In this episode, we’re sharing an interview originally hosted by Lisa Schuman of Building Your Family. In it, they cover Dr. Aimee’s innovative diagnostic methods, including the TUSHY Method for women and the BALLS Method for men. Dr. Aimee shares her journey into fertility treatment, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive diagnosis to avoid unnecessary costs and heartbreaks, and discusses her vision for a more informed path to parenthood.
The conversation covers various topics, including the importance of considering the desired family size when planning for parenthood, fertility preservation, and proactive measures for enhancing egg and sperm quality through lifestyle adjustments and supplements.
Dr. Aimee also highlights the significance of open options for family planning, such as egg freezing, and the impact of relationships on fertility treatments. The episode aims to educate listeners on the complexities of fertility challenges and the innovative methods available to address them.
Links for this episode:
Building Your Family Podcast with Lisa Schuman
Full Transcript:
This episode is hosted by Lisa Schuman of the Building Your Family Podcast. She has graciously let us share it with you here on the Egg Whisperer Show, and you’re going to hear all about the behind the scenes of the TUSHY Method, the BALLS Method, and the Egg Whisperer Diet.
Lisa, thank you so much for sharing this with us, and we encourage each of you to go check out the Building Your Family Podcast and her new support platform on her website, www.familybuilding.net.
Let’s get onto the show.
Lisa Schuman: Welcome to Building Your Family. This is a podcast about donor conception, surrogacy, fertility treatment, and all the ways the modern family is built. I’m your host Lisa Schuman. And today we have a fantastic and famous guest, Dr. Aimee, who is famous for some ways that she diagnoses patients, but I’m going to let her talk all about that.
So welcome, Dr. Aimee. Thank you so much for joining us.
Dr. Aimee: Lisa, thank you for having me. I’m not famous. I’m just slightly insanely passionate about educating people about fertility, and please call me Aimee.
Lisa Schuman: Okay, Aimee, so could you tell us a little bit about some of your methods of diagnosing patients? Because it’s so wonderful that you really feel so passionate and have such a vision about helping people not only have a better diagnosis so that they’ll have a shorter path to parenthood, but also it helps them avoid some of the costs involved in trying over and over again and maybe doing some things needlessly that they don’t need to do.
So, tell us a little bit about that. How did you get to that idea that this framework would be the best way to approach fertility treatment.
Dr. Aimee: Absolutely. After over 10 years of practice, I got so tired of patients coming in and saying, “I just don’t know what’s wrong with me.” And they would tell me stories about going to their OBGYNs, asking for a fertility workup, and they would come to my office with an HIV test and a blood count.
I’m like, “Why does this keep happening?” It should be easy. Getting a fertility diagnosis should not be complicated, and if someone’s given the diagnosis of unexplained, it’s truly untested. In infertility, there’s no such thing as unexplained. Unexplained simply means no one has explained it to you.
So I just sat down one night with my husband, he loves crosswords, and I said, okay, honey, listen, I’m going to tell you, these are the things that go into a fertility workup. And he’s also a doctor, different specialty. And I said, “check your fallopian tubes. Do an ultrasound of the uterus, check the sperm, do some hormone testing, look at some genetic testing.” And he just sat there. He is like, “shh, gimme time.” I’m like, “okay.”
The next day, he is like, “The TUSHY Method.” And people thought that, like, it was a joke. They’re like, “Don’t you know that when you go to TUSHY method online, it’s like a line of toilets?” And someone else is like, “don’t you know this is triple X porn?”
I’m like, “this is even better.” Oh my gosh. Because it seems like the only way we can get people’s attention nowadays is if we, you know, make it loud. Maybe make it a little bit controversial or maybe a little sexy.
Not that the TUSHY Method’s sexy, but we are talking about making a baby after all. So that’s really it. They’re the five steps that every fertility patient should make sure that they have to get to a diagnosis, and it’s truly tubes, uterus, sperm, hormones, and your genetics.
So if people can then take that information, go to their OBGYN and say, “can you check my TUSHY?” I would hope that, you know, maybe, maybe in my lifetime people would be like, “ah, yes, I know exactly what that means, and I can get these tests done for you.”
