Acupuncture and ttc - what's going on?!

[bloomingheather]

Apologies in advance for the long post - just wondered if anyone has any experience of their cycles going a bit haywire after acupuncture? I posted this on the TTC 40+ thread but thought I would start a thread too for more traffic.

I've been ttc #1 for over a year now and turned 40 a few months ago. Not a sniff of a bfp in the time we've been ttc.

Cycles are always 26-28 days and have been aware for the last while that I was ovulating around days 10-12. Confirmed this with opk's but I was pretty certain i was ovulating then anyway. I was worried that I was ovulating very early so visited GP and have been having acupuncture since July. Have had around 4 sessions and my cycle has lengthened slightly which pushed ovulation back to around day 12 so I was really pleased with that and thought things were moving in the right direction. Day 21 progesterone was absolutely fine too and we're waiting for my partner to have sperm analysis done.

However, this month has been really weird and I was wondering if anyone has any advice or something similar happen to them. I had been using clear blue dual hormone OPK's since day 8 and had negatives up until day 15 which was strange for me. I've been ovulating pretty regularly (albeit early) for as long as I can remember. Finally got a flashing smiley on Sat (day 16) and up until yesterday so 4 days of flashing smilies with no peak. Thought I might just ovulate late this month. Then yesterday, I had cramping and a headache and some nausea and what seems to be my period started - on day 19! I've never had mid cycle bleeding before and period never started before day 26. Apologies for tmi but it's quite stringy and mostly brown/dark red. More than spotting though and still have mild cramps. I have no idea what's going on! I wondered if it could be implantation bleeding which is a very very slight possibility but then according to this months OPK's, I haven't ovulated this month and it would have to have been around day 10 which is when I was getting negative OPK results!
I'm not sure whether to see the GP or whether they'll just dismiss it as a weird af due to my age, although this is very unusual for me. I managed to get an appt for today but not sure whether to go or not.
Or is it the acupuncture messing things up? Anyone any advice or something similar happen to them?

Acupuncture definitely did something for me. We tried for 18 months to conceive. I had 4 sessions of fertility acupuncture and fell pregnant that month.
It's bloody magic.

It could be an anovulatory cycle. They happen from time to time and might explain why the 'period' seems different as it's not really a period, but a breakthrough bleed. If it stops after a few days, I would carry on as normal and assume it was just a dud month.

Thanks flash. I did wonder that. Strange how OPK showed high fertility since Sat although maybe that's because it's picking up high oestrogen?
Yeah purple, I've been very impressed so far with the subtle changes it's made and am hopeful although disappointed this month.

Hang in there. I know a lot of people it's helped. Fingers crossed for you.

Thanks purple. Really appreciate that. At the moment, it feels as if it'll never happen.
Decided not to go to gp today as I hate wasting appointments for something that's not really an emergency. I have an acupuncture appointment tomorrow anyway so will ask her opinion and see how things go over the next few days.

Not sure what could be going on but I too had acupuncture which helped us conceive. We'd been trying for 16 cycles, after 3 months of acupuncture I got my bfp (now 13 months!) I had been ovulating around cd19/20 with short literal phase, acupuncture got me ovulating cd14 and that's when I got pregnant. Fingers crossed for you

**luteal

Keep us posted! I was 37 when I conceived. Took a while but I really believe the fertility acupuncture did the trick.
I remember getting massively crampy one morning - a few days before I discovered I was pregnant.
I've got fingers and toes crossed for you.

Some people get an LH surge before AF, that's why some people get a positive ops just before their period, that might explain the flashing smileys. Hope it happens for you soon and this was just a blip.

Thank you everyone. Reading the positive Acupuncture stories has been really lovely. Ah thanks, Overina, that might explain it. Although I tested tonight again (just out of interest, because things have been so strange) and still flashing smiley. So more than a day after 'period' started. Bizarre!
I'm also feeling generally unwell, but I think I'm probably just hyper aware of every vague symptom just now.

Beansprout your post just gave me hope. I have been ttc #1 for a year and I ovulate on day 16-19 with an 8/9 day LP. I've been thinking about acupuncture. So glad to see it works!!

