Acupuncture and IVF

[peanutsandpinenuts]

Hey all,

I've been planning to complement IVF with acupuncture and the cycle after this one will be our first round of IVF. Just wondering if anyone else has used acupuncture with IVF and if so when did you start?

My cycles have lengthened to 43 days following two rounds of Clomid earlier in the year so I'm a bit worried that if we start now then this a long and expensive road with the acupuncture if I ended up doing it weekly, which I think is what they recommend. But if it balances my hormones back out, perhaps worth it?

Really welcome peoples thoughts :)

I did a acupuncture for 2 IVF cycles and 3 transfers. I had mixed results - 2 BFN and 1 ectopic

I did enjoy it and found it relaxing. I'd usually have one during stims (but I only stim for around a week) and then within 3 days of embryo transfer.

I couldn't do acupuncture due to covid for my 4th transfer and I'm now 12 weeks with twins so obviously didn't need it 🤣

It's good for relaxing but at £50 a time it's expensive to do regularly. Some of my friends to fertility reflexology instead

@peanutsandpinenuts hi! I started June 2019 in prep for our first cycle which didn’t actually start until the December. I had it every 4 weeks. My friend had recommended it as she had been trying for nearly 2 years to no avail, did acupuncture twice and got pregnant! So I thought it was worth a shot. My cycles are pretty regular so that hasn’t changed but I do find it relaxing. I have another friend who has PCOS and was going months without a period and is now regular which she swears is due to acupuncture. I think it’s worth a shot. Good luck for your first cycle! X

2 full cycles of IVF
Pregnant both times and have never had acupuncture in my life

Good luck with your cycle x

I did it for about 8 weeks before my EC. It was very relaxing and the acupuncturist was lovely. It was great to have someone to talk to about the ivf and affects on me. Ultimately the fresh transfer didn’t work. I’m in the tww from a FET, if it wasn’t for Covid I would have liked to have a couple of sessions.
My acupuncturist said the affect was cumulative hence why she encourages weekly sessions.

Thanks everyone... really interesting to get all your thoughts. I've booked in acupuncture the start of September with an acupuncture for fertility specialist in Clapham. I don't think it's going to be the one thing that makes difference but it should be relaxing and a positive things to do.