Acupuncture and chinese therapy

Just bumping this to see if any others had any good experiences of acupuncuture treatment?

Echo what most the others say just a warning. CARE have put a warning out about some unexpected poor outcomes with chinese medicines. So they advise against it but lots of advice re supplements, foods, acupuncture etc. Best of Luck.

Ok, so I had my first acupuncture session last week (CD12) and don't appear to have ovulated yet (now CD17). Is it common for it to delay ovulation at all? I usually ovulate on CD16 but had a random month (the cycle before the acupuncture) when I ovulated on CD12.

Just wondering if it's that ... or the stress at work that might be delaying it? I've got another session on Weds (CD20)

While I agree with BagofHolly that you should get yourself on the IVF route while you can, I really feel acupuncture helped me. We'd been ttc for 42 cycles and all the investigations showed I had a lot of little problems that on their own wouldn't have really been much of an issue; added together they just meant I was failing.
We were having IUI and rather than just sit and wait I thought I'd see if I could stop being do tense about it all with some acupuncture. She was fantastic.
7 weeks in, on my 2nd cycle of IUI, I got my BFP. I'm sat here as fat as a whale at 38+2 waiting for my DD to arrive.
Anything that helps you keep positive I think is a good thing. The fertility treatment road is so hard and soulless and horrible, anything that makes you feel like you're doing something is a good thing.
Good luck everyone with your treatments and everything. Xx

piemistress I'm not sure about symptoms, but 30 seems to be what most drs think is high enough to confirm ovulation, so I am right on the cusp. (I have seen others mention that they drs said 25/35/40 though, so who knows!)

I found a chineese herbalist from the register of chineese herbalists - so there are registered practitioners out there.

I went because I wanted to get the remains of the chemo out of my body to give myself the best chance possible in the 5 months Consultant (and I) had set for naturally TTC before going down the IVF route. Herbs came in paper bags, weighed out for me from lots of different bottles and had to be brewed up - really disgusting. Anyway - against all odds, I conceived naturually just before the date set for IVF stuff to start. I continued to visit and got fourtnightly accupuncture - where I left on my own little cloud 9, having gone in breathless and miserable.... Ds is now 6

Thanks euro, there goes my theory! Do you know what the symptoms of low progesterone are? Is 30 the cut off figure for ovulating?

I'm not sure piemistress. I get hellish PMS symtoms most cycles but my day 21 test only showed a progesterone level of 30.

PS - I just had a random thought. I lost 80% of my sense of smell when I was pregnant with DS. CT scan revealed nothing sinister and the consultant couldn't explain why (just 'one of those things') so maybe the acupuncturist might be able to do some magic !

Awww thanks for the very helpful replies! I have had a CD21 test done (they did it at 3dpo because they insisted I went at CD21 so it wasn't accurate (it was 26) then I went back at 10dpo (because of the weekend) and i'd just got a bfp so probably wildly inaccurate - it was 41?). But I then had a m/c at 7 weeks :(

I do think my progesterone levels are a bit low though. I don't get any PMS symptoms at all (is that a sign?) and i've had a lot of random spotting (both pre and post m/c) I don't so much mind the cost if it will help! I've actually got an appt with my GP tomorrow (thanks fallfallarocks for your info on the other thread about tests) so will see how that goes and then see the acupuncturist on Monday night.

Yes, mine likes to see me before ovulation for the same reasons as Eurochick.
i think with short luteal phase and spotting before AF, low progesterone might be the issue. very similar to me actually. So CD11 is a great time to go. Good luck!

When they want to see you in your cycle will depend upon what they are trying to achieve. I am ovulating and have a fairly regular cycle so mine was doing one session in the first half of my cycle and one in the luteal phase. However, my day 21 blood tests show that my progesterone levels are a little low (although high enough to confirm ovulation) so she has moved to two session in the first half of my cycle to try to increase blood flow to the ovaries pre-ov to try to make me release a more mature egg with a corpus luteum that will release higher levels of progesterone to support a pregnancy.

I can't see that it could do harm to anything other than your wallet.

It won't do any harm and imo its worth giving it a go unless paying for it is a real struggle. They should be able to help you with sleeping too. They do treat you differently in the first and second half of your cycles, with me the second half was to stimulate flow and get my af to come on time but they may treat you differently as your af seems to come too soon. The first half of your cycle is to nurture or something and help the lining develop. good luck x

Thanks guys, I have an appt booked for Monday when I will be CD11. Does it matter which day in your cycle you go on? I always used to ov on CD17 but then after the m/c it's pushed it back to CD12. Part of me is wondering if I should just wait a couple more cycles and see if things go back to 'normal' themselves but, at 39, I don't really know if I should wait?

