Accupuncture

[try9ng]

Hello, has anyone tried accupuncture before to help with IVF. We had a failed cycle in November and due to start again end of March. I've signed up to start accupuncture and just wondering if anyone has had it and did it make a difference? Thanks

I did it for 3 of my 4 transfers.....the only cycle I didn't do it was the final one due to it being lockdown...:I had twins 😂
I did find it relaxing though x

That's not a great advert for accupuncture lol. I'm just trying everything at this stage

I would highly recommend acupuncture. I had it for many months before starting our treatment and then during the actual transfer (the morning and evening). It made me less anxious and definitely had an impact on me as l got pregnant. It has actually changed my life by improving my anxiety and l will always be grateful for the help to get pregnant. Would definitely recommend it. Good luck with your treatment!

Respectfully @sozzleb1983 you don’t know if acupuncture worked because you got pregnant. You got pregnant because you did IVF. Similar to you, I did acupuncture in the months leading up to my first round of ivf , it failed. Then for 6 months afterwards as we tried naturally. I continued acupuncture for my 2nd, 3rd rounds of ivf - also didn’t work. I stopped acupuncture as it’s so expensive. I did rounds 4 and 5 and round 5 worked.

@try9ng if you go to acupuncture and enjoy it then great. Do it. Don’t do it expecting it’ll help get you pregnant.

I agree with the previous poster

Don't go into it thinking it will be a miracle cure - to be honest I thought it was a load of old bollocks at £50 a hour (and you're supposed to have multiple sessions during an Ivf cycle and transfer) - the first few times I went but by then I was desperate and would have done just about anything to improve the chances of ivf working

I did find it relaxing though in many respects during what was a stressful time obviously

One thing I did try on my own with my final transfer which worked was something my acupuncturist showed me as she incorporated some holistic elements - so to lie with your hands on your uterus area (to keep it warm) and imagine the embryos implanting and put an image to that - I imagined little conkers falling from a tree and burrowing into the ground and growing into a massive conker tree - who knows if it did the trick but I suppose it helped foster a positive mental attitude about the transfer instead of just thinking it hadn't worked again

I disagree and definitely don't think it's a load of bollocks as it really changed my attitude to the whole thing and my anxiety has improved so much. I had also had previous rounds without the acupuncture. It wasn't just about the getting pregnant my anxiety was sky high so it helped so much!
I know l would recommend it because it worked but you're only saying it's rubbish @anotherviewtoyou and @bonetiredwithtwins because it didn't work for you so not that very helpful. It has got so many benefits for your health. It's definitely worth a try as well as lots of different things if it helps and that's obviously just my opinion!!!

I've tried acupuncture a few times in my 4 years ttc. I think finding the right practitioner is important. Like @sozzleb1983 I found it helped with anxiety.

I was going regularly in my fresh ivf cycle and had pre and post transfer sessions and conceived but had a chemical pregnancy. Leading up to my FET I had planned in my sessions but my practitioner cancelled on me a few days before my first session and wasn't available throughout, so I had a very stressful time finding someone else, but I did. She squeezed me in but I only had a pre and post transfer session and I conceived again. Had a missed miscarriage though (I do have recurrent losses).

I'll definitely do it again. Good luck.

I seemed to fall pregnant whenever I did acupuncture for a few months. I also felt having an hour out once a week was beneficial ( also just talking to the acupuncturist about my week and being able to let off steam about fertility issues)
There is a lot of research that shows it can increase implantation
The big negative for me was the cost so I didn’t continue while pregnant or after pregnancy

@sozzleb1983 I didn’t say it’s rubbish. I said if op likes it and finds it relaxing to do it. I did say it’s incredibly disingenuous to tell another poster it got you pregnant when you know that poster is desperate to get pregnant. Your IVF worked and you got pregnant similar to how my IVF worked and I got pregnant.

It’s great it helped your anxiety but surely you are not saying once you relaxed you got pregnant….

No l am definitely not saying it's because l relaxed - l tried that for 4 years!! I am just saying that in my opinion l think it helped me. There are so many factors that will contribute to women getting or not getting pregnant l understand that. I just wanted to recommend it as it could be something that helps her.
I do also agree with @venusstarr that it's depends on the person you find as l had a lovely acupuncturist who did the fertility treatments and researched treatments that would help my case in particular!

Sorry @anotherviewtoyou. It was @bonetiredwithtwins that said it was bollocks which l disagree with! Sorry!

Thank you all for your views. I will try another few sessions to see how I feel. I'm a very anxious person and don't find it particularly relaxing. I've been trying to book in for fertility reflexology but difficult to find anyone available locally

@try9ng I found it very relaxing and it helped my anxiety, but I didn't stay pregnant after 2 embryo transfers. My acupuncture lady was absolutely lovely and I enjoyed my hour with her. She has retired and I've decided not to find someone new before my (hopefully) FET in a few weeks. It would have been a rush to find someone new and get comfortable with them before such an important day. I'm also anxious about testing positive for covid at the last minute, so going fewer places reduces my risk.

I think acupuncture is beneficial if you feel relaxed and it helps your mental health. I just try to do what makes me feel calm. Does anyone local to you do "normal" reflexology? I've had reflexology (not fertility specific) and found it relaxing. I just didn't carry on because she only did one weekday evening and it clashed with my favourite yoga class.

@try9ng When I stopped doing it I actually started going for a hot stone massage every two weeks instead (cheaper than weekly acupuncture). I picked a place that was lovely and calming and where I could use the pool, relaxation room and facilities afterward. I found that super relaxing and actually the girl I was going to was lovely and I ended up chatting to her about all the ivf stresses so it was like a mini counselling session too. Something to consider if you’re looking for help destressing.

I also did fertility hypnotherapy which I found relaxing and also fertility reflexology which I also really enjoyed and the girl doing it was lovely. None of it helped get me pregnant though unfortunately.