Kristen Burris, L.Ac. is a nationally-recognized acupuncturist and herbalist for women’s health and fertility, located in the Boise, Idaho area.
Ms. Burris’ primary focus is women’s health. She treats patients for infertility, menstrual irregularities, ailments during pregnancy and hormonal imbalances throughout menopause. Kristen is one of the only acupuncture experts in Idaho with extensive experience in the IVF process and has provided acupuncture to patients during IVF and IUI procedures. Ms. Burris often accompanies patients during their In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) procedures to increase pregnancy by 50% (Sterility and Fertility)April 2002 and 2006.
Her practice is not limited to women’s health exclusively. She treats patients for everything from migraines to low back pain to irritable bowel syndrome. Ms. Burris is an advocate for integrating Eastern and Western medicine for optimal health. Kristen combines her skills of acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and nutrition with her compassionate approach to promote healing in her patients.
Ms. Burris and her husband, Tony Burris L.Ac., M.S., are the founders of the wellness center American Acupuncture Center in Eagle, Idaho Her vast experience enabled her to treat patients at San Diego Hospice, UCSD Free Clinic and UCSD Dental Acupuncture Study. The majority of her referrals are from medical doctors, including several of the most prestigious fertility centers in the country.
Did you know? Kristen is an award-winning photographer.
“Finding the Calm During the Storm”
By Kristen Burris, L.Ac., M.S.T.O.M
When you can’t have a child it can feel as though someone has ruined your life. A whirlwind of emotions may haunt you as you search desperately for other options. You or your partner may be asking, “Why us”? You may be sick and tired of “everything baby” around you and you may feel awful when asked, “Do you have any children?” You may feel as if this excruciatingly painful part of your life will never end. The good news is: it will resolve, you are not alone and you have more options than you think.
One thing you may not be aware of is the fact that acupuncture could increase your chances of getting pregnant by over 50% (Sterility and Fertility April 2002 and April 2006). Many patients have had success combining acupuncture with in-vitro fertilization cycles, inseminations, and/or pharmaceuticals with intercourse. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can also be used exclusively to treat patients before they attempt more invasive therapies or after couples have been told they will never be able to get pregnant. Time and again acupuncture has helped couples conceive when they were told that would never be an option.
For many people, acupuncture is the last thing they think about when they are having a difficult time conceiving. Acupuncture may seem like an unlikely match for tackling depression, calming anxieties, and enhancing fertility. In the past, the least likely person to tell you about acupuncture and herbal medicine was your physician, but that has changed. Many physicians work side-by-side and make referrals to acupuncturists to decrease stress and increase fertility in their patients.
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine work by treating imbalances and diseases in the body that are prohibiting conception or the ability to carry a child. We are familiar with many terms through western medical terminology: endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, high FSH levels, poor sperm count, poor motility and poor morphology and the all too common and frustrating diagnosis of unexplained infertility. Chinese medicine views these diseases through images projected in nature, such as too much heat in the uterus or dampness obstructing the reproductive organs.
This is more easily understood when a Chinese medical term aligns nicely with a Western medical explanation of a disease. For instance: endometriosis, which often causes painful menstruation, sensitive bowel movements and tender breasts, is a common diagnosis of infertility. This pattern of disharmony according to Traditional Chinese Medicine has several potential diagnoses depending on the individual’s symptoms. If a woman has pain before her period starts, tends toward depression, has breast tenderness and blood clots that accompany her uterine cramping, this is considered blood stasis in the uterus causing pain and infertility. She needs acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine to alleviate pain and move blood stagnation in her uterus in order to increase her fertility.
If however, the patient has uterine cramping and pain AFTER the first day of her menses and she is tired and pale, then the same western diagnosis of endometriosis has a different diagnosis in Chinese medical terms. This diagnosis is called: blood deficiency causing pain in the uterus and inhibiting pregnancy. This patient would be treated with different herbs and acupuncture points that increase blood flow to the uterus and alleviate pain thereby enhancing her fertility. Describing a diagnosis as it relates to the individual’s symptoms makes sense to most patients. They can literally see the blood stagnation in their clots and they can obviously recognize their pale face when blood deficient. The medicine is easy to understand in this way and brings comfort and satisfaction to patients.
Another benefit for the person who uses acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine to increase his or her fertility is the emotional well-being and reduction of stress that accompanies treatment. Patients feel better physically and emotionally after an acupuncture session. Not only does the decreased stress help them cope with their medical procedures, but it may help them become more open to options they never would have considered before.
As acupuncturists and herbalists, we are unable to separate the mind from the body; when we are able to bring balance to the body, patients also experience balance emotionally. Patients readily feel and observe these changes during their healing process, confirming the benefits of therapy. Thankfully the majority of acupuncture patients will conceive and fulfill their dream of becoming parents. Being open to the unknown not only helps patients to have a child enter their life, but may bring peace into their heart as well.