I've always had a lp erring on the side of short (11 days) and managed to conceive DS with this BUT, it has been 10 days for the past 2 cycles following my m/c (with the spotting starting at 8dpo!!).

I have been recommended a local acupuncturist to me and have read on other forums of ladies that have used him when TTC. I couldn't find any negatives however about acupunture when TTC etc, and just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be doing more harm than good by going to one?

Thanks for the advice (and sorry for post hi-jack!). I am also a terrible sleeper so hoping it might help with that too (which in turn, might help regulate my hormones!)

I think so pie i went after a mc and she was very confident she could regulate my cycles. I was bleeding every 2 weeks but then had 2 normal cycles, did spot in between but think it was ov bleeding as I got a bfp on the 2nd cycle. There is no way of knowing that my cycles wouldnt have settled anyway but there is no harm trying and it's not too expensive (£35 a session). As i said earlier though it is important to find one that you feel comfortable with, mine was recommended to me but you can look them up on a website to make sure they are registered.

I think accupuncture, reflex and complimentary therapies generally can help if you are basically ok but need a bit of tweaking. So it won;t don anythign if you have blocked tubes or there is something structurally wrong. But I had a short luteal phase after the pill. Apparently this is very common indeed as is a short luteal phase after pregnancy and miscarriage. Accupuncture has helped to lengthen it a bit and to make my periods more normal, read, longer/heavier.

now it could just be time and regulation but I think it may have helped. I certainly find it relaxing so on that basis alone it can do no harm.

Hi, I am finding this interesting reading. Following a m/c in May my cycles have been totally WTF WTF WTF! With lots of spotting and a very short luteal phase :( Do you think this is something an acupuncturist might be able to help me with?

I was about to say the same as Nancy - it doesn't have to be an either/or - you can pursue hospital treatments alongside acupuncture (if finances allow). You should always tell drs about any herbs you are taking though, in case they interfere with any drugs you are given e.g. agnus castus and clomid do not mix because they basically do the same thing. Most of the women my acupuncturist sees are having the acupuncture alongside fertility treatment.

Thank you dragini :) I am still a bit shocked by it.
I think that acupuncture shouldn't be used in isolation but alongside NHS treatments. I didn't get to the stage of going for any tests or investigations but had I got to Nov with no progress I definitely would have done.

You're 39. You've been at this souless, horrid ttc game for years. IMO it's not the time to even consider unregulated, unproven therapies which may well be utterly nonsense at best. If you want a baby you need to act aggressively NOW, and head for IVF/ICSI at a clinic with a good success rate in older women. Have a look at the HFEA website for the statistics. A good steer would be UCH, ARGC and Lister. Given that the single biggest factor in fertility is maternal age, you shouldn't waste a SECOND longer. Sorry if that makes uncomfortable reading but having walked in your shoes i refuse to collude in anything ineffectual.

I couldn't read and not post even though I haven't told anyone either on Mumsnet or IRL (well except for DH of course!) but.... I got a BFP this week after 3 months of acupuncture.

Now, I'm not necessarily putting it down to the treatments, as after 9 months of TTC it might have just been my time, but it did relax me and my periods did seem less clotty too as eurochick mentioned.

However my acupuncturist did annoy me quite a lot at various times - she actually said it wouldn't work this month as I missed the last week of the cycle (I've been seeing her weekly which is adding up cost-wise to say the least!). And another month she told me I'd miscarry if I was pregnant because I was taking part in a marathon walk that I'd been training for for months.

So I'm toying with the idea of not going this week and not going back any more and just telling her we've stopped TTC. Which is true! I'm not sure what the deal is with acupuncture in pregnancy either - I expect it could help with sickness etc.

I think you have to feel 100% comfortable with whoever is treating you. For her faults, mine would always start the appt with a consultation, see how I was feeling, how my energy was, where I was in my cycle etc. And I always left feeling completely relaxed. Plus it helps you feel like you're doing something positive for your own fertility.

Hope that ramble helps a bit!

She hasn't mentioned. I'm thinking I will get to 6 cycles and then take a view on whether to continue.

There are quite a few people on here having acupuncture. If you are not happy with your treatment, change your acupuncturist. I don't get any massage or herbal tea, just the needles. And I have recently started taking agnus castus on her suggestion.