Dr. Shadi Tabaei ND

Does your fertility plan include hormone balancing? When I first meet with my fertility patients, I ask a lot of questions to try and see if there are hormonal issues at play, and the majority of the time I find that there is. The problem is that these hormonal issues often go under the radar.... Sometimes women get their periods every month but their hormones just don't get to the levels they need to be for optimized fertility. Other times there are clear issues with their periods but they were put on the pill thinking it was solving the problem. Either way, those hormonal issues are now hindering their ability to get pregnant That's why I firmly believe that balanced hormones lay the foundation for good fertility, so much so that it is the first pillar of my Fruitful Fertility protocol That pillar helps women... Produce the hormones they should at good levels Regulate the 'bad' hormones so they stop interfering When all the hormones work as they should, the things that need to happen for a pregnancy to take can actually happen. Are you curious to know if a hormonal imbalance is getting in your way? Schedule a free fertility breakthrough call with me and I'll help you find out! (Link in bio) See more

How do I know if I have a hormonal imbalance?? That's probably one of the most common questions I get asked by women that I talk to. They've usually had some symptoms that are weird and are wondering if they have a hormonal imbalance.... Here's a list of some signs and symptoms to look for... Irregular periods or changes in periods Acne Hair loss Unwanted hair growth Vaginal dryness Sweating at night Spotting before periods Low libido Unwanted weight gain Breast tenderness Dry skin & more Each of these symptoms are related to different hormones including progesterone, testosterone, estrogen, and thyroid. If your experiencing any of these, here's your next steps Send me a DM and book a free consult where I help you figure out what hormones if any are imbalanced SIDE NOTE: if your trying to conceive, balancing your hormones is one of the most important steps to getting pregnant naturally . #infographic #ttccommunity #miscarriagesupport #hormonebalance #torontolove #ontariocanada #justengaged #marriedcouple #healthywomen #listentoyourbody #hormonehealth See more

Estrogen therapy is considered the gold standard for treating vaginal dryness during menopause. Read the full article to find out why! https://www.drshaditabaei.com//estrogen-for-vaginal-dryness

Here's a list of medications that can impair female fertility... NSAIDS (used for pain and inflammation) SSRIS (used for depression and anxiety) Corticosteroids (used to control inflammation)... Immunosuppressants (used for auto-immune diseases) Chemotherapy (used for cancer treatment) Anti-psychotics (used for mental health disorders) Anti-epileptics (used for epilepsy) Many of these medications are very commonly used and can impair fertility. They can impair fertility by: Having direct hormonal effects Having toxic effect on the ovaries Reducing sex drive It's important to review your medications with your doctor and weigh the pros and cons when ttc. Here are the next steps: 1 Save this post 2 Talk to your doctor about your options 3 DM me if you have any questions! See more

Getting pregnant is not something I EVER expected to be hard. I was taught that it's REALLY easy, in fact TOO easy. I was never told that it takes couples 6-12 months on average to get pregnant or that 1 in 6 couples experience infertility. ... I never thought twice about asking someone why they weren’t pregnant yet. And I don't think I'm alone in that experience. Imagine going into something that you think is easy only to find out how incredibly difficult and laborious it could be. What do you even do? Who do you turn to? How do you find a safe space in a world that doesn't even recognize your experience? As we shine light on mental health this week, I want to encourage everyone to recognize the people in your life that may be struggling with fertility. The psychological impact is significant, and the majority of people going through it see it as one of the most upsetting experiences in their life. I encourage you to listen to their stories, learn about the issues, and ask them how you can best support them. Let's learn to check our biases and recognize how we can be more mindful towards others Here are some accounts that help with that... @infertility_is_ @fertility_canada Sending lots of love to my fertility patients this week . #bellletstalk #fertility #ttccommunity #ttcjourney #ttcsupport #miscarriagesupport #miscarriage See more

