To all the lovely ladies who have done acupuncture before your IVF cycles, I have a few questions:
- when exactly did you start going? A month before? 2 months?
- How many times a week did you do it?
- Do you think it helped?
- Is there a certain kind of acupuncturist that I should be looking for? one with a specialty?
If you could share any thoughts or experiences I would very much appreciate it. TIA
Re: Acupuncture?
GOOD LUCK with it...im a believer
I started going a month before my cycle. They recommended once per week until stims, and then twice per week while stimming. Also, once right before ER and once right after, they even came to the clinic with me so they could do acupuncture right there.
I don't know. I never got pregnant so in that sense, no it didn't help. It really kept me relaxed though, it was like getting regular massages. My RE was neutral on it, he said "look, if it makes you feel better than do it, but don't worry if you aren't. They might help the fertility process, but let's put it this way, they are not invited to the table yet". I am not doing it for this cycle because I do find the sheer volume of appointments overwhelming.
My acupuncturist specialized in fertility, so I definately recommend finding someone who specialized.
Good luck!
- when exactly did you start going? A month before? 2 months? for ivf #1, i started acu when i started BCP, but that's mostly because i didn't have much notice that i was cycling.
for this cycle, i started acu once/week at the end of november. i took a week off b/n xmas and new year, and now i'm going twice/week until my ET, which will be at the beginning of feb.
- How many times a week did you do it? for ivf #1 i went twice/week. since i responded so well last time, my acu started my off at once/week for a while, and now i'm back to twice/week until early feb.
- Do you think it helped? yes! definitely. i truly believe that my side effects were not as bad for cycle #1 b/c of acu. i also believe that i responded so well/got good quality eggs/got a BFP (though it was a c/p) because of it.
- Is there a certain kind of acupuncturist that I should be looking for? one with a specialty? my acu sees a lot of IF/IVF patients, but it's not necessarily her specialty. i've heard there are acus who specialize in IF/IVF, but mine is great and i love her and trust that she knows what she's doing.
you should definitely try it, it's *soooo* relaxing
TTC since July 2008
IUI 1,2,3 BFN
IVF #1 C/P, FET 1,2,3 BFN
IVF#2 BFP
it's a girl!!