Acupuncture

DecemberGirl1216 · July 2014

Does anyone have any experience adding acupuncture for fertility purposes? I chart, temp, use ovulation predictor kits, and TI and so far have not had any success (I know the 12 month and 20% stats too). I have hypothyroidism and some autoimmunity weirdness, my rheumatologist calls inflammatory arthritis so I take Synthroid and have taken Plaquenil but stopped because I did not find it beneficial.

I have done some research on acupuncture and am curious if anyone has tried it and/or found it beneficial. Also if you think it's akin to throwing money in a burning barrel I would like to hear that too...any and all opinions welcome. Thanks in advance!

penelopec518 · July 2014

I am on team acupuncture! Obviously it hasn't helped me in conceiving, but it has helped with stress relief and my general well being. The first visit can be a little rough, but don't let that scare you off!

TravelingCouple · July 2014

*lurking* I hope you don't mind my posting but I'm such a huge advocate for acupuncture. I loved it in conjunction to all of the things you're doing as well while TTC. My acupuncturist helped guide me in some healthier life choices (diet, exercise) that help with fertility. I'm a huge believer in Eastern medicine. You could always give it a try and if it's not for you, don't continue. I continue going periodically during pregnancy, it helped so much with my leg and back pains too.

TravelingCouple · July 2014

Correct @GhostMonkey‌, I don't think it's a cure all, but can be very helpful in conjunction with other methods, on the right person. For me it helped shorten my cycles and help my temperature rise in my luteal phase. Depending on the goal and individual, acupuncture can be wonderful.
OP I don't know your medical history but it's worth checking with your insurance to see if they cover acupuncture. Mine didn't but some cover a portion at least, depending on the reason.

DecemberGirl1216 · July 2014

ETA important word I left out

Thanks for the opinions...I am all for the combo of western and eastern medicine. I was reading a blog called "fu infertilty" or something like that and it lead me to doing a little more research.

Personally I am not looking for a magical answer and if anything I may use it to help with my inflammatory joint problems which seem to get worse with stress, which I am allowing to get out of my control in this process. Thanks again

Trampslikeus · July 2014

@DecemberGirl1216‌

If you search back a month or two this topic came up and I posted links to several studies regarding acupuncture and fertility. The evidence is very mixed, with the studies showing a positive relationship all stating that acupuncture was *part* of a treatment program so the specific benefit of acupuncture was uncertain.

That being said, the studies all stated quite confidently that there was little to no risk for a negative reaction.

Tl;dr - it can't hurt, but there is no evidence that it helps (specific to getting pregnant)

When it comes to putting things in your body, needles, pills , creams, etc - trust the research and doctors - not so much the Internet

DecemberGirl1216 · July 2014

Trampslikeus said:
@DecemberGirl1216‌

If you search back a month or two this topic came up and I posted links to several studies regarding acupuncture and fertility. The evidence is very mixed, with the studies showing a positive relationship all stating that acupuncture was *part* of a treatment program so the specific benefit of acupuncture was uncertain.

That being said, the studies all stated quite confidently that there was little to no risk for a negative reaction.

Tl;dr - it can't hurt, but there is no evidence that it helps (specific to getting pregnant)

When it comes to putting things in your body, needles, pills , creams, etc - trust the research and doctors - not so much the Internet

Thanks for your input, I understand what you are saying...I am a registered nurse and don't do pills/creams/herbs/supplements without the supervision of a physician. Nursing school also helped me become well versed in places to do research on medical topics and an individual's blog wouldn't be one of those places...it was where my curiosity got started though. I was looking to find out if anyone felt it augmented other treatment regimines for TTGP.

garnetandgoldgrace · July 2014

I just started acupuncture for my feet and PCOS.

I have a neighbor who swears by it and I figured I would give it a try. It's relaxing and doesn't hurt at all. I actually took my husband with me the other day and he did it too.

I will give it a couple months and see how my body responds.

I don't know why some people are so hot and bothered on here about this topic.

MoseyAnkles · July 2014

I used it for my PCOS, and it helped but didn't get rid of it. Eventually I used a combo of Allopathic and Eastern medicine to get rid of it

Accupuncture is definitely doing something, because if you are able to feel subtle energy, then you will feel it change during the treatment. You can also monitor the change with a simple voltmeter sometimes (whenever a person has something called "reversal"). So there is a measurable difference, but the jury is out on whether this change will actually do anything worth writing home about. Another 50 years of science will be needed to determine this.

rockopera · July 2014

I went when I was at about 8months at TTC #1. I did notice a decrease in negative hormonal symptoms around my period. I the best part of it was that I had to spend an hour twice a month laying still. It did great things for my stress level and anxiety. Do I think any of that caused me to get pregnant? Nope. Was it nice along my journey? Yes.

(I got KTFU in my 11th cycle/12th month at 34)

bookwormjane · July 2014

I've had acupuncture done for headaches and muscle soreness. I'm not sure whether it actually helped, though the process does force you to relax quite a bit. The relaxation itself might help with stress.

kwicks · July 2014

My husband and I started acupuncture a few weeks ago, I was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries and H has MFI. We just saw a fertility urologist yesterday, and I asked if H should continue with acupuncture. He said for female hormonal fertility issues, acupuncture can help, but not so much for males.

I'm going to.keep going, but we figure why spend the money for him to go if it won't help. Like ppl said, it can't hurt, but when facing the steep cost of IF treatment I don't want to throw money away.

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