My top 3 favorite anti-oxidants for fertility... I LOVE using anti-oxidants with all my fertility patients because they help to improve... Egg quality... Inflammation in the reproductive organs Success of IVF cycles There are so many anti-oxidants to consider but by far my favorite (and some of the most researched) are: Melatonin Vitamin C N-acetyl-cysteine Let's talk about each one briefly... 1 Melatonin Yes melatonin is your sleep hormone but its also a potent antioxidant It's so important for fertility that the fluid inside of the ovaries is rich with melatonin Melatonin helps to improve... Egg health and quality Progesterone levels in women with luteal phase defects Likelihood of having a successful IVF cycle 2 Vitamin C Vitamin C is one of the most generic vitamins out there now but SO overlooked for its role in fertility. Its potent anti-oxidant properties can protect cells from damage, improve egg quality and progesterone production 3NAC N-acetyl-cysteine is an AMAZING amino acid for fertility. It helps to.. Improve ovulation in women with PCOS Improve insulin resistance Reduce miscarriage risk Improve live birth rates Now do you see why antioxidants are so important for fertility? Let me know in the comments below if your using any of these and/or if you have ever used them for your hormones or fertility! . . . . . #fertility #fertilitycommunity #ttccommunity #ttc #hormones #hormonebalance #hormones #hormonehealth #fertilityawareness #fertilityjourney See more

3 WAYS YOU CAN MEASURE YOUR OVARIAN RESERVE... When women work with me for fertility the first question they usually ask is "Am I still fertile?" My answer is usually lets check and see ... Truth is there is no one test that accurately checks for ovarian reserve. The tests that do check are usually done together, in order to get the best possible assessment These tests include: Day 3 FSH AMH Antral follicle count These tests check for ovarian reserve meaning we're checking for: Egg quality Egg quantity Reproductive potential Let's talk about each one... 1 Day 3 FSH This is a blood test that measures your Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) on day 3 of your cycle. FSH is the signal that is sent from your brain to your ovaries, stimulating the growth of eggs. When FSH is high (>10) it tells us that the brain has to work really hard to get hormones out of the ovaries. That means that the pool of egg reserve may be low. 2 AMH AMH is a hormone thats produced by eggs in the early stages of development. We can measure it via blood to see how much follicles we have to pool from. Low levels (<1) tell us that there may not be much reserve left. 3 Antral follicle count . This is done via ultrasound. The radiologist will actually count the number of follicles found on both ovaries. A low AFC count (3-6 in total) tells us that the number of follicles available may be low. One thing to note is that AFC can be high in women with PCOS and low in women who are on birth control Most fertility doctors will start with just testing FSH and AMH. AFC is usually reserved for special circumstances. . Running these tests gives us a clear picture on how we need to proceed given the fertility potential of the patient That’s all for now! Let me know if you have any questions by commenting below See more

LOST periods Why we need to look at stress, exercise and diet

Male fertility is just as important as female fertility... Here's some facts to help you digest that: In up to 35% of infertility cases, a male issue was also identified... 15% of males worldwide experience infertility issues 10% of all infertility cases are strictly due to male causes . I think thats enough to make us want to care about male fertility as well, don't you? The first step to evaluating male fertility is to do a sperm analysis. The 3 things from the sperm analysis that we really pay attention to are: 1Are there enough sperm cells? (concentration) 2Are the sperm good swimmers? (motility) 3Do the sperm look normal? (morphology) If any of these three factors are not good, then the chances of fertility are reduced. One of the most important things that can help with sperm health is anti-oxidants! In fact, the fluid in sperm cells has the richest amount of anti-oxidants found in any other fluid in the body. Anti-oxidants help to clean up any damage and can help to improve: Sperm concentration Sperm motility Sperm morphology Fertility success Sounds good right? One more thing...just like it takes 3 months for a developing egg to mature, it also takes 3 months for sperm cells to mature and be ready for release. That mean's men should also be getting ready to conceive, not just women. In 3 months, you can seriously improve your sperm quality and the chances for fertility. Send me a DM if you have any questions! See more