Because like you said earlier, Lisa, if you have a diagnosis, then you know what your treatment options are, and then you know what your pregnancy rate is for each treatment, then you can choose the right treatment path for you based on the family size that you want.
Every family looks different, and that’s okay, and it’s just important to know what your options are from the beginning. I don’t want to hear stories of five years later, I found out that my husband has no sperm, or five years later I found out me and my husband, you know, one of us had a translocation. I want people to know when they are first trying to conceive what their story is from the beginning rather than having heartbreaking stories of pain and suffering along the way. I know that’s part of the human experience, even when you get your TUSHY checked, but at least you won’t have regret for not having the information earlier.
Lisa Schuman: Could you walk us through: somebody comes to your office and says, okay, what should I do first? Could you explain how that works?
Dr. Aimee: Absolutely. So what I would say is, “where are you in your menstrual cycle?” And if you are not having periods, then I can induce a period if applicable. If you have a regular period, then what I would do is I sing to my patients. I say, “when you see flow, you let me know. You come see me by cycle-day three. “
Now. I just made that song up right now. But one day we’ll have a jingle and a commercial for the TUSHY Method.
But you can literally get your TUSHY check in one menstrual cycle. Your period starts cycle-day three. You come in. I’ll do an ultrasound and all your hormones.
I’ll do your genetic carrier screening, and then I’ll do an ultrasound looking at your uterus, ruling out fibroids, polyps, endometriosis, and I’ll do an antral follicle count. Cycle-days eight through ten, you can come back for what I call the gentle tube test with ExEm Foam, also known as HyFoSy. You can also do it via HSG, which is an X-ray test of your fallopian tubes.
In the meantime, your male partner, if you have one, will then do a semen analysis. I have a mail order kit. You just have the kit delivered to your home. You do the test, you ship it back to the company, and it’ll send results. By the time of your next cycle, we will know everything we could possibly know.
As much as, you know, information that could be available to us today about your genetics, about sperm, about your hormones, one about your ovarian reserve, we’ll know about your diagnosis. And then you can sit down with your doctor, me, and we’ll have a chat. We’ll talk about what have we learned since doing these tests. What options are available to us?
So for example, if your fallopian tubes are blocked, trying naturally is not available to you. Doing IVF is your only option of growing your family. You know, if you wanna carry a pregnancy yourself or use your own DNA, if sperm is low, then you can talk about ways, and I hope you’ll ask me about the BALLS method.
Lisa Schuman: I will.
Dr. Aimee: Cool. So you can still try and improve sperm, but sometimes you cannot. And so that’s another reason why you would need to do IVF. So I just want people to know, do you have to do IVF to grow your family, yes or no? If it’s no, what are those options? What are the chances? How many cycles should you do?
At what point should you change and pivot to something else? The other thing is, I’m all about preserving your fertility. So I started egg freezing parties in 2014 to educate women about fertility preservation. And I also educate couples and independent mothers about fertility preservation through IVF because an egg is a chance for an embryo, right?
And it can take sometimes six to ten eggs to get one healthy embryo, but an embryo is really a chance for a baby, so I talk to my patients about, no matter what your diagnosis is, look at your age and how many kids you want, and see if it still makes sense for you to preserve your fertility through either embryo freezing or egg freezing.
Lisa Schuman: You brought up something so important just now, which I find that patients don’t think about often. You said, think about how many children you want. Lots of times patients come in and they say, okay, I just wanna get pregnant. I don’t want to think about it again. And it’s so hard to kind of think ahead. Well, you know, my eggs will get older and a few years from now when I want to come back for baby number two. So, it’s so great that you incorporate that into part of the process.
Dr. Aimee: My relationships with people I think are lifelong. Once someone enters my life and I have that incredible honor of helping them grow their family, I want to look out for them.
I want them to be amazing parents to as many children as they want to parent. So that’s why I’m very nosy and I ask these questions. And I want to get involved and I want to protect my families from heartache.
Lisa Schuman: That’s beautiful. Okay, so next is The BALLS Method, another kind of racy term. So, tell us a little bit about that. How does that work?
