Has anyone tried Acupuncture?

[cheekymonkey]

Hi Rittie,

Thank you so much for replying to my post, It is great to hear from someone who is in a similar situation to myself and that you had a BFP
OK here goes with my story so far!!! I am 26 and have been TTC for 3 years since I got married, I have PCOS and was on clomid for 9 months without any success, we then had three attempts at IUI two were cancelled because I over stimulated and one went ahead but with a BFN , then at the beginning of august we began our first cycle of IVF which we both felt really positive about as the nurses had been telling us that we were ideal for IVF, so I down regged as normal and then started on my daily injections, we went for our first scan on day 10 of taking the injections and they told us there were loads of follicles in both ovaries and that we would probably have to freeze them and have them put back in about six weeks time!!!! we were both really dissapointed that it wasnt going to go ahead straight away but thought that if it was best then that was fine! (sorry the story is so long!!)
We went back last monday to see how things were going and I was pretty uncomfortable at this point and all the follicles had grown and there were about 50 in total!!!!! they took my blood and said they would phone to let us know what was happening, they phoned that afternoon at 3.35pm and told me that the cycle had to be cancelled cause my hormone level was through the roof and that I could not go for egg retrevial cause it would be too dangerous if I hyperstimulated! All I can say is that since then I have completley gone down hill and didn't think I could cope with much more which is when I decided to join this group which has deffinatley helped!
All people keep saying to me is that it is not the end of the world and that it will happen one day, it is just getting harder and harder waiting for that one day!!!!
I am still reading up on accupuncture and have not made my mind up yet, I have just started a diet from a PCOS book I read so I will see how that goes!
I think I have probably took up enough of your time now with my big long story so I will get going now, but thank you so much for taking the time to read and reply it means alot.

Take Care
Cheeky Monkey

[ampmed1]

hello everyone! I had my first acupuncture treatment last friday. My acupuncturist went over everything from my stress level to daily diet. She advised me to also change some things in my diet. She said absolutely no diet sugars, nutrasweet, equal, etc. She advised to drink normal pop if I absolutely have to have one, otherwise stay clear of sodas all together. I normally drink the caffeine free kind when I get close to starting the cycle and she said no on that one. She is also focusing on my womb and my stress levels. She said that my kidneys, liver and all looked good. She is focusing on my sleep pattern as well. She said if I sleep better and I am less stressed, it will be easier for these embies to stick! I pray that they do. I will go in for weekly treatments until the retrieval. Then I will go in the day of transfer, right before and also the day after.

I was wondering if anyone else is doing this around the 8th of October? It would be nice to talk to someone who is close to the same schedule. You know how you easily stress about it without even knowing that you are getting stressed. No stress = babies! I have to keep thinking positively!

Good luck to all!

[cheekymonkey]

Hi Anna,

I am not sure when I am going to be starting my next round because I just had my first cancelled a week ago, I am hoping that I will be starting at the begining of october but wont find out for a couple of weeks, I am thinking of going for accupuncture but havent quite decided if it is for me yet!!!
Your accupuncturist (not sure if that is a word!!) sounds good and like they know what they are doing! I think that is what I am worried about, making sure I find a good one!
I hope all goes well with your cycle and I will keep intouch and hope mine will be around the same time!
Fingers crossed for us both!

Take Care
Cheeky Monkey

[k-rose]

Hi Anna,
I too just decided to try acupuncture and my first one is Tuesday. I am actually really looking forward to it. I have always been a little weary of it, but after doing some research on it, I'm not any more. I am going to be starting my stims probably around October 12th or so, we'll be pretty close. What did your accupuncturist say were bad about the sweetners? It seems like a lot of things I eat and drink (soda, crystal light, yogurt) has it. I always wondered if it was an issue.

Kelly

[Herbie6269]

Hi, I am new here, but I wanted to jump and say I am huge fan of acupuncutre. I say go for it. I love it. I think it has helped me immensely and I am praying it does the trick this time around.

I had a huge cyst after I stopped the Lupron and I thought they were going to cancel this cycle but my RE decided to try and save it so we scheduled for me to have it aspirated. I told my acupuncturist about my cyst. When the day of my procedure came which was just this past Thursday the cyst was gone. My RE was shaking her head. So was it the acupuncture or just a fluke thing? I dont' know, but I am definitely sticking with the acupuncture.

