When used daily, I recommend doing my program for 3 months to prepare for getting pregnant and then continuing to use it until pregnant. Generally women get results between 3-6 months, depending on the severity of their situation. But the program will no matter how much time you have before your upcoming fertility treatment, even if just a few week.

I recommend using the program to prepare for 3 months before beginning your next IVF cycle. It takes 90 days for your egg to mature. This gives you the full 90 days to improve your egg maturation cycle, which includes balancing the hormones, increasing blood flow to the uterus and ovaries and improving the uterine lining.

If you don’t have a full 90 days to prepare with the program, utilize the program as best as you can during the time that you have. Every effort will help to support your cycle. Be sure to continue the program after the transfer and throughout the first trimester.

The Phase 3 Protocol is to be used up to 7 days past ovulation. Implantation happens 7-12 days past ovulation. On average it’s around day 9-10 past ovulation. These points, Large Intestine 4 and Spleen 6, relax the uterus and fallopian tubes and are two of the most important points for reproductive health and supporting this phase.

From implantation and onward, I no longer include these points in the protocols for this reason. I use these points clinically all the time during the ovulation phase for years with great success. So don’t worry, it is safe during Phase 3.

I should add that these points are also important for preventing an ectopic pregnancy because of their effect on relaxing the fallopian tubes.

The “trigger shot” is for those doing a medicated or IUI cycle. Their doctors may prescribe a shot that triggers ovulation. If you’re doing a natural cycle, then you can disregard this.

Yes, you may see immediate changes in your cycle and symptoms. Sometimes things seem to get worse before they get better. This is normal. Your cycle may get shorter or longer, lesser or more bleeding, cleaning out of old tissue, increased PMS symptoms, etc. The hormones and your body are adjusting themselves.

If there are any specific points that you find tricky, you can take a picture of where you think it is on your body and send it to me and I’ll let you know if you’re in the right spot and/or how to adjust it. But don’t worry, you can’t hurt anything by not having the location perfect. If the point is tender, then you are likely in the right area. The points are about a nickel to quarter-sized in diameter.

You certainly can do them 3x/day if you’d like. It can always help, but won’t hurt.

Anytime of day is fine. You can do them on an empty or full stomach.

You do each point for the same amount of time in the video. (About 1 minute each.) Yes, you can use any finger.

You can skip doing the acupressure protocols on the day you’ve had an acupuncture treatment. It is not harmful to do both in the same day, however. For maximum benefit and to reduce redundancy, if you decide to do both of these therapies in the same day, space them out a few hours if possible.

Follow the video exactly as it is instructs. It is correct that you are only stimulating those points on one side each.

Yes, that’s perfectly fine

Quite often when you incorporate health changes, things seem to get worse before they get better. If everything was fine and normal, then you wouldn’t have a problem getting pregnant.

More often than not, these increased symptoms are a GOOD sign that your body is making changes. Your body is making adjustments.

More cramping may mean more blood moving. Heavier and clottier periods at first may indicated your uterus cleaning itself out. Increased PMS symptoms may be due to hormonal adjustments and increased reproductive hormones being released.

Taking longer to ovulate may be a result of your body building up more blood, nutrients and hormones to promote a fully mature egg and complete ovulation process. It may be that your ovulation was weak or not a true ovulation before.

Refer to this guide

The points aren't specifically for increasing the progesterone, but rather balancing the body overall to balance hormones and improve reproductive hormone output. Many factors contribute to progesterone (hormone) levels (stress, digestion, blood flow, reproductive energy). So all of the protocols will help to support your progesterone (hormone) levels. The Implantation Protocol, for instance, supports Kidney Yang energy, which is the warming energy. Progesterone is the warming hormone.

It can be normal. It depends on where are you in your cycle and if you frequently have mid-cycle spotting.

You can do all the qigong exercises during pregnancy. 🙂

Yes, when you practice the program regularly, it can help you to ovulate.

The acupressure could have that much of an immediate effect, but the increased amount of bleeding could be from a combination of both the acupressure and coming off the meds.

It's better to keep the leg flat and your body as relaxed as possible.

In the Natural Calendar it explains that in the case of not having a period, you can follow the 4 phases of the program as if you did. It will help to get your cycle into a rhythm. So begin with Phase 1, then Phase 2, Phase 3 and Phase 4 each for 7 days until you get a period or confirmed ovulation.

