What Causes Anovulation? Explanation of Chinese herbal medicine that can be expected to be effective for each symptom!

No matter how much you want to conceive, if you have not ovulated, unfortunately the chances of getting pregnant are extremely low. Did you know that even if you have menstruation every month, you are not ovulating every time?

There are various causes of anovulation, but it is possible to improve anovulation with the help of Chinese medicine and prepare the body for easy pregnancy. We have compiled articles for those who are wondering, "What is anovulation?", "Why does anovulation occur?", and "I want to cure anovulation with herbal medicine."

Find out in this article

• what is anovulation
• Causes of anovulation
• Types of Chinese herbal medicines that can be expected to be effective

What is Anovulation

Anovulation means the absence of ovulation. Ovulation is the normal release of a mature egg from the ovary about once a month. People with regular menstrual cycles ovulate about 14 days after menstruation begins.

Some people may think, "I'm fine because I have a regular menstrual cycle every month." Unfortunately, just because you have a period doesn't mean you're ovulating every time. Even if menstruation occurs, ovulation may not occur for a variety of reasons.

Symptoms of anovulation

What kind of symptoms should I watch out for in order to notice the state of anovulation? Here are some points to observe .

If you are keeping a basal body temperature, take a look at the basal body temperature chart. If the secretion of hormones is disturbed, the difference between the low temperature phase and the high temperature phase is not clear. If the low temperature phase persists, ovulation may not have occurred.

Menstrual bleeding may also change. For example, the symptoms include light bleeding, heavy bleeding, or continuous bleeding.

You may have irregular menstrual cycles or even have two periods in a month. Even if you think you are menstruating, you may have irregular bleeding, so be careful.

What causes anovulation?

Anovulation may be caused by insufficient egg growth or insufficient ovulatory power, but daily lifestyle habits are greatly involved in the background. This is because the secretion of hormones that stimulate ovulation is easily influenced by various changes that occur in everyday life. What exactly will it affect?

mental stress

Mental stress refers to external stimuli such as worries and anxieties about human relationships that make the mind tired. Environmental factors such as the weather and noise, physical factors such as illness and injury, and social factors such as work troubles and busyness are considered to be stimuli.

The degree to which people dislike external stimuli varies from person to person, but when stressed, the hypothalamus, which issues hormone secretion commands, stops functioning normally. As a result, hormonal changes and irregular menstrual cycles can affect ovulation.

stress on the body

Stress on the body can be thought of as strenuous sports. The effect that strenuous sports have on the body is a decrease in hormone secretion. In addition to vigorous exercise, which athletes such as gymnasts, marathon runners, and ballerinas can easily undertake, women with low BMI are more likely to produce less hormones secreted by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland1). .

Also, even if you don't feel burdened yourself, your body may feel burdened. When you're stressed, there are some signs that you're irritable or you can't sleep, so it's important to monitor yourself regularly.

unreasonable diet

When body fat is greatly reduced due to dietary restrictions and strenuous exercise, the function of the hypothalamus is not performed normally . If the proper instructions are not sent from the brain, the hormones necessary for ovulation will not be secreted and ovulation will not occur.

If amenorrhea occurs due to weight loss, there is no abnormality in the ovaries, so in most cases, ovulation will be restored by returning the weight to normal. Eat a well-balanced diet and maintain a regular lifestyle so that menstruation occurs regularly.

Anovulation due to other diseases

Anovulation may be improved by leading a careful lifestyle, such as paying attention to the balance of meals, trying to get moderate exercise and stress relief, and getting good quality sleep.

However, no matter how much you review your lifestyle, if the cause of anovulation is a disease such as an ovary, the story is different. It will be difficult to improve anovulation without treatment.

Ovulation may occur with the use of ovulatory drugs. However, this is only a temporary measure and does not improve anovulation. Appropriate treatment with hormones and herbal medicines is necessary.

Read the following articles together
How to know if you have anovulatory menstruation

Kampo medicine that can be expected to be effective depending on the symptoms

Using Chinese herbal medicine can help to balance the hormones necessary for ovulation and menstruation, leading to a healthy body from anovulatory state. However, the herbal medicines taken are not the same. Let's introduce the types and characteristics of Kampo medicines that can be expected to be effective for each disease and symptom.

stress and fatigue

Stress and mental and physical fatigue are closely related to abnormal ovulation and irregular menstruation. When you get a big shock or feel a lot of stress, your body feels a crisis and you can't secrete female hormones or control your hormone balance as usual. The basal body temperature is not clearly divided into a low temperature phase and a high temperature phase, and normal menstruation does not occur because ovulation does not occur.

