Infertility Treatment in Greenville, SC
Infertility Treatment at IHP Greenville — TCM, in-house herbal pharmacy, functional medicine. Dr. Hendry, DAOM. Call (864) 365-6156.
"I drive past his office every day, I'm so glad a trusted friend referred me! Dr. Hendry and I are working on hormone overall balance and possible estrogen dominance. I get acupuncture and love the results."
— Katlyn Garcia · April 2022 · Google Review
"Unexplained infertility" is a label that often means the conventional workup ran out of tests before it found the cause. I rarely fail to find treatable factors in these cases. Subclinical hypothyroidism at a TSH of 3.5 — normal by conventional ranges, suboptimal for implantation. Vitamin D at 28 — a level where oocyte mitochondrial function is impaired. Sperm DNA fragmentation above 25% — normal on the standard semen analysis but explaining repeated failed transfers. I investigate what the conventional fertility workup doesn't, and I treat what I find.
How Infertility Treatment Works
Infertility evaluation at IHP covers both partners. For women: Chinese medical diagnosis, full reproductive hormone panel, thyroid evaluation, inflammatory markers, nutritional status, gut health. For men: Chinese medical diagnosis, semen analysis review, hormone testing (testosterone, FSH, LH, prolactin), oxidative stress evaluation, and nutritional assessment. Treatment protocols are individualized based on findings.
Conditions Treated with Infertility Treatment
Functional Medicine Infertility Workup vs. Proceeding Directly to IVF
IVF is a remarkable technology with documented success rates that have improved substantially over the past two decades. For tubal factor infertility, severe male factor, or diminished ovarian reserve that has not responded to other interventions, IVF is the appropriate clinical path. The concern arises when IVF is recommended as first-line treatment for couples with unexplained infertility or mild subfertility, bypassing a functional evaluation that might identify correctable causes. A couple where the female partner has undiagnosed Hashimoto's thyroiditis with a TSH of 3.8, subclinical insulin resistance, and an MTHFR homozygous variant — all within conventional normal ranges but functionally significant — may fail IVF repeatedly while the underlying physiology remains unaddressed. The cost of this approach, financial and physical, is substantial. Our functional medicine workup identifies these correctable factors before or concurrent with ART, using targeted herbal medicine, nutritional intervention, and acupuncture to optimize the uterine and hormonal environment. When IVF is appropriate, the evidence of Smith C et al. and Paulus WE et al. supports acupuncture integration at transfer to maximize implantation outcomes. Functional medicine does not compete with IVF — it optimizes the patient for whatever reproductive pathway they are on.
Research & Evidence
Functional medicine evaluation of infertility extends beyond cycle tracking and semen analysis to encompass the systemic physiological factors that impair reproductive function before anatomical or pharmacological intervention is necessary. Key domains include thyroid function (even subclinical hypothyroidism impairs folliculogenesis and implantation), adrenal cortisol patterns (HPA axis activation suppresses GnRH pulsatility), insulin resistance and PCOS-spectrum ovarian dysfunction, MTHFR variants affecting folate metabolism and implantation, and gut dysbiosis affecting estrogen clearance through the estrobolome. Smith C et al. (Fertil Steril, 2006;88(5):1149-1156) demonstrated that acupuncture significantly improved pregnancy rates in IVF patients, consistent with its regulatory effect on the neuroendocrine axis. Paulus WE et al. (Fertil Steril, 2002;77(4):721-724) established the foundational evidence for acupuncture at embryo transfer, showing a 16.2 percentage point improvement in clinical pregnancy rate. Zhang H et al. (Metabolism, 2008) demonstrated berberine's efficacy for insulin resistance — directly relevant to PCOS-associated infertility where hyperinsulinemia drives androgen excess and anovulation. The functional medicine workup creates a personalized biochemical map that directs intervention to the actual drivers of reproductive failure.
Your First Appointment
Both partners should ideally attend the initial consultation or at least provide complete health information. Bring all prior fertility testing for both partners. Infertility history — duration, prior treatments, prior pregnancies — is central to treatment planning.
Why Dr. Hendry for Infertility Treatment
Dr. Hendry's functional medicine investigation finds treatable factors in many cases labeled 'unexplained infertility' by conventional medicine — subclinical hypothyroidism, antisperm antibodies, oxidative stress in sperm, low progesterone, and silent gut dysbiosis all affect fertility and are identifiable with the appropriate testing.