I had my acupuncture appointment today and it was actually quite enjoyable. once i got past the stress of having to go through my miscarriage history with yet another new health professional, i always find this extremely hard and quite emotional although i held off the tears till i was face down on the acupuncture/massage table i don't think he even realised. it was Japanese acupuncture which not having had any Chinese acupuncture i can't really compare. But i can tell you i hardly felt a needle go in and couldn't feel them while they were in. except when he warmed some of the up but that felt great like i had been sitting in a hot bath for 30 mins. Being a nurse and educated in western medicine it was odd talking about the body in terms of energy and flow of energy. he doesn't think it is a flow of energy problem rather than a lack of energy problem. in terms of energy i have "weak kidneys" and kidneys are meant to be involved in 'retention' including apparently of babies. Here is hoping that a weekly relaxing acupuncture session can fix it. its a lot more fun that all the painful needles that the fert doc has me on.
The only other thing that puzzles me is that i was talking to a friend at playgroup who had IVF for her first child and did acupuncture too had said that she only had about 5 pins in her. I had about 20 pins all over my back. I just really want it to work. Fingers and toes crossed for this next month everyone.
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Hey there,
ReplyDeleteHere from LFCA. I've been seeing an acupuncturist for a couple years now. I was able to concieve semi-naturally (hubby was on Clomid for MFI) and now I'm seeing her again to help with #2. Anyway, I don't know the difference between TCM and Japenese acupuncture. I highly suggest the book The Infertility Cure by Randine Lewis. I had a lot of "Ah Ha" moments while reading it. From what your acupuncturist is saying about lack of energy, it makes sense. Read the book, it will make even more sense. Oh, and don't worry about your friend only having 5 needles while you had 20. Every treatement is different and the locations of the needles will change. My acupunturist treats me based on where I am in my cycle and what my body signals are (i.e. circulation, digestion etc.)
Here's to hoping this is the trick for you and the next baby sticks around for the full ride.
Cheers!
I did a lot of acupuncture when I was trying because I have a history of amenorrhea and wanted to keep my periods from stopping like they always did in the past. Anyway, I bet the difference between you and your IVF friend is that she was probably just getting a treatment focused on her uterus, just trying to increase blood flow to that area. You are probably getting something more comprehensive that deals with different areas of your body and all of them working well together. I always got needles everywhere - in my head, ears, wrists, elbows, tummy (or back if I was doing it that way) knees, ankles and toes. There are tons of different places and treatments. I'm sure you're guy knows what he's doing.
ReplyDeleteI did acupuncture throughout my IVF retrieval cycle and my IVF implant cycle, with a month off in between. I really think it's a big part of what got me pregnant on my first IVF cycle. I know it helped with egg maturity - my doctor was worried that we'd only have one or two eggs, from what he saw during ultrasounds. I told the acupuncturist and my doctor was shocked when he got 12 eggs! I would definitely recommend acupuncture for all sorts of fertility-related things. I continued weekly acupuncture for the first 10 or so weeks and now that I'm 15 weeks, I just go back as necessary. It was definitely worth the $35 per hour-long session.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog ... and sending good thoughts that the acupuncture will help! I think there's a lot to be said for non-Western approaches to health and healing ... and the relaxation part doesn't hurt, either!
ReplyDeleteCrossing my fingers that the acupunture is just what you need!!
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