Accupuncture/Chinese Herbs for TTC and beyond

[Bella_mezzo]

Have you used accupuncture/chinese herbs/eastern medicine while TTC?

I was going to post this in the TTC or TTC 6 months or more thread, but wanted to be able to find it to easily update, though others might have questions/answers, and it's kind of specific so, here it is

I've been doing a lot of reading and decided that it seemed that accupuncture and chinese herbs might be able to help my recently irregular cycles and, thus far, unsuccessful TTC journey.

I went for my first visit today at a well-regarded clinic and it was interesting. They took a very thorough medical history with some psycho-social elements (it took about an hour and 15 minutes) and then I had a 30 minute accupuncture treatment.

They sent me home with several specifics tests/questions for my OBGYN (I have my annual visit next week) as well as dietary recommendations and a probiotic and I will go back in a few weeks after my test results are in. At that time I'll start regular accupuncture visits and they will prepare customized Chinese Herb medicines for my specific issues.

it didn't hurt at all, was helpful to clarify some of the things I am trying to sort out from recent readings (infertility by Julia Indichova, Making Babies by Sami David and Jill Blakeway, the PS TTC threads, and conceive.com.)

Incidentally, if anyone else classified their "type" in making babies, I am a "Tired and Stuck with some elements of waterlogged". Since it sucks to classify yourself as tired, stuck, and waterlogged, I am thinking of the inverse, "Energized, Dynamic, and Fluid"

Please share what your experiences have been, if they were helpful, etc. Non TTC stories welcome too (just beware that we get a little upclose and personal (TMI) in the TTC threads

 

[Skippy123]

I did and then got pregnant! The Accupuncturist told me she would get us preggo and she did! I totally believe in it! We didn't get pregnant before and we couldn't find anything wrong with us so it was great accupuncture worked! I didn't take herbs though; she suggested it but I didn't. I thought if it didn't work then the following month I would go for the herbs too.

I have a friend who also did it and it worked for them too!

 

[lliang_chi]

Bella, interesting thread. I did acupuncture whilst TTC and I also got pregnant.

My story: I was on Seasonale (the 90-day regimen HBC pill) before TTC. When I got off it, my cycles kept getting longer and longer! Talk about irregular, my longest cycle was 65 days! I was charting and it made timing very difficult because my cycles weren't regular at all.

I decided to go to community acupuncture thinking it'd help me regulate my cycle. I told the acupuncturist that we're TTC, but I'm not putting any pressure on myself or him to get me PREGNANT. I just want to go back to normal monthly cycles again.

So I started going in May 2011. I went roughly once a week for 5 wks. I started going at the tail end of an unsuccessful 65-day cycle, pre-AF, then continued during the next cycle. That cycle I got pregnant. I was charting so I would've had a 31 day cycle (had I not gotten pregnant). I ovulated CD 22 that cycle. The previous cycle, CD55. I also was totally not expecting to get pregnant since we didn't strategically BD and I ovulated 5 days after our last session. And not at all around O-date. So I thought for sure we were out. But strangely enough we have a beautiful son as a result.

During my first consultation with the acupuncturist, he said the first goal was to increase/stimulate blood flow to the uterus and make it a nourishing place for the egg and sperm.

I went to community acupuncture, which is much cheaper, but only had needles in the arms, legs (below knees), head and face. I would imagine a private acupuncture could get more "targeted" treatment since you could undress and have needles on your torso and/or back.

So yes, I got pregnant doing acupuncture while TTC. Do I think it was a direct cause? Sorta. I think the acupuncture definitely helped my body become 1) more relaxed 2) more nourishing. I think relaxation was key.

I would highly suggest it. For a few reasons. 1) It gives you a chance to relax even if it's only during the 1 hr during your appt. 2) Psychologically you feel like you're DOING SOMETHING, rather than just waiting and "at the mercy" of the universe. 3) While getting pregnant is a crap shoot, I seriously think acupuncture can help you regulate your cycles again.

Good luck!

 

[Skippy123]

I ditto LC on that is relaxes you big time; I never slept so well. It was expensive for me to do acupuncture though. Also, I did a lot of reading on which acupuncturists were well liked here in my city for specifically fertility.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Re: Acupuncture/Chinese Herbs for TTC and beyond

Yay Skippy and LC!

