hello londoners, Aitch's pal needs your help... do any of you attend acupuncturists?

[AitchTwoCiao]

my pal's had a Long Fookin' Wait for IVF and has been told that her app is FINALLY coming up next month. she'd like to do some 'puncture but having relocated fairly recently to London she doesn't know anyone for a recommendation.

ideally, someoen in or near w. hampstead or waterloo would be great, but if the person is good and has IVF specialities or whatever, i'd love to be able to give her the names.

can anyone help? i've posted this in conception as well but then realised that it's a bit niche and most people won't have it in their topics. hopefully there are enough of us ghouls on the lookout for gruesome health stories to bump this onto active convos.

any help appreciated, thanks.

this lady is fantastic herebut is based more in east and north london. I have seen her a number of times and she is wonderful, very experienced and specialist in fertility related issues. Also long previous career as a midwife, so knows her stuff.
Get the 26 bus from Waterloo, shouldn't be too much bother!

There's a good centre right by Waterloo station.

I'm the wrong side for you but I'd bet my bottom dollar that there are zillions of acupuncturists in w hampstead...tis the perfect area for it (there's a british association I think, where you can look people up...if you have no luck with personal recommendations)

oh peasholme, that's great, thanks for replying. she looks nice, i think, cheers for that.

thanks foxy and MI. have you been to the waterloo one?

i think she's just a bit bummed by the whole thing, foxy, so the idea of getting a good MN recommendation might just make her feel more positive about it. i hope so, anyway. she's been given a rotten runaround for two and a half years... too fucking long given they told her the waiting list was six months at her first appointment...

Zita West's clinic offers this service, I see.
Can't speak from personal recommendation but she is generally very reputable. Good luck to your friend and LOL at the London Health Ghouls I used to be Health Moderator back before The War, you know

The Zita West Clinic and the Kite Clinic both do fertility-focused acupuncture.
Both are based near Baker Street I think and both are fairly pricy.

I've been to Zita West but it wasn't for me because the acupuncturist wanted me to see a midwife and a nutritionist, whereas I just wanted the needles. They were doing a special offer on a course of acupuncture. This is helpful because I think there is some suggestion that a certain number of treatments (5?) is thought to be best for IVF.

Also Jo George up at Highgate has a very good reputation and it is an easy ish drive from Hampstead.

I've not been to the Waterloo one but have heard Very Good Things.

I was going to suggest Mz West too, but mind is pudding tonight.

hmm thinking about it, friend of ours went somewhere in Hammersmith while we were still living there (I'll see if I can find it)

2 and a half years is one HELL of a long waiting list. Can't help but add to the pressure of the whole situation.

marina, i love zita west... i once sent an email to her info@zita etc address, basically whining about my fertility and ectopic pregs and worrying etc (why i did it, i don't know tbh) and i swear to god she phoned me the next day becuase i sounded so glum. wasn't that unbelievably kind of her? no way i could've come to her clinics and she knew that.

weird thing was... not twenty mins before i'd had a +ve preg test. 'i get that a lot', she said. darkest hour before the dawn.

hi Aitch, just a positive story for you, my friend was given the run around similarly. Had to wait 2 yrs. Anyway, had 4 failed IVF attepts before I persuaded her to have Acupuncture. The therapist told her she would never get preggers in the state she was in (and she's quite healthy can you believe it).

Anyway, 5th attempt she miscarried about 8 weeks which was an improvement as at least she actually had an succesful implantation - and this most recent attempt she's now 13 weeks and going strong - so in two cycles, the acupuncture has made a huge difference. hope she finds someone really good

cheers, scary.

they told her it was 6 mos when she first went, but the list exploded when the govt changed the guidelines re weight (or something, never quite got to bottom of it). bad thing was that they never said, the staff said every fucking month that she was up next. permanent state of flux, couldn't make plans etc etc. horrific.

I once sent something similar, Aitch, and also got a personal reply. As it turned out, I was a hopeless, clueless amateur compared to what some women endure in the TTC process, but I did enjoy scoffing her pregnancy vits, almost as much as dh enjoyed chucking his in the bin as soon as we got the blue line

how fab for your friend, puffy. kudos to her for keeping goiing through...

btw, yes i do feel like a TWAT for putting my name in the title. blatant attention-seeking, for which i duly apologise.

Was the Hammersmith one near Fulham Palace Road? I've been here for non-fertility type things, and the lady I saw (Rosey) was very nice.

Here's a bit more info on Kite. If I was looking for an acupuncturist right now, this is where I would go I think.

oh really, marina? gosh, that is impressive. i love her even more. and lol at the vits, i bought them too.

This clinic is very good. they do a lot of acupuncture for implantation for IVF.

this was the place

they had some fertility deal going on that she went to and said it helped (should point out that I am vary sceptical about all this lark but obv respect others wishes to do it!)

i think it's good to be sceptical, tbh. however i went for some chinese meds etc after my first ectopic and although it didn't stop a second one, i did feel that it was worth money in wellbeing terms if nothing else. he had to listen to me, i was paying him, and i felt like i was taking back some control of my body after all the prodding and poking and misery. for that reason alone i'd recommend it.

cheers, fanj.

I second peasholme's recommendation. I saw her when I was finding it hard to conceive for the second time at the age of 41 - I got pregnant and now have two lovely children

lucky you, janx.

what does she do that's so good, d'you think? what's it like?

Thank you
I must add I didn't have IVF. I liked Alison because she had a mixture of eastern and western experience. She was a midwife at my local hospital. I had a mixture of accupuncture and herbal supplements. I felt very at home with her - she is very down to earth and calming. I was also charting my temperature ( I was a bit rubbish at that though). Worked for me but there are no guarntees

of course. it's hope and hard work, isn't it? thanks for replying.

Hi
Yes and it can be stressful - so it is really nice to take time out and relax and have someone other than doctors talk to you about how you feel etc - good luck to your friend I hope she gets wants she wants