OP I would possibly say that acupuncture might be clearing some old blood away? If it's stringy and brown? I hope you get your BFP soon. X

This post has really made me think my next step is acupuncture as I'm really losing hope. I had a mmc at 10 weeks in February and nothing since. Every month i think something has changed or might be better but it's always the same short cycles or short luteal phase. X

Sorry about your mmc @mouse. I'd defo give acupuncture a go, when I first went to see my lady and we had the consultation and she 'diagnosed' me, she said she thought within 3 months I'd be pregnant- she got it bang on. It doesn't work for everyone but I saw physical changes and am convinced it did it for us

That's such a good story beansprout. Did you see a general acupuncture specialist or one that only did fertility? I'm not sure of my local options but I see there's a general practice nearby and one of her benefits is cycle regulation. Thank you.

The lady I used was general acupuncturist but she said a lot of her clients had come with fertility worries. Best of luck I hope it helps you too

Sorry to hear about your mmc Mouse. My acupuncturist is a fertility specialist too and is Zita West trained. She seems to have a had a lot of success and comes highly recommended despite my weird cycles just now!
I saw her again on Thursday and she was almost as confused as me! She said that it is possible that the period I had last month may have been implantation bleeding and that the pregnancy didn't work out or that it may have been due to the stress of starting my new job last month. I had one opk test left and used it this morning (day 5 of my new cycle) and got a flashing smiley again! I'm just going to pass this off as a blip.
I've just to start afresh from here and hope that it was just a random blip. I'm also going to give myself a break from testing with OPK's this month - it was all getting a bit much there, plus I really can't afford to keep spending money on them at the moment.

Hi all,

Been reading your thread with interest... how did you all go about finding a fertility acupuncturist?

(And if anyone can recommend one in the Stockport/Manc/Cheshire area please do?!)

I'm 36 and ttc #2 for 9 months. Conceived in July but had early loss in Aug at 5 weeks and feeling just fed up and hopeless at the mo. Am researching acupuncture/reflexology this morn as think need to try something new...

Thanks x

Hi impatient. I just googled for one in my area and read about their training then found recommendations. Mine has completed training with Zita West and works a lot with couples who are having IVF and came very highly recommended so I went with her. I'm in Scotland so don't know any in your area but I'm sure someone on here will and I'm sure you'll find some online. Then you could ask if anyone on here has experience of seeing any of them and what their opinions are.

I can empathise totally with how you are feeling just now - I feel hopeless too and as if this is never going to happen. My partner wants to have kids but I don't think he gets it all of the time, especially that we don't have much time with my age and everything. I think he thinks I'm going mad sometimes (I'm actually quite sane for me).

"Acupuncture definitely did something for me. We tried for 18 months to conceive. I had 4 sessions of fertility acupuncture and fell pregnant that month.
It's bloody magic. smile"

Or happy coincidence.

Or placebo. Nothing wrong with placebo- my niece conceived the month after giving up and getting a puppy. But acupuncture has no physical effect at all.

I totally think disagree Bert, I had been temping and using opks, tracking cervical mucus for 15 months, I'd always ovulated cd 19/20, acupuncture got me ovulating on cd 14... coincidence or one off you might say but I'm pretty confident it was down to acupuncture, nothing else changed

Bert clearly not a believer despite fertility acupuncturists and reflexologists having successes every day.

Off to a different thread you go.

If it worked, I wouldn't have to be a "believer". I could just look at the evidence.

Bert show me the evidence that it doesn't work.
Of course nothing has 100% success rate or no one would go through awful struggles to conceive. But in my opinion a lot of people I know, and myself, have fallen pregnant during these treatments so there is something in it. Even if all it does is to relax you and then you conceive, then the outcome is a positive one.
It's definitely more than just placebo effect.

Placebo is a very powerful thing. And there is some evidence that placebos that involve needles or active treatments are more effective than things you take. But accupuncture has been shown over and over again not to work. I hate the thought spending money they may not be able to afford on something that doesn't work. Oh, and it's not up to me to prove it doesn't work. It's up to you to prove it does.

Well I spent a lot of money on my treatment and I don't regret it at all as I got the outcome I went for.

Bert I can send you evidence in the form of a picture of my DS1 if you'd like.