Has anyone tried acupuncture?

ritacita

Have any of you tried acupuncture? I'm told it can work well for infertility and even boost your odds with IVF (we are on an IUI cycle). We have unexplained infertility, so I'm pretty much up for trying anything and just curious if any if you have stories (good or bad) before I throw more cash at the problem (not covered by insurance). Any chance it could lessen the side effects of fertility meds? That alone would be worth it!

kristyn831

The acupuncture definitely helped with my mood and anxiety. We are dealing with MFI so me getting acupuncture wouldn't help with fertility.  I do like that it calms me.  I also have some friends who dealt with female factor IF and they say acupuncture helped.

ky29

There's an acupuncturist that works with my REs office. I tried it out for 3 natural cycles and our final IUI cycle. It did help with anxiety. And now I'm going back for my ivf cycle.

Rachaeleigh

I received acupuncture treatments for several months, during our first two IUI cycles and then during some non treatment cycles
It significantly decreased my anxiety and improved my mood. I've been thinking that I need to go back...

je333206

I've only done two sessions, but I had more follicles- who knows if that was the femara or the acupuncture. It did help with the anxiety and made me happier and much more relaxed, I think it's worth a shot, it can't hurt!

MyFirstRaspberry

I've done fertility acupuncture on and off for over a year now. As PPs have mentioned acupuncture helps with relaxation. From a fertility stand point, acupuncture can help increase blood flow to your uterus and assist with getting your body to function properly (think ovulation). I O'ed earlier on natural cycles with acupuncture (I have SUPER long irregular cycles). That said, if you already O normally then beyond stress relief, I don't know for sure what acupuncture will do for fertility.

I am about to start my first medicated IUI cycle and I am planning to do weekly acupuncture appts to compliment my treatment. My acupuncturist will review my temp charts and/or ask me where in my cycle I am. Then change up my acupuncture treatment to meet the needs of my cycle.

lisa89760

I haven't done it but I have a needle phobia so sticking needles in me to relax me just doesn't seem like it will work lol I know people who love it though

loveinkw13

I do! We have an unexplained IF DX just like you, too. I love it. Granted, I haven't seen any success from it, but it helps with my anxiety and stress as PP's said. 

emmuffy

I tried it for one cycle and found it helped me relax (at a time when I really needed help with that) but made no difference fertility-wise

Hollowvic

****Pregnancy mentioned**** I've never done acupuncture , but I've considered it. They offer it at my RE, but I'm in the process of switching and I'm not sure if my new RE offers it. Anyhoo, I do know someone who swears she got pg bc of it, she said it helped her stress tremendously, she did it after 9 months of trying and got pg that month, not sure if it's a coincidence or not, but it's worth a try.

SarahP1986

I've been wondering about this too. I would love to try a more natural approach to ttc. Good to know this has its perks.

jenmcD11

Pros:
- Very relaxing
- Great to talk to someone about fertility issues (my acupuncturist specialized in fertility and was very warm and caring)
- Nice to feel like I was doing something proactive to increase fertility.

Cons:
- Expensive
- Still not pregnant. No evidence that it made any difference at all.

ritacita

Thanks for all the input! I might have to give it a try next month

mindaa

I'm all about natural medicine so I went 2x/month for 6 months. Not KU. Didn't really help me relax. 

I do agree with jenmcD11 that it was worth going if nothing else because research supports it as being positive for fertility, and it was nice to be proactive and give it a try. And agree that the practitioners are very holistically minded so they really do take time to get to know you and give you a chance to talk about what is going on. It was almost like a therapy session was included - a 2 for 1 deal  

Tiko99

I went for acupuncture during my last two medicated cycles. The acupuncture helped immensely with my uterine lining. My lining was thin from 3 rounds of clomid and the acupuncture got it up to 8.75 from 5.5 the day before. Well....I'm going to say it was the acupuncture, maybe it was just my body doing something right for once  

A few years back I went in for acupuncture for severe anxiety and mentioned I was having dreams about tsunamis about 4-5 nights per week. After about 5 months of intesne treatment my anxiety was "cured" and I completely stopped having tsunami dreams. I believe in acupuncture 100% you just have to give it time 

ritacita

Tiko99 said:

A few years back I went in for acupuncture for severe anxiety and mentioned I was having dreams about tsunamis about 4-5 nights per week. After about 5 months of intesne treatment my anxiety was "cured" and I completely stopped having tsunami dreams. I believe in acupuncture 100% you just have to give it time 

Good to know! I also have suffered from anxiety in the not very distant past... And honestly I'm sure it's still there somewhere waiting to freak me out. Plus I have some really fun digestive issues and I hear it's good for that too. So even if acupuncture doesn't help me get KU it's probably worth going just to do something good for my body!

MyFirstRaspberry

@ritacita I thought of you today when my RE office sent out this article on acupuncture. Happy reading!

https://www.shadygrovefertility.com/What-To-Expect-Acupuncture

ritacita

MyFirstRaspberry said:

@ritacita I thought of you today when my RE office sent out this article on acupuncture. Happy reading!

https://www.shadygrovefertility.com/What-To-Expect-Acupuncture

Great article, thank you so much!

Knottie90425591

@Je11yBean85‌ a bit late. But did you find that acupuncture helped?

misstunes

@ritacita‌ I'm so glad you posted this question because I have been researching fertility acupuncture in my area.  Everyone's responses were so helpful.  I think after our RE appointment I'm definitely going to look into this more since everything about this whole process is making me an anxious, crybaby mess!  Best of luck to you!