Endometriosis - what we know about the condition and how we can treat it naturally

3 natural solutions for restoring normal ovulation In my practice I use vitamins and herbs to help women ovulate and let me tell you, they work pretty well. Here are my top 3 favorite and when you should consider using them ... 1 Myo-inositol Myo-inositol is a B-vitamin that sensitizes cells to insulin. Insulin is the hormone that regulates our blood sugar. When its high, it can cause issues with ovulation. This is particularly important in PCOS, where high insulin spikes up testosterone and makes the environment around which the eggs grow really unfavorable. Myo-inositol given over a 3 month period can reduce insulin and normalize ovulation. PRO tip: You can have high insulin without having high blood sugar. If you have irregular cycles and have not tested your fasting insulin, I would highly recommend it! 2Tribulus This herb is pretty excellent at forcing ovulation. This is particularly important for women who want to get pregnant. When given for 5 days, tribulus increases FSH, the hormone that makes follicles mature into eggs. This tribulus PUSH works like fertility medications and can help women ovulate so that they have a better chance of getting pregnant. 3 Vitex I've mentioned this herb before as the queen of hormonal balance. That's because it really impacts a lot of hormones at once. It reduces prolactin, increases FSH, and increases progesterone. THE perfect combo for ovulation. I use this herb for women who have cycles > 35-40 days long or women who don't have a cycle at all. PRO tip: I know a lot of women have used vitex before, however, many of the supplement brands that offer this product don't actually have it at a high enough dose. If you have used vitex in the past, and it did not work for you, that could be why Ovulation is tricky, but it can be normalized using natural medicines Let me know if you have any questions and DOUBLE tap if you learned something new See more

Sperm health and fertility - why antioxidants are SUPER important

Ovulating doesn’t always guarantee that your making enough progesterone Yup, you heard me right. Even if your ovulating, you could not be making enough progesterone Let me explain...... Every month, women in their reproductive years release an egg (or ovulate). Once the ovary releases the egg, its produces a flower shaped follicle called the corpus luteum. The corpus luteum is in charge of making progesterone. Progesterone helps to prepare the uterus for pregnancy, just in case that egg becomes fertilized. In some cases though, the corpus luteum does not form properly not enough progesterone production. This can result in symptoms like... Cycles less than 21 days long or longer than 40 days Spotting before the first day of your period Breast pain every month Difficulty dealing with stress or experiencing high anxiety Difficulty getting pregnant Miscarriage So, why on earth would your corpus luteum not be making enough progesterone? Here are a few possible reasons... High levels of prolactin (our milk supply hormone) High oxidative stress (less anti-oxidants, more cellular damage) High life stress Low body weight If this is resonating with you, here are the next steps you should take... 1 Test your progesterone to see if its low 2 Find out why your not producing enough progesterone 3 Treat the root cause In 3 steps you can get to the root cause and optimize your ovaries production of progesterone, so that you can have perfectly balanced hormones. Let me know if you have any questions! See more

Premature ovarian failure - how I approach it using natural medicine

Why stress management is SUPER important during peri-menopause and menopause

3 natural solutions for restoring normal ovulation In my practice I use vitamins and herbs to help women ovulate and let me tell you, they work pretty well. Here are my top 3 favorite and when you should consider using them ... 1 Myo-inositol Myo-inositol is a B-vitamin that sensitizes cells to insulin. Insulin is the hormone that regulates our blood sugar. When its high, it can cause issues with ovulation. This is particularly important in PCOS, where high insulin spikes up testosterone and makes the environment around which the eggs grow really unfavorable. Myo-inositol given over a 3 month period can reduce insulin and normalize ovulation. PRO tip: You can have high insulin without having high blood sugar. If you have irregular cycles and have not tested your fasting insulin, I would highly recommend it! 2Tribulus This herb is pretty excellent at forcing ovulation. This is particularly important for women who want to get pregnant. When given for 5 days, tribulus increases FSH, the hormone that makes follicles mature into eggs. This tribulus PUSH works like fertility medications and can help women ovulate so that they have a better chance of getting pregnant. 3 Vitex I've mentioned this herb before as the queen of hormonal balance. That's because it really impacts a lot of hormones at once. It reduces prolactin, increases FSH, and increases progesterone. THE perfect combo for ovulation. I use this herb for women who have cycles > 35-40 days long or women who don't have a cycle at all. PRO tip: I know a lot of women have used vitex before, however, many of the supplement brands that offer this product don't actually have it at a high enough dose. If you have used vitex in the past, and it did not work for you, that could be why Ovulation is tricky, but it can be normalized using natural medicines Let me know if you have any questions and DOUBLE tap if you learned something new See more

