Opinions on Acupuncture

[MoonlightDreamer]

I'm interested to hear from anyone who has tried acupuncture prior to or during ivf.

I'm currently awaiting to start the ivf process, possibly as soon as next cycle.

Did you feel acupuncture helped to achieve anything for you? Weather it be physical or mental.

I've read alot of articles online that suggest it can improve egg quality. What's your thoughts on that ?
Did it help to alleviate any stress?

I've been on ovulation induction medication for the past few months and a concern I've had is that one of the associated side effects is a reduced blood flow to the uterus. Acupuncture interests me as apparently it can improve blood flow.

Any thoughts you have at all would be appreciated.
Would like to know if you found it helpful or just a waste of money

There is no evidence it helps with anything but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it if you find it relaxing.

I did acupuncture before and during IVF, and found it very relaxing. I did it both during my failed round as well as my successful one, so physically I can comment on any particular effect.

I hadn't heard of benefits to egg quality but I read that it does improve blood flow to the uterus: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjqknQPOHq1/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I would say it's worth a try to see how you feel... Not everyone enjoys it.

Very best of luck!

@MoonlightDreamer I am currently having acupuncture, I started after my first cycle failed as lots of clinics seem to recommend it. I have to be honest and say that I am not sold on it 🙈 I can't say it's particularly relaxing and I don't feel like it's doing anything. I think I'm more of the scientific mindset and struggle with anything alternative. BUT I have read a lot about improved blood flow which is why I'm sticking at it for now. If my next cycle is successful it will be impossible to tell if acupuncture played a part as I've changed a lot. But I'd rather do it than wonder if I should have done if I'm unsuccessful next time. It's not cheap though so I'll probably stop after my next cycle either way.

@April623 If you don't enjoy it I really wouldn't waste your money on it. There are no decent studies that demonstrate any positive effect and I'd be cautious of any clinic recommending it.

@SErunner Yeah I can't say I dislike it, but it does nothing for me from an enjoyment or relaxation perspective!

I personally found it a waste of time for fertility. I had it previously for a different issue and found it helpful so I was open minded but overall it didn't help, my absolute worst cycle I had acupuncture. It was also a pain trying to fit it in, it wasn't relaxing, I even gave it a second go a bit later with a different acupuncturist but after that called it quits.

It depends on what stage of your treatment you want to have it. Rachael Forrest,, the qualified acupuncturist, analyzes the stages of the treatment such as down regulation, the stim, egg collection, transfer, and tww, and how acupuncture can help at each stage, Hope this helps (the article here)

I did it for my second cycle. Started after disaster first cycle. I also changed stims and upped a few doses of vitamins. I still have it now and I am 8 weeks tomorrow. Whether or not that helped or not I don't know!

I've done acupuncture on all three of my cycles and am doing it now in my second stim cycle. I have had implantation on all three of my transfers (one DD, two miscarriages), no idea if it helped or not, but I do find it relaxing.

The way I see it is that is not that expensive (compared to IVF!) and if there is a chance it helps, why not try?

Except all the evidence shows it doesn't help so it's a waste of money unless you particularly enjoy it...

Sorry, not meaning to say you shouldn't do it but just to be clear it doesn't help. At best it may help you relax which is of course enjoyable during a stressful time.

@SErunner Not strictly true, some studies do show a benefit - here's one example - www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7142313/

It's a poor quality study, I should have phrased my statement saying there is no good quality evidence of benefit. Leading experts don't recommend it's usage, clinics that do should be treated with caution.

I've not come across any clinics that strongly recommend it, I did my own research. I found several studies (I'm not going to get into arguments on quality) that said it might help and none that said it would harm my chances. My rationale was that I'm spending a fortune on IVF, if there is a small chance this would help, it doesn't cost a lot, and helps me relax, why not do it. Obviously, everyone can make up their own mind.

Of course! And if people find it relaxing/enjoyable, no reason not to. Just think transparency around the lack of evidenced effects is important. There are several clinics that suggest/recommend it worryingly. Leading figures (Robert Winston et al) do not. I'm happy to take their guidance on it given they know far more than anyone outside this field could grasp from google.

Hello,

professional acupuncturist here (three years of degree level studies).

Here is a good summary of the evidence: https://acupuncture.org.uk/fact-sheets/infertility-art/

It is always a problem to design what is considered a “good quality” study for acupuncture for several reasons: getting the funding to do a large scale study, deciding on what “fake treatment” the control group will receive…for medication, you can give the control group a pill, but for acupuncture either you put a needle in or not!

Anyway, if you want to receive acupuncture for egg quality, it is best to start three months before the actual collection, and I would also recommend working with a nutritionist as nutrition has a massive impact on egg quality.

I wish you best of luck.

I had it for my fresh and frozen round and both were successful, but I have nothing to compare it to, so I don't know if it helped.