Tried acupuncure today and thought I'd share

vballbaby

It was wonderful! I can't believe I haven't tried it until now... my Dr. agreed that it would a good idea to try it along with IVF (even though he wouldn't say yes it will definitely help fertility but no Western Dr. probably would in those words). My thoughts were to try it for relaxation and also to help with blood flow and to make better eggs, which is what the acupuncture Dr. explained it could help with. After being massaged and cupped on my back, which felt wonderful in itself, then she flipped me over and inserted the needles into my scalp, upper ears, belly, feet and hands and let me relax for about 20 minutes. You can't even feel the needles going in, I think I felt one in my foot but it wasn't painful at all. After a while I could feel the warmth building, especially in my belly!  I was never afraid it would hurt, but I honestly never imagined it would be so relaxing. It removed all the stress and tension I'd been feeling lately. I'll be going once a week, then maybe twice a week during stimming, the day before ER and then the day of after ET and then probably continue for a bit and see how things go. So..just thought I'd share with you ladies in case you're considering trying it and I'd love to hear from anyone who's already tried it and whether they thought it helped them. Yay for stress relief
edited for ER and ET plan, oh and p.s. Dr. says it will help the small cyst disappear that I got from Clomid...

CML11

I did if for the first time too! I really liked it. It was a strange experience, especially the ones in the belly, but it didn't hurt just like you said. The acupuncturist wants go see me 2x a week leading up to the ER/ET to help with egg quality.
My RE thought it was great, just asked me to skip the Chinese herbs.
I would love it if it made my ovarian cyst disappear, it gets very painful sometimes.
Good luck to you!

vballbaby

@CML11‌ my dr said the same thing, to stay away from the herbs. I still have suction cup marks on my back! Haha

BootsOrHearts

**Ticker warning**

I'm glad it was enjoyable! I hated it when I tried it so I gave it up and got a massage membership instead. :-D

tptbabe

Heck, even my ND said no herbs! (And isn't she the one who's supposed to be pushing the stuff?) I love acupuncture and will be starting it up again in January to prep for our next cycle. Glad you enjoyed it!

Dyork

I always go back and forth on whether or not to try it. I know my RE has a list of acupuncturist to go to. Maybe I'll check it out, it seems like most people have positive experiences. If all else fails @BootsOrHearts has a great idea with the massage membership! I loooove me a good massage, now if I could just find a good place by me I'd be super happy.

saysjess

This is so great to hear! I have my first acupuncture appointment on Friday! Fingers crossed in have a similar experience. Needles... Yuck.

Edited: dang autocorrect

vballbaby

@saysjess I promise you it is nothing to fear. I absolutely hate needles. ESP getting blood drawn. They are so thin you won't even feel them. It's nothing like getting a shot. I am hoping you enjoy it as much as I did. I honestly can't wait to go back!

calbiz

I'm thinking of trying acupuncture, but it may be a bit late for it to be helpful. FET is scheduled for Monday. So many of you guys have positive things to say about it!

doves654

I really like it too! I am not positive how much it helps, but at a minimum relaxing can never be a bad thing, right?

mrscsw

Why do RE's say no to the herbs?  I have done acupuncture for a while now and Love it!!  My acupuncturist did not encourage me to do herbs for any of my ER cycles.  But he recently suggested herbs for my FET since my lining does not want to thicken up.  My RE is against it, but cannot give a valid reason why.

tptbabe

cwoodward777 said:

Why do RE's say no to the herbs?  I have done acupuncture for a while now and Love it!!  My acupuncturist did not encourage me to do herbs for any of my ER cycles.  But he recently suggested herbs for my FET since my lining does not want to thicken up.  My RE is against it, but cannot give a valid reason why.

REs discourage them because they're not regulated like conventional medicines are. There's no way of knowing *exactly* what the dosages are, nor if you're actually getting what you're getting (unless you're literally growing the stuff yourself). They can also contradict some fertility meds. They can also be very powerful, and if your RE is basing your treatment plan on how your body functions without the herbs, it could change drastically while on them, often unpredictably, since people react differently to different medications. Not something I'd want to mess with while cycling!

vballbaby

@cwoodward777 I would be very cautious about taking herbs from the acupuncturist to thicken up your lining. he's not doing ultrasounds, etc. or monitoring you. I think it would be different if you were just TTC naturally. Western Dr.'s usually won't comment on Eastern philosophies, unfortunately.

vballbaby

@sunshinelady15 that's awesome! It's so nice to hear you feel your situation was helped from the acupuncture - that's what I'm hoping for! I felt the same way when I felt my belly warm up from the needles, it was a whole body sensation that honestly I've never felt before. I'm glad to hear you're still going while pregnant. I did find out that my insurance, while they won't cover the appts now, once I'm pregnant they will cover up to 20 treatments for nausea, so I'm happy to have something to look fwd to. Good luck to you!!

CML11

@vballbaby‌ she didn't do cupping to me, I'm going to ask about that in Saturday.
@Sunshinelady15‌ great to hear a success story
Research definitely shows an increase in success rates, so I'll do just about anything to improve my chances.

@cwoodward23‌ I made improvements last cycle with my lining, and actually had implantation for a little while. The one the I did differently was pure organic pomegranate juice ( not POM, that's not pure pomegranate). I mix a small amount with a mug of hot water and local honey. Maybe it wasn't the juice at all, but it makes me feel like it helped.