← Rena Malik, MD Podcast
Rena Malik, MD Podcast
Moment: Trying to Get Pregnant? Don’t Make THIS Common Mistake! Ft. Dr. Lora Shahine
00:10:06
In this episode, Dr. Lora Shahine explores how to select a fertility clinic, warning about common red flags and emphasizing the importance of personal fit and communication. She also addresses the prevalence of infertility, the critical role of semen analysis, and misconceptions about testosterone use in men trying to conceive.
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- [00:01]
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- [00:44]
Podcast Host
And for delivery in terms of when you're looking at a fertility clinic for say you've gone through six to 12 months of, you know, inability to have a baby and you've been trying to what are some red flags that people should look for when picking a fertility clinic?
- [01:03]
Dr. Laura Shaheen
There's nothing like a personal recommendation because having a friend or a loved one or your doctor tell you like your OB GYN or your primary care doctor tell you, like, hey, I have shared patients with this clinic and they have a really good reputation. Sometimes doctors are going to be a little bit less forthcoming with negative comments just because, you know, gosh, maybe one person had a negative comment, but you could sort of say, hey, I'm looking at these clinics, you know, would you kind of favor one over another? I think that's really helpful. I mean, online reviews are helpful, but definitely don't take every single review at face value because it's just, it's kind of a mess. So like having your doctor, having your friend that went through fertility treatment, that can be really helpful. I think that sort of red flags. I would say maybe not, maybe not red flags for a whole clinic, but if you do have a consult, a red flag is that doctor is not listening to you. You don't feel like they are listening to you, don't feel like they're answering your questions. You feel like you maybe said at the beginning of the consult you really don't want to do ivf. And they just keep talking about it the whole time and no other alternatives. That's a red flag. If they, you know, again, just don't answer your questions like, hey, I'm really curious about, you know, endocrine disruptors and how that impacts know, fertility. Someone that just dismisses it dismisses you or makes you feel stupid for asking a question. Because of course, you know, no matter what it is. But someone who says, like, oh, you know what? That's a really interesting question. I'm looking into that myself. Or, I mean, that's how I learn. I learn from my patients every single day. Because there's so much information out there. I'll never say, like, oh, just because I haven't heard of it means that it's not a thing. It's like, okay, let's think about this together. So finding a doctor or a clinic that's going to partner with you, I think is a really good green flag.
- [02:56]
Podcast Host
Yeah, no, I like that. I think in general, you should always go with your gut instinct about your doctor. So if you go in and you feel like that didn't feel good, like that's. That's just a general feeling. Right. Like that didn't feel good, that's probably not the doctor for you. And trust me, we won't be offended. Like, I know I'm not for everybody, and that's okay. Right? Like, we do the best we can. We try to be the best doctors we can, but not everyone's going to like my approach, and that's okay. Right. And so if that doctor gets mad at you for getting a second opinion, if you end up going back to them, then that's also a red flag, I would say.
- [03:31]
Dr. Laura Shaheen
Totally agree. I think second opinions are valuable, especially in something like fertility or a cancer diagnosis, where there really are a lot of different approaches. Makes a ton of sense to get multiple opinions and figure out what's right for you.
- [03:46]
Podcast Host
Is there anything else you think people should know about infertility that we haven't covered today?
- [03:50]
Dr. Laura Shaheen
Just how common it is. You know, it's one in six couples that are trying to conceive will suffer with infertility. Also, just how common it is for a male factor component, up to 50% of the time, there's a male factor component of the fertility. And so please don't skip the semen analysis. Like, it is so essential if I tell people, if you had to choose one fertility test to do before you even went to see a doctor, like, get a semen analysis, because it is so valuable and relatively inexpensive to a lot of things.
- [04:26]
Podcast Host
And so easy.
- [04:28]
Dr. Laura Shaheen
So easy. Exactly. One thing that I think is so important is that a lot of people are still coming to me trying to conceive, taking testosterone. And for. In men, this, they don't realize that that can shut down sperm production. And there's a lot of primary care doctors that are prescribing testosterone because they really think that they can be helpful. It like, kind of makes like logical sense, like, oh, you need more sperm. I'm going to give you testosterone. That's going to, you know, boost your sperm count. And it's the exact opposite. So I just would love to take the opportunity to remind people, do not take testosterone if you're a man and you are trying to have a baby. Yes.