So glad that you both posted your experiences (and that it helped in some way on your journey to motherhood)!!!! Your stories are both really interesting and inspiring! I can't wait for some others to chime in too!!!!

LC-I was thinking basically those exact thoughts...

1. It will give me a regular place to relax which I know I need
2. Hopefully it will help get my cycles straightened out
3. It will be a small step in helping me to start taking better care of myself
4. I am a person of "action" and I will feel much better if I am doing something as opposed to waiting for AF each month which is how I felt last time we were actively TTC.

If those happen I would consider it a huge success. If I get pregnant too, then I will be shouting the benefits of acupuncture from the roof tops

Interesting re the community acupuncture...that would definitely be more affordable. I'll have to look into it and see if this clinic or another similar one does that here. I really like my therapist, she is very experienced and has great credientials, but seems kind and grounded and genuinely interested, plus she looks like a good fairy or an elf, so in my head I call her Elvie and the clinic totally feels like a spa inside. I could happily just relax in the inner waiting room once a week and probably still get a positive benefit If it wasn't such a trek from my house I would totally ask if I could just visit the waiting room a few times a week in between treatments

DH is really supportive of this as he knows that I'm not really comfortable with traditional TTC meds/treatments (mainly b/c my body tends to have really strong and unusual reactions to drugs/hormones) and b/c he's the one that really wants to pursue pregnancy this time rather than adoption. So, even though it stretches our budget, I am going to go every other week starting in July, possibly increasing to once a week.

I am telling myself that if at each session I commit to one small change that helps take care of me better, I'll be in a much healthier state by the end of the summer no matter what happens on the fertility side.

This session, I am committing to myself that I'll either take B outside for a hilly walk or do Pilates inside for 30 minutes everyday.

Also, we went on a grocery shopping spree to stock up on fruits and veggies and I am going to try and eat chicken or fish 3 times a week (I had been a vegetarian for 17 years, in various iterations from lacto-ovo, to vegan, to pescetarian b/c I just really don't like meat and find the concept kind of creepy). Surprisingly, I recently stopped finding chicken off-putting and since according to my acupuncturist my "constitution" typically does better with some lean meats as opposed to none, I am going to try it and see what I think.

I am also supposed to limit/eliminate dairy, processed flour, and sugar, but I'm not quite there yet The mini chocolate babka swirl buns I just pulled out of the oven include all three of those...one step at a time...

 

[vinjewels]

I have a story with Accupuncture on both ends of pregnancy.
I had had an early miscarriage after getting pregnant with #2 because of a ruptured ovarian cyst (we think) and I went to a local guy in Arlington. It takes a couple of sessions depending on where your body is. It is basically prepping your body to be conducive with building another human (which is a pretty big demand ). I went to him and also did a bit of the raw food diet. The diet thing helped reverse the polycystic ovarian syndrome. I am a believer in the food as medicine mantra. It worked!

I have another lady I went to in Atlanta who also helped me when we were TTC #1 and she worked on me thru morning sickness...up until it was time for him to make his appearance. I have big babies and am not big myself, so by the 38th week, I wanted to strangle someone. I went to her, she checked my pulse and some things with the baby and "induced" labor. She told me "I only induced you halfway b/c I don't want you having the baby in traffic on the way home. Be ready by Saturday evening." I shrugged it off, laughing about her 'halfway inducement" comment.
Saturday, 5:00, I felt kinda odd, went in, was sent home and we went screaming back to the hospital b/c I went from 2-10 cm in 45 min.
I went in to see her a couple of weeks later and told her "you weren't joking." She just smiled.

 

[BrightSpot]

Wow, what great stories! I'm thrilled how well acupuncture has worked for you guys!

