It just doesn’t look like fun
I had my first acupuncture appointment yesterday. It left me feeling good, yet a little confused.
I think the part I’m hung up on is how out-there it all sounds. Diagnosing me based on my pulse? I’m willing to take anything into consideration, but reading up on the theory behind it hasn’t helped me feel any more reassured.
Of course the price doesn’t help. Insurance doesn’t cover it so it’s all out of pocket, and at $60 per visit this is going to add up very quickly, especially going once per week like she suggested.
But regardless, I’ve heard enough stories to think that it might possibly help somehow, and I’ve decided that this cycle I’m going all-in. Anything and everything that I can do to, just in case. I’m going on bedrest, I won’t be touching any alchohol whatsoever, I’ll be meditating and visualizing and getting acupuncture and anything I possibly can. Just in case it possibly helps. Win or lose, I want to know I did everything I could do.
This acupuncturist practices at a little natural healing place that I didn’t know about. It’s the kind of place that sells crystal necklaces and pewter faerie charms. They require that you take off your shoes when you enter the building. It’s an old home – small and airy, with light colored walls and hardwood floors. I was shown into a treatment room that had a massage table in it. For the first while I sat in a chair and went over my medical history with the acupuncturist.
It was my first time going over my history with a medical professional since my miscarriage. As I was listing my IVF cycles and results I almost wanted to laugh, because it really just sounds so ridiculous. I was getting flustered. I wonder how long it is going to take for me to get used to it, to absorb it all as my own history.
After the consult she asked if I wanted to get started, and I decided, well I’m already here. So she had me lay on the table, face up, knees propped up by a pillow. It was comfortable. She used only my legs from the knees down, arms from the elbow down, and head. I was jumpy, not really looking forward to the needle placement. A few of them did make me jump, but some I didn’t feel at all. I think I flinched mostly out of anticipation. Unfortunately (according to me) she also placed a couple needles in each of my ears. Those I didn’t like. Mentally it creeps me out completely, and my right ear felt like a major pinch that wouldn’t go away. I had her adjust it, but I could still feel it.
She set up a heat lamp above me to keep me warm and comfortable, told me that my job was just to relax, and slipped out the door. There was a music with gentle meditation music on, the room was dimly lit, a candle flickered on the shelf in the corner. I closed my eyes and tried to relax my body, since it was still a little tense from the needle placement nerves. It’s funny how sometimes you don’t realize you’re carrying tension until it leaves. When I took a few breaths my feet shifted as my leg muscles released the stance they were holding.
I let my mind drift. At first I was thinking about acupuncture and then cycling, but I let it wander… I don’t remember where it went to. I must have zoned out, because I startled and opened my eyes – it took a few seconds for me to get my bearings. I took stock of my surroundings again, I could hear soft voices from the lobby, but no one was coming my way. I decided I was quite happy wherever I was, so I closed my eyes and zoned out again. Next time I came to the acupuncturist slipped back in the room and checked my pulse for a while on both sides. In the corner of the room she wrote in my folder, then left me alone again. I drifted for a while longer. I didn’t zone out again, I could feel my ear tweaking and my foot felt like it was brushing against something. When she returned again she removed all the needles, checking in with my chart a few times as she went. And then I was done.
I was really shocked to see the time when I left – I had been there for an hour and a half. It certainly didn’t feel like it. I really wonder if I fell asleep.
I’m still not ready to tell everyone acupuncture is wonderful – it could have just been the setting that let me relax. It did feel nice to have time in the middle of my day to meditate and de-stress, but like I said I do still have some hangups on the whole concept.
My next appointment is next week. I guess I’ll just see how this progresses.
Sounds like we had very similar experiences with the whole thing. I will say though I did like it, but the price made it hard for me to keep going back.
If nothing else, it relaxed me and that can only be a good thing. And I didn’t have half the battles you face.
Hope it works wonders for you Natalie.
you of course realise that there have been studies that show that random needles are just as effective? give it a go for sure, but feel free to be a little skeptical ! :)
I agree with Sally.
I’ve been going for three months now, and I had high hopes for it working wonders. My acupuncturist gives me the choice of needles or laser acupuncture, which I go for, but he assures me there is no difference in the outcome. He also tells me that ‘the best time’ to have it for fertility reasons is ‘early’ in your cycle.
The way I think of it is that I carry so much stress and tension in my life now, since my baby died and trying to conceive, if all it does is give me that zoning out and relaxation then that’s got to be good in itself, right?!
Right!
Enjoy and baby dust everywhere for both of us!
x
I did acupuncture during our final IVF cycle and it did improve the number of follicles I had, but not the number and quality of viable eggs. If nothing else, it was relaxing and did get easier over time.
I did acupuncture for six months before IVF, during the infertility diagnosis process. As it turns out, we were severe MFI. But I will say that my period became completely textbook while I was receiving acu treatments. My PMS (anxiety and depression) went away, painful cramps dissipated, clots and brown bleeding disappeared from my flow. Whatever the acu did, my body responded to it. And it was incredibly relaxing and helped me de-stress. I hope it does the same for you. My feeling was, it was one more thing that I could do to try to create the best possible conditions for the embryo.
Natalie I did acupuncture with IUIs/IVF. No one knows if it really helps infertility but the calm I felt had to contribute to better overall well being which has to be good. It also increased my cycle length when it ahd shortened to not much at all. Good luck, I think this will be money well spent.
Let us know how it goes for you! I’ve been curious about the whole acupuncture thing, too. Some swear by it!
I’ve never done acupuncture but I am a big fan of chiropractic care. In my town you can get acupuncture for only $30.00/session, it’s definitely on the high side where you’re at. I hope the acupuncture is helpful.
My acu always told me to take a deep breath just before she tapped each needle in. That really helped a lot with the nerves and jumpiness (and any pinch) that I felt. Maybe you could try that? I sometimes had that nerve jangle when she put them in, but most of them I didn’t feel. My favorite needle was behind the ear. It may seem scary and intimidating, but let me tell you, it was the only one that I felt something from immediately. I would just go all mushy and relax. I felt the same thing at my first massage when she touched that pressure point. Good luck!
I cringe whenever I have to pay my acupuncturist (it was $130 for the first visit and $90 each visit going forward) but I like the depth of relaxation that I experience with acupuncture. My husband went yesterday and he actually came back feeling positive about it. Randine Lewis’ book ‘The Infertility Cure’ was a great help for me in understanding what’s being done and since my acupuncturist knows that I’ve read it, he now explains more about what he’s doing and planning to do in future treatments. I just wish he were cheaper…
I’m on the acupuncture train as well. After 2 failed IVF’s, like you, I decided I was going to go all-out. My RE clinic is associated with a integrative medicine clinic (acupuncture/massage/yoga/nutrition) specializing in fertility issues, so I definitely felt in good hands.
Who’s to say if it was the acupuncture & fertility massages, the fact that I took some time off of work, or just luck, but we had the best results by far this cycle. Nearly double the fertilization rates (that rather than egg quantity has been our issue) and managed to get to a Day 5 transfer for the 1st time. Now, though I can hardly believe it, I’m 5w1d along.
I plan to continue the acupuncture at least during the 1st trimester. It got me this far!
I totally believe in acupuncture. I have been going every week for the past 3 attempted treatments along with some chinese herbal tea. It seems to be working. My FSH levels keep under 15 and that is great since they were above 20. The acupuncture probably won’t help me since my body releases the follicles too early before they are mature enough but at least now the doctor’s understand what is wrong and maybe I will have be able to at least get to the point of IUI or IVF.