IVF and acupuncture

For new members wanting to introduce themselves.
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Juzzah
Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed May 28, 2008 5:49 pm
Location: London

IVF and acupuncture

Post by Juzzah »

Hi,

I am posting this to give hope to those embarking on ivf for the first or umpteenth time.
I am 38 yrs old with mild endo and unexplained infertility issues (the endo wasn't severe enough to be deemed a contributory factor). We have been trying to conceive for 3 1/2 years with no success. I had my first IVF treatment funded by the NHS and only 3 follicles were stimulated with only 2 viable eggs collected. This was quite disheartening as you could hear other people discussing collections of 8-15 eggs so my paltry 2 seemed a bit rubbish. 2 grade 2 embryos were implanted and unbelievably I had a positive pregnancy result (1 embryo) and I am now 14 weeks pregnant! I had a course of 4 acupuncture sessions with the inhouse acupuncturist attached to the ivf clinic as I had read that research had recently been carried out to suggest that acupuncture improved chances of ivf succeeding. You have to have the sessions at key points during the ivf treatment (eg just after egg collection and embryo transfer) and although I don't know whether the acupuncture was a contributory factor in the IVF working for me but it does make you feel more relaxed and able to cope with the stresses of the treatment overall. £240 well spent as far as I'm concerned!
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loopie
Regular
Posts: 476
Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2007 2:21 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland

Post by loopie »

Juzzah,
CONGRATULATIONS!

in the IVF message board, there is a TCM (traditional Chinese Medicine) thread, perhaps you wuold like to post your story of success on that
i, too, used acupuncture, and have a BFP- 20 weeks tomorrow!!!
I believe that it does help - especially us "older" ladies :wink:
again,
congrats!

loopie

BUMPIN' 08
Me 41 Dh 41
1st IVF BFP!!! Jan 2008

[img]http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/2;10722;442/st/20081025/n/Pulman+Percival/k/3cf8/age.png[/img]
ceriberi
Newbie
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2008 5:55 pm
Location: Perth, Western Australia

Post by ceriberi »

Hiya juzzah and bumpin 08
congrats on the positive pregnancy!
I tried acupuncture for the fist time this cycle, (third), and although Im pretty sure it took, resulted in a MC. However, I think the acupuncture is worth it, as it produced the best eggs and good quality too of all including a successful cycle (an issue when you are 43)

I was surprised that it didnt hurt, but did leave a few bruises..
My acupuncturist said that I was fine in the getting pregnant side of things, but weaker in being able to maintain. he said this not knowing my history of MC, or anything about past IVF attempts, but I suspect that he is right.

I agree ...money well spent, found it kept me feeling stable emotinally too, and "in balance".

and hey, whats a few more needles, when u already feel like a PINCUSHION. LOL


ceriberi
Me 43, Dh 43
Two loopy Librans from Liverpool, now living in Oz
MC October 2006
1st IVF cycle Sept 2007 was positive
beautiful baby boy (Caiden) born June 08
2nd IVF Feb 2008 -ive
3rd IVF May 2008 MC
venus25
Member
Posts: 54
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 5:44 pm

Re: IVF and acupuncture

Post by venus25 »

Hi Juzzah,

This is wonderful news! I can't tell you how much I needed to hear this. I am new to posting (first time actually). I've been trying to conceive for 2 years now and have been diagnosed with unexplained infertility. I underwent IVF in February. Out of the four times my FSH was tested through the lovely testing procedures, 3 came back normal and one came back high (12.8). I'm 32 years old. All other tests came back normal (including my DH). Well the IVF in February failed. I thought we were doing great. I responded to the meds (after a little increase), I had 8 eggs retrieved, 4 fertilized, and we transferred two 4-cell embryos on day 3. Then we got the BFN. Ugh! I am now gearing up to try our second cycle of IVF (we had no embryos to freeze from the first cycle). We begin in July. For the last 5 weeks, I've been getting acupuncture. It's fabulous!!! I'm really really hoping it is the final ingredient needed to make this work. Thus, hearing stories of how well acupuncture has worked for others is comforting to me.
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