When your body is showing signs of getting ready to ovulate--like egg white cervical mucus or a positive LH surge (positive OPK), start phase 3. But don't worry if you're 100% sure. It's fine if it's not precise.

It’s totally safe and helps women prepare for a healthy pregnancy after a history of miscarriage. Points are specified for certain times in the cycle and no points are used during the implantation phase and thereafter that can cause uterine contractions.

It’s preferable to do them in the order shown in the video in one session, however if doing it out of order and/or not all at once is the only way to fit them into your daily routine, then yes, that’s fine. It’s better to do them that way than not at all. Do the best that you can.

Yes, it is normal to feel tenderness at some points. This is usually an indication that the point needs the attention and will help your body. But you can be gentle when applying pressure so as not bruise yourself or cause too much discomfort.

If you're not in the United States, you can purchase Metagenics at the following links:

Canada: https://www.metagenicscanada.com/
Europe: https://www.metagenics.eu/
Australia: http://metagenics.com.au/

Yes, you can do it immediately after doing the 4-Phase protocol. You can skip any points that are repeated so that you're only doing each point once.

Yes, if you are doing the protocols back to back, then you can skip the repeated points. If you are doing them separately, as in a few hours apart, then do not skip those points.

Yes, they are safe to do during any time. The only points that should be avoided between ovulation and your period and/or during pregnancy are Spleen 6 and Large Intestine 4. If either of these points are in the bonus protocol you are doing, then skip just those points.

Always refer to the FAM™ Calendars for the most updated instructions on when and how frequently in your cycle to use each of the FAM™ tools.

As a general rule of thumb, I suggest alternating them every other other day with one day off in between and alternating between the castor oil packs and moxa. For instance - Day 1: moxa / Day 2: castor oil pack / Day 3: off / Day 4: moxa / Day 5: castor oil pack / Day 6: off. You can increase or decrease the frequency depending on your needs (based on the self-assessment tracker) and how your body is responding.

I do not recommend doing a castor oil pack over your abdomen on the same day as the moxa over your abdomen. However you can do a castor oil pack over the liver on the same day as moxa (stick on leg moxa and/or the moxa belt).

If you're on birth control or any medications to suppress your natural cycle for 10 days or less, use phase 2 until you either get your period or start your active fertility treatment cycle (then follow the FET or IVF calendars). If you're on birth control or any medications to suppress your cycle for more than 10 days, alternate between each phase every 3 days beginning with Phase 1. For instance, Phase 1: days 1-3 / Phase 2: days 4-6 / Phase 3: days 7-9 / Phase 4: days 10- 12. Then repeat. As always, if you could be pregnant, omit points Spleen 6 and Large Intestine 4.

Once you get to day 14 of your cycle, switch to phase 3 whether or not you've confirmed ovulation. If you still don't ovulate within 7 days and your ovulation is significantly late causing a delayed period, alternate between phase 2 and phase 3 every other day until you get your period then begin again with phase 1.

I recommend purchasing an acupressure massage tool. Simply search on Amazon or Google for "acupressure massage tool" or "reflexology tool". Most are under $10-20. There are different types. Pick the one that looks the best to you.

Please refer to this resource for guidance on how to continue with FAM.

Please refer to the Pregnancy Do's and Don'ts

Use this protocol if/when you're spotting once pregnant, and/or if you have extended luteal phase spotting. Also always discuss with your doctor if you have any irregular bleeding.

• Consult your doctor about heat (moxa or castor oil packs) over the area or any other specific movements/therapies/or changes to supplements as they may interfere with medications.
• Consult your doctor regarding how long it takes for the area to heal. Unless the doctor is okay with placing heat over the surgical area, then wait until the length of time specified by the doctor to use a moxa belt or castor oil pack over the area.
• For detox concerns (with medication): use a castor oil pack over liver
• For bloating from medications and/or invasive surgery: use the post-retrieval protocol
• Refer to the Symptom Tracker to decide what to focus on specifically (i.e. stuck liver energy, warming the kidney energy, supporting digestion). If you're having a lot of symptoms in a specific category, apply the recommendations for that category from the tracker.
• Where are you in your cycle? Based on the above recommendations, once the initial healing phase has passed, resume the program based on your cycle or continue the post-retrieval protocol until you get your period.