- [05:07]
Podcast Host
And if you are on testosterone for real reasons, like you have hypogonad, talk to your urologist about bridging you. We have guidelines on how to do that, on how to, you know, add HCG and take away testosterone and do Clomid and other things that we can offer you to help, you know, ramp up your sperm production while still augmenting your testosterone so you don't have to feel bad. Because the thing about it is when you go off testosterone, people feel pretty bad. And so until their body starts ramping up its own natural production. And so there are ways to bridge that, to make it, make it work for you. And depending on, depending on how long you've been on testosterone, it could be a pretty short process. And if you've been on it for very long, it could take longer. But ultimately there are ways to do it. You are not doomed.
- [05:51]
Dr. Laura Shaheen
That's great. That's really good reminder.
- [05:54]
Podcast Host
Yeah. So we end our podcast with a few questions we ask everyone. They don't have to be about infertility, but they can be if you'd like. So what is something you know now that you wish you knew earlier?
- [06:04]
Dr. Laura Shaheen
I wish I knew earlier that I'm not going to be the doctor for everyone. That is really humbling. You go into medicine to truly help people and you sort of feel like with that goal, how could I not be the perfect doctor for everyone? I'm trying really, really hard and it is okay if you are not a good fit. It's very humbling to be a, you know, to be a doctor that's caring and have people say you're just not a good fit. But it's okay.
- [06:32]
Podcast Host
It is hard because I think, I don't know about you, but I'm a people pleaser by nature and so it feels sad when someone doesn't like me. I've certainly also gotten over that pretty quickly. What's a non negotiable something you have to do every day?
- [06:46]
Dr. Laura Shaheen
Sleep. Sleep is one of the most important parts of my day. If I get out of sync and I'm not sleeping the whole next day or even longer is, I'm just a wreck and I really learned this in my OB GYN residency and UCSF San Francisco because like I would just be on night call and inability to sleep. And I just learned really, really young how valuable it is for me. So anything that's disrupting my sleep really have to think long and hard about because it's just such a non negotiable for me.
- [07:19]
Podcast Host
What is a different life hack or health hack you would share with us?
- [07:24]
Dr. Laura Shaheen
A life hack is the sooner that you realize that you are not going to please everyone, the happier you are going to be. So you just touched on that. And I think one of the amazing things, I'm turning 50 this year. I still can't believe it, but it is so empowering to come into a stage of life where I'm like, I'm not going to please everyone. I'm not going to be able to do everything and I'm going to make really solid choices about who I spend my time with and you know, how I move forward because you start to realize we're not here forever and you got to make choices that are right for you.
- [07:58]
Podcast Host
Absolutely. If you couldn't be an infertility doctor, an author, podcaster, what would you be?
- [08:05]
Dr. Laura Shaheen
I really do think I would do branding and content creation, education. I love being a doctor and I love taking care of people, but oh my gosh, I really do love educating and I just realized that I couldn't do it. And I mean, it's so luxurious. We have like an hour visit with new patients in my practice. That's amazing. But still, at the end I'm like, oh my gosh, I haven't talked to you about nutrition. I haven't talked to you about what prenatal vitamins, you know, I recommend. And so I'm like, hey, this is why I have a YouTube channel. This is why I've written books, because we can't cram it in. I think it's like patients remember less than 10% of what actually happens in a doctor patient visit because it's just a lot. It's overwhelming. And so to create content that people can go back to and systematically get their questions answered, it's a gift and I just love it.
- [08:53]
Podcast Host
It really is. I enjoy content creation too. So, Dr. Shaheen, where can people find you?
- [08:59]
Dr. Laura Shaheen
Oh, thanks. You can find everything on my website, drlaurashahin.com that's where you can find direct links to my podcast, a brave and curious podcast that's on YouTube and Apple. And everywhere you listen to podcasts, you can find my YouTube channel for long form education content and then TikTok and Instagram just for fun.
- [09:16]
Podcast Host
Well, thank you so much. If you like that clip with Dr. Laura Shaheen, check out the full episode right here.