Just had an interesting acupuncture session which I thought i would share incase it helps anyone else.
I showed her some of the temp charts I have done previously. They almost always show good strong ovulation but then always have a big dip around 7/8 dpo before going back up quite high for a couple of days before tailing off again when AF is due. She said ideally the temps should stay up during the luteal phase and be quite consistent and so could possibly indicate a drop in progesterone. She wants me to continue temping for my full cycle this time around which I wasn't going to do so she can take a look at it. She also wants me to temp for the whole of the first half of my next cycle which again I never bother doing, would only normally start a few days before ovulation. She said this part of the cycle the temps should again remain quite consistent without too many up and downs.
She has recommended that after af has finished to start using a hot water bottle every night up until ovulation and also doing gentle stomach massaging to stimulate blood flow. She also mentioned progesterone cream which you can buy online although said to wait until next cycle for that as she wants to look at the rest of my temps for this cycle first. I'm not sure I do have a problem with progesterone as when I saw the consultant last week she said that I didn't need the day 21 progesterone test as I would normally be spotting for a few days before AF if I did have low progesterone but I don't think the cream does any harm so I am thinking of giving that a try next month. A little boost can't hurt surely.
She could see I was a bit down in the dumps this week just as it seems like a long journey and absolutely nothing has happened at all for us. Not even a sniff of a pregnancy. Anyway she told me this little thing that she had devised with the letters from the word 'fertility'
F - Food (lots of protein, seeds, nuts in first half of cycle and warming foods in second half)
E - Exercise
R - Relaxation (getting enough sleep and time to chill out)
T - Thoughts ( thinking positive thoughts instead of negative)
I - Imagination (imagining the various stages of cycle as you are going through them so picturing the egg being released, then it being fertilised etc)
L - Laughter (laughter is the best medicine of all. Watching funny films or anything that makes you laugh)
I - Inner Voice (banish that inner voice that tells you negative things. Like my temp has gone down, it's never going to happen)
T - Thank You (Say thank you for all the good things you have and remember them. A lovely house, husband, friends, family etc)
Y - YES ( Yes I will be a mum. Yes it will happen and again picture that)
Hope it's of some use anyway, I thought it was helpful 