Ovulating doesn’t always guarantee that your making enough progesterone Yup, you heard me right. Even if your ovulating, you could not be making enough progesterone Let me explain...... Every month, women in their reproductive years release an egg (or ovulate). Once the ovary releases the egg, its produces a flower shaped follicle called the corpus luteum. The corpus luteum is in charge of making progesterone. Progesterone helps to prepare the uterus for pregnancy, just in case that egg becomes fertilized. In some cases though, the corpus luteum does not form properly not enough progesterone production. This can result in symptoms like... Cycles less than 21 days long or longer than 40 days Spotting before the first day of your period Breast pain every month Difficulty dealing with stress or experiencing high anxiety Difficulty getting pregnant Miscarriage So, why on earth would your corpus luteum not be making enough progesterone? Here are a few possible reasons... High levels of prolactin (our milk supply hormone) High oxidative stress (less anti-oxidants, more cellular damage) High life stress Low body weight If this is resonating with you, here are the next steps you should take... 1 Test your progesterone to see if its low 2 Find out why your not producing enough progesterone 3 Treat the root cause In 3 steps you can get to the root cause and optimize your ovaries production of progesterone, so that you can have perfectly balanced hormones. Let me know if you have any questions! See more

Environmental chemicals that disrupt hormones and impact fertility, & how to reduce your exposure

Normal ovulatory symptoms that you don’t really need to worry about... 1 Pain Most women get concerned about pain around ovulation, but the truth is, pain can be totally normal ... Normal enlargement of the follicles can cause pain known as the Mittelschmerz reaction. This pain is typically Mild One sided Lasting for a few hours to few days It should NOT be... Severe Sudden Lasting for many days Accompanied with a fever 2Discharge Changes in hormones cause changes in vaginal discharge. TOTALLY normal and good. Normal ovulatory discharge is... Clear Stretchy Slippery It should not be... Smelly Coloured 3Bleeding This is a tricky one! It can be normal...sometimes. With drops in hormones, you can get some mid-cycle spotting. HOWEVER...you need to evaluate further because it can be serious. Causes of mid-cycle bleeding include... Cervix issues Pregnancy Infection So look into it further if you are bleeding mid-cycle. In conclusion, ovulation is a tricky hormonal time accompanied with lots of normal symptoms Hope that helped clarify some of them! Let me know if you have any questions by commenting See more

My experience with insomnia and how i started to sleep again

Things that you think are moving the needle in your health...but really aren’t. Tell me. Are you doing any of these? Taking supplements without knowing the proper dose... Taking things you’ve heard are good Trying a million different things without knowing the root cause Taking things a sales associate recommended after 1 minute of talking to you I hope not You see...the difference between people who get real results with their health vs. people who feel stuck and confused is the type of health care they decide to pursue The person who finally feels in control of their health is the one that manages to: . Find out the root cause behind their health issues Implements targeted treatments that really treats the root cause Medicine is good, but without knowing why and how to use it, its USELESS. That's why I strongly advocate that you channel your resources towards getting the help that will actually move the needle in your health, SO THAT you can have... More energy Balanced hormones Better sleep Less pain Great digestion Stable and sound mood Health you can finally be proud of Shoot me a DM if your ready to move the needle in your health...the right way See more