Dr. Aimee: The BALLS Method is basically the same idea, but for guys, and it’s all the things you need to think about if the sperm count is low. Let’s go through them. B is for background genetics, so do genetic testing, and there are a number of different genetic tests a guy can do to figure out why his sperm is low.
We have chromosome analysis, Y-chromosome microdeletion and carrier screening. There are more advanced genetic tests I refer my patients over to a genetic counselor to do, but for the most part, those are the tests. In addition to that, you can also do advanced sperm genetic testing, and it’s basically just like a semen analysis, but they’re looking at the sperm a little bit differently.
So they’re looking at sperm, DNA, methylation and fragmentation. So this can all guide you as far as what’s going on, what fertility treatments you should consider, and potentially how you can improve things. So now we get to the A and I don’t ever look at the A, the A is anatomy. So if a guy wants to drop his pants in front of me, I’ll be like, uh-uh, not me.
That goes to the reproductive urologists. So we have great reproductive urologists in this country, and they’re basically just like me in that they went to schools, they went to urology school, and then they did advanced training in guys with fertility issues. And that’s basically what I did. I went to OB GYN school, and then I went to advanced training for helping people get pregnant.
So reproductive urologists will be able to, let’s say, do things. I can’t, I don’t examine testicles. I don’t do surgery on testicles, but they will. So what we’re looking for, if the sperm count is low, or the DNA fragmentation is high, from an anatomy standpoint, is something called a varicocele. It’s like a varicose vein around the testicle. It’s a dilated vein.
It can transmit heat to the testicle, and as heat rises, it can affect sperm quality. The next thing is to look at labs like testosterone, FSH, estradiol, thyroid. Sometimes I look at hemoglobin A1C to rule out diabetes in a guy. All of these things can affect sperm quality.
Now we talk about lifestyle. Everyone is smoking marijuana these days, except me. But marijuana, nicotine, alcohol. Alcohol is not as bad as people think. Uh, binge drinking is what’s really bad, but it’s really the nicotine that really harms sperm, DNA, so any type of vaping, hookahs, pouches. Just throw that stuff away, please. For at least two and a half months. I want people to think about their longevity as they’re planning on becoming parents and just cut those habits out completely. But if you can’t, it’s okay.
The other thing we talk about is lifestyle in addition to just the things I mentioned, but is exercise, hydrating, sleeping well.
Dr. Aimee: And the last thing is sex. Sex and supplement. So that’s the S of the balls.
So there’s a supplement list that I give to guys like ConceptionXR, fish oil, CoQ10, vitamin D. And then if there are problems in bed, I don’t want to hear about it the morning of the egg retrieval that you can’t get it up. And we have a sperm emergency.
I want to know about that. Remember, I’m nosy. So that’s the S of the balls is sex and supplements. So that’s basically The BALLS Method.
So TUSHY is for the ladies, BALLS is for the guys. And then you put it all together and you basically have The Egg Whisperer DIET. So The Egg Whisperer DIET is basically my approach to IVF care where the D is getting the diagnosis first. The I is making your IVF plan. The E is embryo transfer preparation and the T is transfer.
The biggest thing nowadays, and I’m sure this is important to you too, Lisa, about embryo transfer preparation, is to make sure your relationship is intact. Ask yourself, are you still going to be together in five years? If there’s a chance that you’re not and you already feel that before you make this baby, or before you do IVF, just stop, trust me.
Stop and go back to maybe egg freezing, get therapy, do couples therapy before you really move forward. And if you still want to move forward, and if you still have that gut feeling that things aren’t gonna work out, look at your IVF consent forms. Make sure you’re protected so that if you want to a have a second baby, especially if you’re doing this over the age of 40, you’re legally allowed to
Lisa Schuman: Yes, 100%. And the same is true for known donors as we know, right? There’s so many more of them these days. You’re probably seeing that in your practice as well. And so much of this, well, “it’s no big deal. We’re best friends. We went to college together, so we’ll be fine. “And as we know, even in a marriage, 60% of couples end up in divorce, so there’s no way to ensure that or to think about the future child when people are going through that, so it’s important to include.
I am wondering do you start with the men and the women separately or simultaneously? Do you do both of these methods together?
