Acupuncture

kristylang

Hello. I had my first acupuncture treatment today. I truly enjoyed it and wanted to share my experience. I was a little nervous, but my friend recommended this doctor and supposedly he is very good with infertility women. We talked at the beginning about the history of acupuncture and what it's all about. It's not to cure me of infertility, but to balance my body and period.

With that being said he asked if I had pain anywhere. Being a 3 sport athlete in HS and playing college basketball my hips are always an issue. The massage therapist came in and massaged my hips. She was amazing and it truly relaxed me. After this the doctor came back in and began acupuncture. I had pins in my feet, legs, abdomen, and hands. It didn't hurt, just a small prick in that area. The lights were then dimmed and music was turned on low. I closed my eyes and laid still for 15 minutes. It was very relaxing and I can't wait until I go again.

The doctor explained this is to balance my body, not to cure infertility. He told me that with doing acupuncture the Chinese believe that this helps women become pregnant once their bodies are balanced. He said IUI and IVF shouldn't play a factor. I told him I wanted to still go through with IVF being a teacher and having the summer off it is just ideal. He told me he would try and balance my body before I go through this to help. He recommended me to stop drinking my decaf coffee in the morning and to try this Chinese tea instead. He also gave me some herbal supplements, but when I called my doctor to ask if these were ok to take, she couldn't give me an answer because they aren't FDA approved. Anyone get and take something such as these? I don't think I'm going to take them because I don't want to mess anything up.

I believe this will help me become relaxed and hopefully will balance my body and period. I totally recommend trying acupuncture.

Let me know if any of you have questions or have been through this and what your experience was.

GoldenKeys

My RE said that acupuncture patients have a very slight increase of success, although studies haven't proven why.   He seems to think that it's either due to increased circulation or that those who pursue it tend to do more in general concerning their health (eating right, exercise, etc).

I'm glad that you had a positive experience.  I certainly wouldn't take any herbs either without a total buy in with my RE.   Good for you for not allowing yourself to be talked out of IVF!

AndieB83

I have been doing acupuncture since July for infertility. I love it! I go around the time of ovulation & I've made the hubby go a handful of times too! Occasionally the abdomen ones over my ovaries will be tender. Otherwise it doesn't hurt. I've felt so much better! I took herbals: Maternal Herbal & Ovex from July until May. My RE said it won't hurt me at all and said I could continue taking it until I start Clomid or the IUI process. So I stopped taking herbs a few days before I started Clomid for the first time. Tomorrow I find out if my first IUI worked

kristylang

@GoldenKeys: Thank you so much for the support. My mind is set on IVF and have started focusing on becoming healthy for me. I'm excited to start this journey, I just pray we are successful with it.
@AndieB83: I'm glad you have enjoyed it. I'm excited to continue it once a week. FX for you!!! I hope you get a BFP!!!!

tripplek1988

Someone just recommend this to me, I so scared to try though, glad you had a positive experience I also was advise by my RE not to take any other herbs meds etc. He recommended a balance organic diet exercise while I anticipate my first round of clomid. Good luck to you with your IVf

graphicgranite

Thanks for the info! How much do the treatments cost? Do all acupuncturists do this or do you have to find someone who specializes in fertility?

kristylang

@tripplek1988: I recommend trying it. It doesn't hurt. Before I went my friend said take your bail and scratch your forehead and that's what it feels like when the needle goes in. Not bad, right? Hope you decide to do it...I've heard good this with doing this for infertility women.

@graphicgranite: I'm not sure exactly how much it will cost because they are sending it to my insurance company to see what they will cover. If you find a place you can always ask how much it is. My place said $30-$40, I didn't think that was bad. My recommendation is find someone who does it for infertility. It's a little different in where they place the needles rather then just going to someone who just does regular acupuncture. Google search it and usually websites will say if they specialize in infertility acupuncture.

Hope you girls look into it. It's very relaxing and I truly enjoyed it. FX with your journey of TTC!!!!!

kristylang

Sorry not bail but nail.

amazeballz

@graphicgranite my first acupuncturist charged $80 a session. My insurance doesn't cover it. Thankfully someone told me about community acupuncture. It's a shared room with other patients and the price is usually sliding scale like $15-40 a session. Try googling to see if there is one near you if your insurance doesn't cover acupuncture.

kristylang

@amazeballz: that's great information. Thank you!!!!

andi1126

I'm in the process of finding someone. I hope I'm able to go next week before I begin ovulating. If anything I just hope it relaxes me a bit

styler91

I have PCOS and I have been seeing a fertility Acupuncturist for a few months now. With my PCOS, I hadn't had a fresh cycle in... YEARs that didn't start without provera or BC. So, after about 8 weeks of Acupuncture, I got my cycles back! I will say that acupuncture and the herbs have helped me tremendously! It also is nice that they can tackle more things in one session too - headaches, stress, anxiety, digestion, and any pains. 

I absolutely look forward to my once a week sessions! 

CHANCE3247

I love going to acupuncture and have been going since January. It has definitely made my periods and cm better quality. I believe it helped me get pregnant though that ultimately ended in miscarriage (another story for another day). The book Making Babies is an informative read coauthored by a fertility doctor and acupuncturist if you are interested in learning more about why acupuncture may be believed to work with infertility.