Kamishoyosan is a herbal medicine that can be expected to be effective. It has the effect of improving the circulation of mind in people who suffer from headaches and dizziness due to stress, anxiety and insomnia. If stress is improved by oral administration of kamishoyosan, ovulation may also improve as stress is relieved.

polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a disease in which many small ovarian follicles, which enclose eggs, do not grow and accumulate in the ovaries. It is caused by abnormal secretion of hormones, and symptoms such as hirsutism, acne, and obesity can be seen in addition to irregular menstruation and irregular bleeding. In addition, the low temperature phase continues at the basal body temperature, and the menstrual cycle is long.

The herbal medicine that can be expected to be effective is Unkeito. It has been reported that treatment with unkeito promotes the development of follicles2). It has the effect of improving blood circulation in people with weak constitutions who are sensitive to cold.

Hyperprolactinemia

Hyperprolactinemia is a disease in which the hormone prolactin is increased, and the follicles do not grow and ovulation is suppressed. Prolactin is a hormone necessary for the secretion of breast milk after childbirth, and prolactin increases can be caused by a lack of dopamine, the effects of drugs, a tumor in the pituitary gland, etc. Even though you are not breastfeeding, you may still be producing milk or have white deposits on your nipples.

The herbal medicine that can be expected to be effective is malt. Traditionally, Chinese mothers have taken roasted malt to reduce prolactin secretion during weaning. It improves the circulation of the body and regulates the autonomic nervous system.

Luteinizing Unruptured Follicular Syndrome (LUFS)

Elutenizing unruptured follicle syndrome is a disease in which mature follicles remain in the ovary without ovulation . It is caused by ovarian adhesions, hormone secretion abnormalities, and endometriosis. Since luteinizing hormone is secreted even when ovulation is not performed, the basal body temperature is divided into a low temperature phase and a high temperature phase, but the high temperature phase is short.

Kampo medicines that can be expected to be effective are Kangen Karyu and Ontanto. Kanmoto granules improve blood circulation, and warm water improves water circulation, softening the follicular membrane and improving adhesions.

Decreased secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone

Follicle-stimulating hormone is a hormone that promotes the growth of follicles and is involved in estrogen secretion . Decreased secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone is caused by abnormalities in the hypothalamus and ovaries. In the state of anovulatory menstruation or amenorrhea, the basal body temperature is almost flat in the low temperature phase.

The Chinese herbal medicine that can be expected to be effective is Fuhotoukiglu. Fubao Toki Glue improves anemia and sensitivity to cold, and helps the development of eggs.

premature ovarian failure

Premature ovarian insufficiency is a disease in which the function of the ovaries declines at an early age before the age of 40, and menstruation does not come or stops for more than 3 months . The cause is unknown, but cancer treatments such as ovarian surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy seem to trigger the onset. Amenorrhea may cause the same symptoms as menopause, such as hot flushes, sweating, dizziness, headaches, and emotional instability.

Kamishoyosan is an herbal medicine that can be expected to be effective against symptoms similar to menopause. On the other hand, it is difficult to resume ovulation in premature ovarian failure with Kampo medicine alone, so if you wish to become pregnant, we recommend that you consult an obstetrics and gynecology department.

▼ You can consult Kampo on LINE
Click here for a free consultation supervised by a doctor

summary

Temporary anovulation that occurs due to the influence of daily life may be improved by reviewing lifestyle habits and trying to maintain a regular lifestyle. However, if anovulation is occurring due to illness or physical abnormality, it may be difficult to improve just by reviewing lifestyle habits.

If the cause is an illness or an abnormality in the body, it is important to restore the body to a good state without straining it with the help of Chinese herbal medicine . Supplementing blood, water, and qi circulation with herbal medicine can be expected to restore control of menstruation and ovulation and improve the constitution without worrying about side effects.

References

1) Diana Hamilton-Fairley and Alison Taylor: Anovulation, 2003 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC192851/

2)Ushiroyama et al.: Effects of Switching to Wen-Jing-Tang(Unkei-To) from Preceding HerbalPreparations Selected by Eight-PrinciplePattern Identification on EndocrinologicalStatus and Ovulatory Induction inWomen with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, 2006 https://pubmed.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/11396371/