Dr. Aimee: Together. Absolutely.
So even before onboarding. So, it’s a requirement for a guy to have a semen analysis on file and the woman to have her hormone levels checked at a minimum.
And then after the initial consult, I see what’s missing from my checklist. And then we order the test, and then that way we have a diagnosis as soon as possible and can come up with a plan. Most patients see me, I joke, as you can tell, I’m very funny, or at least I think so, that I specialize in ovarian first aid, fertility first aid, or ovarian life support.
So most people aren’t coming to me because they’re just curious about their fertility and they just want to see what’s going on and get a, you know, maybe start a fertility pulse. I see patients who’ve done like six seven IVF cycles and they’re coming to me because I’m their last hope before they start thinking about other options.
Certainly I have patients that are fertility curious. There’s no doubt about that. But my point is that a lot of times when people are already seeing me, much of the work has been done. I just usually want some updated labs if they haven’t been done in the last six months to a year.
Lisa Schuman: And how do you feel about supplements?
People are very often on the internet talking about, well, if you take this supplement, you’ll rejuvenate your eggs. Or if you do this thing, it’ll make your eggs recuperate faster or something. Then people are always concerned with trying the next best thing
You mentioned CoQ10, which universally people feel comfortable with, but what about all of these other supplements that are out there?
Dr. Aimee: I mean, I want sperm to sparkle and I want eggs to sparkle. And supplements don’t necessarily work for everyone or help everyone. They cannot hurt.
And the supplements that I have my patients take are I think well studied and. I have seen scenarios where a patient did three cycles over the age of 40, not a single healthy embryo, even a blastocyst. Then she takes this supplement and I’ll share with you what that is, and then all of a sudden she has three healthy embryos and she’s 43, and it’s like that should not have happened.
Lisa Schuman: Wow.
Dr. Aimee: Yeah, so one of the supplements I tell my patients to take is nicotinamide riboside, and it increases NAD levels in our body, and NAD levels start to go down at age 30, and that is what seems to cause more chromosomal abnormalities in our eggs. So repletion of NAD in our cells can help make your eggs more youthful, possibly. Sure as heck won’t hurt. I’ve been taking it for at least six years now. I take high doses just because I take it just for longevity reasons. It helps with my mood, it helps with my appetite, helps with my sleep. So that’s one.
The other one is CoQ10, and then melatonin. And depending on what conditions a patient has, if she has endometriosis or PCOS, there are going to be other things that I recommend that she takes.
That’s kind of how I talk to patients about supplements. Like, I want to support your egg quality. I don’t know that it’s going to improve it, but it’s not going to hurt it.
Lisa Schuman: Wow, that’s fascinating. And is this an oral medication or supplement that someone takes?
Dr. Aimee: Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide can be taken both orally as a pill, as a powder, as an injection, as an IV infusion. So those are NAD shots, infusions that you can take. Tru Niagen is the company that makes the one I take, but there are certainly other companies that have other products.
Lisa Schuman: That’s incredible. Well, I’m sure our audience is thrilled to hear about anything that can be helpful. That’s fantastic.
And what about this explosion of popularity with other supplements like growth hormones or IVIG and all these other things that people are really kind of hot about these days?
Dr. Aimee: IVIG isn’t something that helps with egg quality, but I know what you mean. It’s more about, you know, preventing miscarriage or improving implantation.
I don’t utilize IVIG in my practice. I’ve had maybe a handful of patients use it. I have never had a patient get pregnant and then say, oh, must have been that IVIG. So I don’t feel strongly that this is a tool that I need to use in my toolbox. It’s been around since I’ve been in practice. It’s not new.
Same with HGH. I’ve been using it since 2005. I use it on almost everybody, unless you’re an egg donor or let’s say a young woman with blocked tubes because a lot of my patients might have egg quality issues. I want to go into treatment saying I’ve addressed all the possible issues. I don’t want to do an IVF cycle and say, “well, next time, since we learned, just like I had a hunch about this could have been an egg quality issue, next time we’ll add this for me.”
