share it in your support groups and on your favorite social media channels

Do you have a topic or question you  would like answered on Infertility TV? Let us know in the comments.  You dont want to miss any episodes so subscribe to Infertility TV now and visit our website at ivf1.com

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Frozen embryo transfer ( FET ) or Fresh? | Infertility TV

Should you be doing a frozen embryo transfer ( FET )? Dr Randy Morris | The BOARD CERTIFIED Fertility Expert |Weekly TTC tips on InfertilityTV: IVF Embryo Transfer-Fresh or Frozen?



There are two options for transferring embryos during IVF.



During a FRESH TRANSFER, the embryos are placed in the uterus within 5 days of the egg retrieval without being frozen.



The embryo transfer can be deferred until a later time, however, by freezing the embryos. (FROZEN TRANSFER or #FET )



There are several advantages to a deferred transfer.

Most importantly, studies now show that the chance that the embryos will implant into the uterine lining is improved by waiting until a later time.

Second, deferred transfer helps avoid a serious complication of IVF treatment called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.



Third, deferring transfer allows genetic testing of the embryos to be performed with improves the chance for pregnancy and reduces the risk for miscarriage.



#frozenembryotransfer



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The latest from Dr. Randy Morris's Fertility Blog

Fertility Tips - Fertility Facts - Fertility Myths - Dr. Randy Morris on...

You hear so many fertility tips. Which are fertility facts? and which aren't. Do you know which is true??

For women who are trying to get pregnant, there are many myths about what you are supposed to do when trying get pregnant.

Dr. Randy Morris, a #fertilityspecialist  is here to clear up some facts and fiction.

Question: Are we seeing more couples having trouble conceiving or are women trying to have babies later in life?

#fertilityfact from Dr Morris:

1) We are seeing more couples who are experiencing difficulty primarily because they are waiting until later in life. The older a woman gets, the harder is to get pregnant.

2) Fertility and fertility treatment are a more acceptable thing now so more people with fertility problems are likely to come out and see a doctor about it.

Question: Do birth control pills reduce fertility?

Fertility Fact from Dr. Morris:

This is fiction. The old thinking was that if you are inhibiting ovulation that somehow that was going to cause a problem and we now know that that is not true.

In fact, in certain circumstances birth control pills can be helpful toward promoting fertility

Question: Does stress cause infertility? #stressandfertility

Fertility Fact from Dr Morris

This is fiction. There is very little data to support that. Procreation vacations may give a couple a chance to have intercourse but their chances to get pregnant won't be any better than at home

Question: Does obesity play a role in infertility? #obesityandfertility

Fertility Fact from Dr Morris

The is fact! There are a number of issues. Overweight women will have a higher incidence of #ovulation problems.  They will miscarry more often and they do poorly when put on fertility treatments

Question: Does being underweight cause infertility?

Fertility Fact from Dr Morris

This is fact. Triathletes and marathon runners can also have problems with ovulation and infertility

Question: Does Robitussin (cough medicine) increase your fertility if you have thick cervical mucous?

Fertility Fact from Dr Morris

This is fiction. This one has been around for a long time. If you look in the medical literature, there has never been a single study that supports it.

Question: Does smoking contribute to infertility?

Fertility Fact from Dr Morris

This is fact. Smoking does reduce fertility. Smoking decrease ovarian function. Women go through menopause at an early age if they are smokers

Dr. Randy Morris MD on WGN News - Ovarian Reserve Testing

Dr. Randy Morris, Medical Director of IVF1, discusses testing women's ovarian reserve as an #infertility test or for predicting the age of menopause. This interview aired on WGN News in Chicago.



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Dr. Randy Morris M.D. on FOX News - Public figures lie about using egg d...

Dr. Randy Morris M.D. is interviewed about the growing trend of celebrities using egg donation .
An interview with fertility expert Randy Morris M.D. criticizing public figures who promote their pregnancies but don't admit to the fact that they used egg donation
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Dr. Randy Morris M.D. featured on WGN-TV In vitro Maturation

Dr. Randy Morris MD is interviewed on WGN-TV in Chicago about the new technology known as #IVM or In vitro maturation

#DrMorris is the medical director of #IVF1 and the medical director at the Naperville #Fertility Center. He is an Assoc. Professor at the University of Chicago.

#invitro
#IVF
#invitrofertilization

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Dr. Randy Morris M.D. discusses In Vitro Maturation - CBS Early show

Dr. Randy S. Morris M.D. is well known as the physician who was responsible for the first #pregnancy in the United States using the technology known as In Vitro Maturation or #IVM. This is his interview on the CBS Early show.

#IVF
#invitro
#invitrofertilization

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Treating thryoid antibodies in pregnancy

The effects of selenium in pregnancy were recently evaluated in a study performed in Italy. This study is of interest to me since we have been using selenium to reduce thryoid antibody levels in women with recurrent miscarriage. Selenium has been found in well controlled studies to reduce thryoid antibody levels but it has neve been evaluated in a pregnant population before.


Approximately 150 pregnant with with elevated levels of one group of thyroid antibodies were split into two equal groups. One group received 200 micrograms of selenium and the other group received placebo. During pregnancy and post-partum, more women who took the placebo were more likely to show evidence of thyroid malfunction and need thyroid hormone supplementation.


The levels of thyroid antibodies were reduced in women who took selenium.


Although this study still does not prove that selenium will reduce the risk of miscarriage in these patients, it does indicate that the antibody lowering effects are similar to that seen in non pregnant patients. It also appears to be safe during pregnancy.

IVF Children are Taller and Have Better Cholesterol Profiles

A number of studies have been performed to determine whether children conceived as a result of IVF have any greater health risks than children conceived in other ways. Some studies indicate that IVF children may be at greater risk for complications during pregnancy and birth defects. Other studies argue that IVF children may be smaller at birth than other children.

A recent study conducted with New Zealand school-aged children compared 50 children conceived as a result of IVF to 60 who were conceived naturally. The children were aged 7 to 9 at the time of the study.

The authors of this study found that 15% of the IVF group was smaller at birth than expected for their gestational age. However...


To learn more about this study click below:
IVF children taller

Assisted zonae hatching - AZH - does not increase IVF Success in women with endometriosis

Assisted hatching or AZH is a procedure occasionally used in IVF treatment cycles. There has been great controversy regarding whether AZH increases the chances for an IVF pregnancy. Numerous studies have been conducted over the years. Some studies have suggested that there is a higher chance for pregnancy using AZH while others showed no improvement whatsoever.



The zonae is a hard protein shell that surrounds the embryo. During IVF cycles, the zonae can be seen under the microscope. Before an embryo can implant into the uterine lining, the embryo must break out of the zonae. This is known as hatching. It has been hypothesized that some embryos may have a more difficult time implanting because they cannot break out of the zonae. During IVF, the process of hatching can be assisted by either thinning the zonae or making a small gap.



Recently, a study was performed to determine whether women with endometriosis who underwent treatment with IVF would have a better chance to conceive with AZH than women who did not have AZH.



To learn more about this study click below:
IVF in Endometriosis Study