F.A.Q.
Q. I’m menopausal and just want off hormone patches. Could FertiGen help me?
A. Probably, yes. Menopause “rescue” has been reported many times since our first experience with FertiGen. Don’t tell the big drug companies, but FertiGen can improve ‘quality of life’ in ways just as effective – or better – than what they offer:
Declines of mental and physical function after menopause are well studied. But except for synthetic HRT drugs, there haven’t really been any significant treatment advancements in many years.
Here, just a few hours is all it takes to start a natural Ovarian Reboot with FertiGen. Our experience shows how beneficial non-reproductive effects are possible within weeks.
Q. After FertiGen, what happens next?
A. Follow up is convenient. Confirmatory tests after FertiGen may be done at any approved local commercial laboratory near home, which we arrange.
Increased AMH following FertiGen might require a few months. If this is verified, patients seeking pregnancy should consider IVF with minimal delay, either here or elsewhere. Rarely, pregnancy may be achieved without IVF.
After rejuvenation, how you write your next chapter is really up to you.
Q. I want to be pregnant again. How is FertiGen different from tubal reversal?
A. Tubal reversal is an operation under general anesthesia done on fallopian tubes for a patient who regrets her sterilization by tubal ligation. In contrast, FertiGen is an office procedure (injection) done on ovarian tissue to enhance ovarian function, irrespective of tubal status. Thus, if a patient is already in menopause or has no eggs for any other reason, undergoing a tubal reversal would be unnecessary and would accomplish nothing. It’s important to know which procedure is the right match for each case.
Q. OK, I’m interested – what’s next?
A. The first step is to get familiar with our site, especially safety and exclusions information. If you’ve read everything here, then you’ll likely know more than most about this procedure.
The clinic handles scheduling by email well in advance of your visit. But a few technical queries about FertiGen might still linger.
Although he does write papers most days, Dr. Sills is really a mediocre typist only –shh! don’t tell him— who prefers conversations over texting, emailing etc. Phone consults are thru CAG via +1-949-899-5686 (direct).
Q. Will my insurance cover FertiGen? If not, what is the approximate cost of this procedure?
A. It is difficult to generalize about individual health plan coverage, but most insurance will not preauthorize any experimental or investigational treatment (as both FertiGen and EPF are classified, for now). Please review all terms & conditions of your particular health plan to clarify policy extent and limitations.
If your health insurance plan disallows FertiGen or EPF as a covered claim, contact CAG for detailed remittance advice. For international patients or for those with no insurance cover, total out of pocket cost for either EPF or FertiGen should be about US$5000 for most cases.
Q. Is it safe to do FertiGen more than once?
A. It’s too soon to know for sure. Some women have completed a second FertiGen treatment without difficulty. This could be akin to immune responses where a “booster shot” is required for full protection. And, many are aware of ancient accounts describing treatments involving a two-stage approach.
22 Καὶ ἔρχονται εἰς Βηθσαϊδάν. καὶ φέρουσιν αὐτῷ τυφλὸν, καὶ παρακαλοῦσιν αὐτὸν ἵνα αὐτοῦ ἅψηται. 23 καὶ ἐπιλαβόμενος τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ τυφλοῦ ἐξήνεγκεν αὐτὸν ἔξω τῆς κώμης, καὶ πτύσας εἰς τὰ ὄμματα αὐτοῦ, ἐπιθεὶς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῷ, ἐπηρώτα αὐτόν, εἴ τι βλέπεις; 24 καὶ ἀναβλέψας ἔλεγεν: βλέπω τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ὅτι ὡς δένδρα ὁρῶ περιπατοῦντας. 25 εἶτα πάλιν ἐπέθηκεν τὰς χεῖρας ἐπὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ, καὶ διέβλεψεν, καὶ ἀπεκατέστη, καὶ ἐνέβλεπεν τηλαυγῶς ἅπαντα. 26 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτὸν εἰς οἶκον αὐτοῦ λέγων: μηδὲ εἰς τὴν κώμην εἰσέλθῃς. 22 Et veniunt Bethsaidam, et adducunt ei cæcum, et rogabant eum ut illum tangeret. 23 Et apprehensa manu cæci, eduxit eum extra vicum: et exspuens in oculos ejus impositis manibus suis, interrogavit eum si quid videret. 24 Et aspiciens, ait: Video homines velut arbores ambulantes. 25 Deinde iterum imposuit manus super oculos ejus: et cœpit videre: et restitutus est ita ut clare videret omnia. 26 Et misit illum in domum suam, dicens: Vade in domum tuam: et si in vicum introieris, nemini dixeris. from WESTCOTT & HORT (1881); MK 8:22-26 |
We do not yet know why some ovaries might require multiple platelet-derived growth factor exposures over time, although the baseline platelet level could inform part of the answer.
Q. My friend had “enriched platelet factors” for ovarian rejuvenation, is this better?
A. Most likely, your friend was a research patient here. As the NIH-registered clinical study was concluding, injection of EPF/enriched platelet factors became available at CAG for women who did not respond to regular PRP. Here, we’re using EPF for a reproductive application and CAG is believed to the only IVF clinic doing so.
So, what’s the difference? With EPF ovarian access is the same as FertiGen, but what’s injected into ovarian tissue is concentrated, ultra-dense (but platelet free) autologous growth factors instead.
CAG is studying this cell-free “turbo” option to boost ovarian responsiveness as a possible precursor to IVF. Although EPF was initially considered a high-potency secondary treatment reserved for older women or if the response to conventional PRP was disappointing, some patients have taken EPF as their first-line therapy.
Notes
[1] the original PRP protocol as pioneered in Greece
[2] Dr. Sills is the Principal Investigator as listed with ClinicalTrials.gov
[3] RegenLab (Lausanne)
[4] about ovarian reserve
[5] First data on in vitro fertilization and blastocyst formation after intraovarian injection of calcium gluconate-activated autologous platelet rich plasma, by E. Scott Sills, Natalie S. Rickers, Xiang Li, and Gianpiero D. Palermo, March 2018