I want there not to be a next time. I know sometimes there are a lot of next times, and then the next time, and the next time and the next time. But if I can minimize the tries by adding something like HGH, I’ll consider it early on.
Lisa Schuman: I think that’s music to people’s ears, Aimee, because as you know, people often go through that and it’s the next time and the next time and then by then their eggs just keep getting older and they have more and more difficulty. So it’s not helping anyone.
And what about for men? Are there supplements for men also?
Dr. Aimee: Yeah, I mean there’s ConceptionXR is from Theralogix. I really like that one. CoQ10, Fish oil, vitamin D. But a guy can literally take his wife’s or partner’s prenatals, and most women who are trying to get pregnant are usually taking CoQ10.
So you don’t really need to buy separate supplements for a man. Prenatals are just a multivitamin dressed up. So there’s no reason why they can’t take it.
Lisa Schuman: And what about embryo screening, like PGTA people are going backwards a little bit with that these days.
Dr. Aimee: Yeah, I mean, I don’t see it going backwards. I think people are finally more knowledgeable that your embryos could be marked as abnormal and you could be lied to. Don’t allow yourself to be cheated out of the opportunity of transferring a normal embryo. Make sure you know if your embryo’s mosaic, if it’s high or low, if it’s segmental, chaotic. Like, these are embryos that are probably perfectly normal a lot of the time.
So I find that doctors and clinics are finally being more transparent with their patients. It’s not across the board, but it’s certainly getting better. So I always tell patients, you’re not gonna lose embryos going through this process with me as your doctor. Because you’re going to have all the information about your embryos.
We’re going tto use genetic screening as a way to prioritize them. And even if an embryo is labeled abnormal, we can still transfer it because it doesn’t mean that this is 100% correct. But not every clinic has that approach to care, and I can comfortably do this because I’ve knowingly transferred abnormal embryos for patients at their request.
It’s not like I did it unknowingly. They requested their embryos transferred to me so I can move them to the lab so that I can do the transfers and I have had healthy pregnancies, perfectly healthy babies and children now from doing that. So that’s why I feel very strongly that every embryo should be given a chance if a patient wants to be given the chance to transfer that embryo.
We as physicians should not be allowed to say no to a patient who wants to transfer an embryo that is theirs.
Lisa Schuman: That’s so interesting. And I think it’s so interesting in the scope of our practice because when I started, two and a half decades ago, there was no such thing as a blastocysts anyway, right?
People were transferring these young embryos anyhow, and nobody thought about that. Success rates weren’t as good, but people got pregnant. It’s so interesting. You know, we’ve kind of lost sight of that a little bit.
Dr. Aimee: Totally. I mean, what really wasn’t until probably 2011 that across the board most clinics were comfortable doing blast culture.
Lisa Schuman: Yeah. And now we’ve kind of forgotten our history.
So what do you see that patients have the most trouble with? The patients that you see when they come into you and say, you know, I really need help because I’m having whatever it is. Is it usually older eggs?
Dr. Aimee: Yeah, it’s ovarian aging.
It’s heartbreaking to see, you know. They’re young, healthy women who have run out of eggs, but their desire to have a healthy baby does not run out, and men don’t experience that. And so I see conflicts with the couples because the husband doesn’t understand and then he won’t quote unquote, “allow her” to use egg donation, which I find incredibly cruel for a woman in that situation.
Lisa Schuman: Mm-Hmm.
Dr. Aimee: So I think ovarian aging is one of the hardest things that a woman can deal with. And sometimes it happens before you think you’re old. So I’ll have a patient, “I’m 44, I’m ready.” And I’m like, “but you’re in menopause and that’s normal.” Wait, what? I’m like, “oh, how did you not know this?”
And the comments I get are, “well, my mom didn’t go into menopause until she was 50.”
I’m like, “that doesn’t matter.” Every woman who says, I want to have a baby, and you are 40 needs to also be open to other ways of having a baby without your eggs, because most women over 40 cannot do it, because that’s how our bodies were made has nothing to do with the gluten free diet you’ve been following, you know, you can’t put Botox in your ovaries.
Lisa Schuman: Well, it’s great that you’re out there talking about all of these things, Aimee, because I think that, and you probably experienced this too, that people don’t know, right?