Bella, I've been seeing an acupuncturist for many months now. It's a community acupuncture place (thanks to LC's recommendation) so it's much more affordable than private sessions, but she only puts needles in my hands, legs & feet so perhaps it's less targeted than fertility acupuncture.  It's not especially spa like, but I was willing to sacrifice that for a lower price tag. 
While I haven't had a successful pregnancy yet, I do find the sessions relaxing & I think they have improved my lining. My acupuncturist is also super sweet & supportive & it's nice to have someone else to talk to about health/ttc stuff. I haven't taken any herbs for fertility but did take one round to help me complete my last miscarriage. 
I go to Manhattan Community Acupuncture on the Upper West Side. I don't know if that would be convenient for you or not, but might be worth investigating. Good luck at your doctor's appointment & I'm hoping your cycles get straightened out soon! It sounds like you have a great plan for making some positive changes. I'm contemplating making some changes myself (I should probably cut back on carbs & sugar too but I have such a sweet tooth that it would be really hard!) 

 

[Logan Sapphire]

I don't know if there's much of a connection, but I did do acupuncture in the months before I got pregnant, though I was not TTC by any means. It wasn't fertility acupuncture; I have chronic upper back pain, but maybe something helped out with getting pregnant? I only did it a few times because I didn't think it helped much with the pain.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Oooohhhhh....thanks for the rec Bright Spot, the UWS is pretty convenient and that would be so much cheaper. I wonder if I could go to the other place once a month for a "check-up" and then go to community acupuncture the other three weeks? hmmmm.....

Wow Logan, that is really interesting!

I am interested to see what my Dr says at the end of this week and then to see how the next few months unfold!

I went out to dinner tonight at Neely's Social (YUM!) but ate way to much and had 2 drinks, we'll just call this my farewell to refined sugar, alcohol, and large portions!

 

[enbcfsobe]

I started acupuncture after my second early m/c. I made DH go too just in case (figured it can't hurt and could improve the swimmers). We are very lucky that our insurance covers 24 sessions each year. I had one regular cycle after the m/c and then got pregnant and am now at 17 1/2 weeks. The RE was not able to find anything wrong with me or DH even after additional testing for genetic and clotting disorders. The RE was fine with us doing acupuncture while treating with him, and still prescribed progesterone supplements as my levels were a bit low (though significantly higher this time around than with m/c #2). The acupuncturist we went to specializes in addressing fertility issues and works with a lot of the fertility practices in the city. Even if we had to pay out of pocket it is so much cheaper than traditional fertility treatments (which our insurance does NOT cover) that I would've done it anyway. I believe it made a big difference in both helping my system recover from the m/c and in helping maintain the pregnancy -- that's really what the post-BFP treatments focused on. I also think it made a huge difference in my morning sickness. Even though I still felt like crap for 3 months I'm convinced I would have been bedridden without the acupuncture and the pressure beads he had me wear on my wrists. I think it also helped some with the anxiety, sleeplessness, and gastric discomfort. I'm now tapering off my treatments as the pregnancy is now at a point where baby is producing its own hormones. Overall it also made a huge difference in my feelings about TTC -- it made me feel like I was taking control and not just blindly trying a variety of increasingly invasive and expensive things with no diagnosis, which was what I felt like with the traditional medicine approach. While there's not necessarily a better explanation for why acupuncture may help, it's far less invasive, a lot cheaper, and doesn't come with the nasty side effects. If I had it to do over again I'd have started acupuncture much earlier after going off birth control to help normalize my hormones, and I would absolutely recommend it. I really hope it helps you, bella!!

 

[Itsgonnahappen]

Could you share the ATL ACUPUNCTURE you used?

 

[Itsgonnahappen]

Vinjewels - I know this was an old post but thought I'd still reply - Could you share the ATL ACUPUNCTURE you used?

 

[vintagelover229]

I HIGHLY recommend everyone TTC take maca root. Both male and females. It's amazing. You can sometimes get it in powder form at bulk food stores. I took it and got pregnant right away as well as a gf of mine.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5063197_maca-root.html

 

[LtypeI]

did acupuncture when we were TTC #1. I have pretty long cycles (around 45 days) so was worried that we wouldn't have that many opportunities to try and that it would take forever, so I jumped into acupuncture pretty quickly. it also helped a lot with stress relief, as that was a stressful period for me at work.

I started the acupuncture for our second cycle of TTC, and got pregnant that cycle. Worked for me, I think! This time I'm taking it easy and not really doing anything special to chart, but if it takes a while I'll do acupuncture again.