Why egg quality lowers as you age and how you can improve it... We all have heard that women have an internal clock for fertility potential So much so that after the age of 35, our egg quality and quantity declines significantly ... This is due to a number of reasons but most importantly is that as we age there is more oxidative stress (less antioxidants) damage to cells To support and improve egg quality we have to look at oxidative stress, our antioxidants, and supporting our cells. We can do this by: Not smoking (HUGE oxidative stress) Keeping a healthy body weight Limiting alcohol intake Exercising/moving regularly Eating foods rich with antioxidants Limiting our exposure to environmental toxins Maintaining good blood sugar balance Using proven supplements Don't fall victim to your biological clock, instead take control The sooner you take these steps to improve it, the better. Let me know if you have any questions by commenting below! P.S. Download my 3 steps to hormonal balance to get started on your healthy hormone journey today

How to diagnose polycystic ovarian syndrome & key lab tests that help determine the root cause

5 key hormonal tests women should do when wanting to get pregnant

How I use simple ingredients in my practice to get BIG results If you watched my video on heavy menstrual bleeding, you know it can commonly be caused by growth of extra tissue. Either because women are not ovulating and so estrogen continues to stimulate the growth of the uterine lining (the same lining that sheds during menses) OR there is growth of tissue in the case of fibroids/polys/endometrial tissue.... In both of these cases, estrogen has dominated extra tissue growth heavier bleeding. Enter cruciferous vegetables... Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, and brussel sprouts contain metabolites like DIM and I3C that help breakdown and detoxify estrogen gently through the liver. By using these metabolites in high doses (via supplements) we can actually reduce bleeding while going after the root cause. Other uses for I3C and DIM include: . Breast tenderness PMS Acne Lessening side effects of birth control Fatty liver SO much more. . Amazing what broccoli can do right?? Let me know in the comments if you've ever used DIM or I3C before and what you've used it for! P.S. Make sure to download my 3 steps to hormonal balance guide so you can learn more tips and tricks to achieve healthy hormones See more

3 POWERFUL herbs for hormonal balance I absolutely love using herbs to help women achieve hormonal balance because they can be SUPER effective with very little side effects Here are my 3 favorite herbs for hormonal balance ... #1 Vitex (Chasteberry) If your cycles are irregular or you have serious PMS, this herb can be a game-changer. Vitex works by... Lowering hormones that are getting in the way of normal cycles like high testosterone, high prolactin, and high estrogen. Increasing progesterone by regulating ovulation. Inducing opioid like effects that help with mood and pain with each cycle. #2 White peony If your cycles are irregular or you have unwanted hair growth due to high levels of testosterone, this herb is for you! White peony is fantastic for lowering testosterone and helping to regulate normal ovulatory cycles, especially for women with PCOS. #3 Black cohosh This herb has been used for generations to support female hormonal imbalances, and is one of the best studied herbs for menopause. Research has shown that black cohosh can significantly reduce hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms like vaginal dryness, headaches, and low mood The reality is there is a perfect herb out there for your hormonal needs. Comment below if you’ve ever used any of these herbs and/or send me a DM if you want help knowing which herb is best for you

Heavy menstrual bleeding Whats abnormal and finding out the root cause

Women’s cycles usually get longer when they are between 25-30 years old. That means if your cycles were usually 28 days long, you might notice that its now 30 days long. This is completely normal and marks one of many transitions that women experience throughout the years ... However, if your cycles start to become longer than 35 days - then we have a problem we need to look into. Otherwise, once the 40 year mark hits, women usually experience the opposite. Their cycles tend to get shorter. You know what that means...more periods These changes don’t always happen so graciously either. It might come with a lot of annoying symptoms like heavier bleeding, days of spotting, and PMS. If you have questions or concerns about your hormonal transitions, send me a DM and lets talk P.S. Make sure your download your free 3 steps to hormonal balance guide to start on your healthy hormone journey today See more