I mean, in your eighth grade health class, nobody talks about how your fertility declines. They just teach you how not to get pregnant. And nobody goes to their gynecologist for their annual pap smear and has a talk with their doctor about, you’ve got to start thinking about your eggs aging.
It’s just not happening universally yet. So I think it’s so great that you’re out there on so many platforms talking about this, because women do need to know. So they can arm themselves with this information.
Dr. Aimee: I feel like I need to do a recording for every woman once she hits 21.
You should listen to my voice. This is auntie Dr. Aimee. Let me tell you what you need to know. And then again, at like 32 and then again at 37, then at like, 43 and then again at 48. And I’ll be warning you about all those things so that you’re not taken by surprise. My patients were like, “I don’t understand. My periods, I’m getting them every two months, and I’m feeling hot. I don’t know what’s happening. Is this cancer?”
I’m like, “no, you’re 48. Like, that’s normal. That’s perimenopause.” These kinds of things shouldn’t be a surprise. They shouldn’t catch us by surprise. They shouldn’t cause us panic or require emergency visits to the OBGYN when they’re expected.
Lisa Schuman: Absolutely. And we plan for everything else in life, right? Our careers, everything else. Except for our families, unfortunately.
Dr. Aimee: I know, but I hope to change that.
Lisa Schuman: And what do you think about that, about preserving your fertility? If someone says, you know, “I’m thinking about freezing my eggs and I’m 25 years old, when should I do this, doctor?” What would you say?
Dr. Aimee: I would say, let’s look at your family history. Let’s look at your fertility levels and just see what’s going on. Then we’ll come up with a plan. We’ll talk about when you think you’re gonna have your first child, maybe your second child, and see what makes sense for you. So for some 25 year olds, they don’t need to rush and do it right away, they can wait till they’re maybe 30.
But there are some 25 year olds, their moms went into menopause at 40. So it definitely makes sense for that 25-year-old to do it, especially if she has a personal history of, let’s say, endometriosis or fibroids. The truth is, the younger you are, the more viable your eggs.
I mean, this is why, when we look for egg donors, we look for women who are under the age of 28. Of course, there are exceptions, and we do cycle women who are 29 or 30. But the reason is because we know that your eggs are mostly viable when you’re under the age of 28. So if you can freeze by 28, great. But it doesn’t mean that your eggs aren’t going to be good if you freeze at 32 or 33 or 36 or 37.
When egg freezing first was a thing. People were doing it as a reaction to not finding the man and still being like, you know, having fertility levels that were okay but not great, or as a reaction to having bad levels.
Like, my FSH is now 13. Not that that’s bad, don’t get me wrong. Or my AMH is 0.3, I’m gonna freeze my eggs. But people were just unfortunately freezing bad eggs. Most of the time.
Lisa Schuman: Yeah. Right.
Dr. Aimee: So things have changed, which is really great, where people are like, “I’m going to freeze good eggs when I still have them, and this is not about a man.” Egg freezing is not about men anymore, it used to be.
It used to be, yes, I’m freezing my eggs because they can’t find a man. And I’m like, “oh my God. Seriously? Like, can’t we just get the man out of this conversation?” It’s really about “I’m freezing my eggs to give myself options.” That’s it.
Lisa Schuman: Preserve my fertility to be proactive. And do people ask you, I would imagine, “how many egg cycles should I freeze? Is one enough?”
Dr. Aimee: It just depends on your age and how many eggs you have. So what I tell patients is, look, things can happen. I mean, you can freeze your eggs and then you know something can happen. They don’t survive the thaw. So I always say, number one, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Don’t thaw them all at once.
Number two, if, let’s say, you froze your eggs at 25 and now you’re 35 and you still haven’t started your family, freeze another batch just in case you know something happens with that first batch, so you don’t have regrets. And then if, let’s say, you’re close to 40, I always say just make some embryos.
Just in case, either with your previously frozen eggs or with your eggs right now, just so you still have the option to have a biological child, if that’s something that’s important to you.
Lisa Schuman: And I think that’s important too, right? That’s kind of like a little caveat. If this is a person who’s willing to use donor eggs at some point, they don’t have to have the same pressure as somebody who would say, “there’s no way I would ever do that.”