Baby Dust
Herbie

[Rittie2000]

Hi Cheeky Monkey,

Thank you so much for recounting your story. I am so so so sorry to hear about the hyperstimulation. As you have PCOS I hope that they HAD indeed given you low dose stim, do you know? My doctor was ademant that I was getting low does stim and they stretched out the length of the stim and increased the dose for only the last 3 days. So lots of focus and effort was applied to avoid Overstim combination with PCOS. I was going in for follicle monitoring every 3-4 days or so, did they do that for you? Sorry I'm feeling frustrated I just hope the clinic you use is a good and responsible one and what could have been controlled was

Herbie welcome. I too had a small cyst and both my doc and accupuncturist said they expect it to go away by itself if I kept up with the accupuncture. It halved its size after the first week and was completely gone after the second. So if its a fluke, it happened to both of us. But my accupuncturist did say they can treat cysts quite effectively. Good eh?

Lots of love
Rittie

[cheekymonkey]

Hi Rittie,

I was not given the lowest dose that I could have been given!! they started me on the middle dose (150) which obivously now they know is too high so they said on my next cycle i will be on the lower dose (75)!! you would think they would have realised that because I overstimulated twice when I had IUI and I was on the middle dose then but they said the drugs for IVF were different and so they started me on 150!!!
I started my injections and then my first scan was ten days later on the friday and then I was cancelled on the monday!!! Sometimes I feel like they do not know what they are doing and that I am only young so I have loads of time but that does not help me when I have actually been ready to be a mum for the last three years!!!! but at the moment we are having our cycles with the NHS so we don't have a choice of where we go unfortunatley!!!!

Thanks again for your support
Take Care
Cheeky Monkey

[cheekymonkey]

Hi Herbie,

Just wanted to say hi, and wish you lots of luck and baby dust for your current cycle, hope everything goes well for you and I hope that the accupuncture has helped, maybe then I can make my mind up about wether to start it or not, I don't know if i want to do it to help me physically or mentally!! I get so stressed out trying to make any decisions about what is best I thought maybe it would chill me out a bit!!! How has it helped you? (sorry for being nosey!!)

Take Care
Cheeky Monkey

[Rittie2000]

Oh Cheeky Monkey,

Hmmm what do I say. You'd think they know better. Of course we are not doctors and we don't know for sure but if you had a history of hyperstimulation, surely they could have done more. I was on 100IU and only increased to 150IU for the last three days of stim. I mean, ok only had 7 eggies but thats enough, isn't it? Just wanted to say so sorry and better luck with it the next time round. The NHS have put me on a 2.5 years wait so we are doing this privately. Is there any chance of going to a different hospital with the next round for you? Anyhow, you know a lot more about it next time and be able to tell if someone is bxxxxxxxing ....

Accupuncture could be useful in treating anxiety and excessive worry etc. So maybe worth a try. Instead of feeling relaxed etc I come out of my sessions feeling a little more energised and even happy sometimes. I guess we all react differently. If time and money permits, maybe give it a go. My accupuncturist told me I'll know if its for me after 2-3 sessions.

Lots of love
Rittie

[suzhan]

This acupuncture thread is great! I too just started - I've had 2 sessions now, along with my daily 9 chinese herbal pills (3 pills, 3x/day). I'm having trouble with some of the dietary requirements - like nothing cold, no ice water, cold drinks, ice cream, etc. But, other than than, I'm trying to stick to it. She never mentioned anything about artificial sweetners, but I try to avoid those anyway. I'd suspect she'd be opposed anyway because they're cold.

Amp - Assuming I get AF on time, I should start stims probably mid October. ER would probably late October with transfer early November. However, we're considering waiting another month before starting, in which case everything is back one more month. We're debating....

Good luck everyone!

- Suzhan

[Herbie6269]

cheeky monkey,
I am a huge fan of acupuncture and I say do it. It is well worth it and it will help with everything. It can't hurt. Thanks for the well wishes. I hope you get your BFP too. This cycle has been so different I am not sure if it's been the acupuncture or not but I am so glad I am doing it. I hope that helps you.

Baby Dust

Herbie

[cheekymonkey]

Hi Rittie,

The more I read these posts the more I think I will give the accupuncture a go, I think you are right about it affecting everybody differently but I have only really heard good things about it so I am going to try and find a place that will specialise in infertility and see how it goes. Thank you so much for all your info and support! I know I keep saying it but I can't believe how much it helps.
I hope you are keeping well.
Take Care

Cheeky Monkey

[cheekymonkey]

Hi Herbie,

Thanks for your reply, I am going to try and find a accupuncture clinic that deals with infertility and give it a go, you are right and I think it can only do good, I hope you doing well in your cycle! and I hope that everything goes OK for you egg retrieval, I know it is weird but I feel really excited for you, sending you lots and lots of baby dust............
Take Care
Cheeky Monkey