A new study has been released, further increasing the mounting data that toxins in our environment are harming our fertility.  It appears that these chemicals, called perfluorinated chemicals are contained in many common household and other products.  These products accumulate in the body, have a long half-life, and there is a connection between high levels of these in women and those women having difficulty getting pregnant.

It is going to be a long-haul to get a definitive, well-done scientific study done on this subject, as there as so many variables to control when it comes to fertility.  But, the connection does seem to be there and it makes sense.   These chemicals are found in food packaging, dental floss, shampoos, and non-stick substances (cookware and ScotchGard.)   An example of this would be the grease-proof wrappers for hamburgers at fast-food restaurants.   When these get hot (fresh hamburger), these chemicals are released into the food and then ingested.  The big problem is that these chemicals have a long half-life, as long as eight years.

Some common sources of these chemicals ( are:

PFCs are used to make textiles and leather resistant to water, dirt, and oil.

Grease-resistant food packaging and paper products, such as microwave popcorn bags and pizza boxes, contain PFCs.

Carpet - PFOS was used until 2002 in the manufacture of 3M’s Scotchgard treatment, used on carpet, furniture, and clothing.

PFOA is used to make DuPont’s Teflon product, famous for its use in non-stick cookware.  If Teflon-coated pans are overheated, PFOA is released.

PFCs are in cleaning and personal-care products like shampoo, dental floss, and denture cleaners.

You can see that these compounds are contained in many, many products.  I will try to include more on this important subject as I learn more.

The cost of fertility treatment is a common topic in the news, as well as on fertility discussion boards.  Last year, according to the CDC data, there were approximately 150,000 IVF cycles performed in the USA.  The average cost of a complete IVF cycle, excluding medications, was $10,500.  The cost of fertility treatment at Red Rock Fertility is only slightly higher than that, though we do include more options in our IVF package.

As the economy has taken a turn for the worse, there have been a number of places worldwide that are offering discount fertility services.  While some of these places may be able to offer quality care at a discount, it is a difficult thing to do.  There have now been two instances of poor quality medical care being offered at discount prices here in Las Vegas.  One was the GI center fiasco with Dr. Desai and now, Valley Eye Center has been shown to have ruined the vision of almost 30 patients.  The people running their LASIK center were not even eye doctors.

My husband paid around $3500 to have his eyes fixed about 6 years ago.  Valley Eye Center advertised specials for $250 per eye.  When I used to see their commercials on TV, I always wondered how they were able to discount prices so much, as most centers have to buy a new laser every 3 years, since the technology is always improving.  Well, now it is clear, they didn’t have the best technology and they did not have qualified personnel running the clinic.  Here is a link to the article describing the situation.  The eye doctors that they flew in from Colorade evidently had a pretty significant malpractice history.

The situation at the GI clinic was somewhat different, as they did have trained GI doctors performing the procedures, but they cut corners at every possible step.  I have heard rumors that Dr. Desai would only allow his staff to purchase KY Jelly for the colonoscopes if they had a coupon.  They re-used their sterilization fluid and even performed the heinous act of re-using syringes, which led to the Hepatitis C outbreak.  Dr. Desai’s clinic was extremely busy and the only GI center on many insurance plans.  Why was this?  Because he was the cheapest.  Insurance companies love cheap doctors, as they are able to keep more of the premiums.  Heaven forbid an insurance company be concerned about quality.  Here is a link to an article detailing the endoscopy center situation.

A recent patient of mine went to the Czech republic for IVF treatment.  She did feel that the clinic was reasonably well run and clean, but the patients seemed to all get plugged into the same protocol.   She stated that she felt like she was “On a conveyor belt.”  They did not spend the time to adequately diagnose her problem and she did not get pregnant.

Providing high quality medical care is expensive.  The field of fertility is no different.  The training, equipment, and supplies are all very expensive and not getting any cheaper.  If you see advertisements for discount medical care, be sure to ask many questions, as the history of discount medical care is not particularly good.

Thank you for taking the time to visit our website and blog.  I hope to be able to keep the local fertility community updated on news and events related to Red Rock Fertility Center.  I am also going to bring up news items of interest to potential patients that may help them to make more informed decisions about their fertility journey.

The incidence of infertility is growing every year.  Thankfully, the resources available to patients is growing very fast.  If you haven’t discovered them yet, there are a number of infertility discussion groups available on the web.  I participate as a moderator on FertilityTies, though there are numerous other discussion boards, such as ivfconnections.com, fertilethoughts.com, and fertilitycommunity.com.  Many of my patients have found them to be quite useful, as they are able to learn about different treatments and what has worked, and hasn’t worked for people similar to themselves.