Dr. Aimee: Exactly. And one of my many mantras is Freeze your eggs. Be your own egg donor.
Lisa Schuman: Absolutely. Well, these are wonderful, wonderful pieces of information for the audience. Have I missed anything, Dr. Aimee, in your acronyms?
Dr. Aimee: Oh, I have a ton. I have embryo DIAMONDS. So I’ve the ANGEL Method, I have the HOPE Syndrome.
So, HOPE Syndrome is about PCOS. It’s basically, rather than thinking of PCOS as something that gives infertility, it just educates women about what PCOS is. It’s high androgens, ovaries with lots of eggs, periods that are irregular and eating and exercise should always be important to you to manage it.
So it’s really simple. You know, rather than polycystic ovarian syndrome, and I think “I have cysts all the time, they cause me pain,” which is not what it is, as you know. And the ANGEL Method is the basic workup that we do for women who have had miscarriages
Lisa Schuman: And what does that stand for?
Dr. Aimee: Autoimmune anatomy and AMH. So that’s the A. N is nutrition, genetics, endocrine. So working up like diabetes, thyroid disorders.
And then the last one is lifestyle. So looking at your body size, your BMI, your habits, like smoking, for example, drinking.
Lisa Schuman: These are brilliant, Aimee. Wow. These are fantastic.
And I’m sure it really makes patients feel so much better to actually have something that they can hold onto. Right? Because they feel so out of control in these situations and feel like, how is this happening to me? And to have some framework is probably so reassuring to patients.
Dr. Aimee: Right. To have some direction to know that there’s a plan.
Lisa Schuman: Yeah.
Dr. Aimee: Rather than being told, oh, just keep trying if you, you know, miscarried two or three more times and then I’ll think about doing a workup that I’ll Google.
Lisa Schuman: No. Yeah. So painful, right? Yeah. And if patients are too depressed or stressed, they can’t stay in treatment, so, you’re not going to be able to get in and stay and have their child.
Dr. Aimee: But if you come to me, I’ll make lots of jokes and I’ll sing to you.
Lisa Schuman: It’s wonderful. It’s wonderful. Well, I think everyone should call you, Aimee, and give a try at some of these methods. It’s fantastic. I’m sure they’re so reassured by hearing all of this.
It’s wonderful.
Dr. Aimee: I do recommend taking one of my classes. So I have classes, it’s eggwhispererschool.com. So, it’s a great way for people to see me live online. There are live Zoom calls and I kind of go through all my tips and tricks and then answer live questions one-on-one with people who join the class.
Lisa Schuman: So how can someone access that class?
Dr. Aimee: You can access it from my website or eggwhispererschool.com. So, that’s where you can see all the class listings and sign up for a class that works for you.
Lisa Schuman: And are the classes just this educational information for it or are they interactive? What are they like?
Dr. Aimee: Both. So it’s a course that you can take that has videos and articles, and then with that course comes one live class. That class is about an hour and a half, so it’s a didactic lecture by yours truly. And then after, I go through my slides and you can interact with me the entire time asking me questions, then people like to share their stories and we talk together.
It’s quite fun for me, and I think people learn a lot by hearing other people’s questions and by hopefully getting their own answer as well.
Lisa Schuman: Well, that’s great because that is so needed, as you know, and you probably have seen on social media, there’s so much misinformation out there.
And it’s so important for people to really understand the truth about what’s possible, what isn’t, and what they can do about it. Because if they go down the wrong road before they know it, their eggs are older and they’ve lost that opportunity.
Everyone out there, please take note of that. And how can people find you?
Dr. Aimee: Egg Whisperer everything.
That’s the best way to find me. Just like you said, DrAimee.org. D-R-A-I-M-E-E dot org.
Lisa Schuman: Okay, fantastic. I think we’re jam packed full of great information. I really appreciate it.
Dr. Aimee: Anytime. Thank you for inviting me.
Lisa Schuman: So thank you so much for coming, Dr. Aimee. I really appreciate you being here and for all of you out there, thank you for joining us.
