acupuncture - First Appointment Update

at the beginning of my last cycle i decided that if it didnt work i would try acupuncture. now that i have to wait a month to start my next meds cycle, i decided to take the plunge. i actually asked my mom to pay for it for my birthday present!! at least it makes me feel like im doing something during the waiting period...

anyway i will be going to metropolitan acupuncture . i was considering LI Holistic since its near my house, but their initial consult was $160 and i thought that was a little much (Metropolitan is $120 for an hour and half consult, and $90 for each additional hour long appointment). I did a bunch of research and i really liked the feel of Metropolitan (its on 38th and 5th in NYC), and i already spoke directly with the therapist to make my appointment. i also chose them because they are the recommended accupuncturist of the Sher Institute for Reproductive Medicine, which im pretty sure is the practice dr. b was with before he opened his private practice.

anyway what experiences do people have with acupuncture in reference to infertility?? im nervous about the needles hurting, but at this point i will try anything to get me a sticky BFP...

UPDATE - so i had my first appointment tonight. i have to say that it was WAY different than what i expected but I LOVED it.

first thing i loved is that the acupuncturist is actually located inside the office of Sher Institute for Reproductive Medicine!! so he is WELL versed in reproductive endocrinology and medicated cycles. also im fairly sure dr. b at some point was heavily associated with SIRM so that gives me good vibes .

anyway we went through my infertility history which was wayyyy longer than i wouldve like (took about a half hour to discuss). then he did the TCM standard tongue and pulse checks - although i didnt ask him what he saw/heard.

the actual treatment was nothing like what i expected. the respond was WAY more physical than i expected. the needles didnt hurt really - just an occasional pinch. the one between my eyes kinda freaked me out a bit but once it was in i almost forgot it was there... anyway so he put all the needles in - not too many, then left. as soon as they were all in i started to feel SO cold. like freezing and shivering cold like when you come out of anesthesia. when he checked on me i said i was cold and he put the heat lamp on which def. helped. then i stopped shivering and started feeling all sorts of just weird energy moving around in my body. and then for a few minutes i got insanely emotional about the recent m/c. once that passed i was pretty relaxed and calm for the rest of the time. i didnt get a full hour of acupuncture cause it was the first apointment so after all the talking we did it was kind of like a trial run. but i am def going back on thursday - wish it was sooner. once i was relaxed it was a really good feeling, although i def feel like i had to go through the other feelings first in order to get there....

anyway sorry this got so long, thanks for all of the advice. i hope it helps... oddly enough i just finished spotting from the m/c yesterday. today really nothing was going on, until after the appointment i had a little bit of ovary cramping and some creamy CM. i know one appointment prob. doesnt mean much and that i have to build on the one appointment, but i def felt LOTS of energy moving around in my ovary areas so who knows!!

Message edited 6/3/2010 9:52:06 PM.

Re: acupuncture

I've been going for acupuncture treatment since March. I would go twice a week when I'm cycling and once a week when I'm on a break (last month) from IVF. The day of your transfer, my acupuncturist would do a session right before and a session right after the transfer.
One of my friend is an acupuncturist was telling me that with this type of treatments, you have to be consistent for at least 3-4 months to get any results. I can tell you that ever since I started going, I don't spot before AF and the color is a lot brighter. To them, dark old blood is no good.
In terms of the needles, I'm not going to lie, certain areas, you'll feel it slightly. According to my friend, you would never feel the needle pain if you have a really good acupuncturist. You'll feel slight pressure but shouldn't be pain. Just make sure that before they put in the needles, they are actually measuring the pressure point location with their hands. Their main objective is to make sure that the energy or Qi is flowing through the body and in return, the blood can flow to the uterus.
You'll feel really relaxed during the treatment. Hope that helps!
GOod luck!

Re: acupuncture

Some people swear by it but in my case it's either not helping or I'm not going to the right places for it... I've been going twice a week for 9 months now and still nothing... my FSH is lower though, which is what my problem is to begin with , so maybe it is helping with something... but I'm stil not pregnant My DH does it once a week also, he has sperm count and slight morphology issues. We spent 2 months with the first acupuncturist (Dr Yang in Jericho) while trying to conceive naturally, 7 months with the second (Dr Wang in Syosset) first five months we were trying naturally and the last 2 with IUI, and this morning we started with 3rd one (Dr Li in Westbury). Dr Li "guantees" pregnancy so I figured why do I have to loose by giving him a try? Anyway, he is a lot cheaper than the other 2 places I went to. He charges $65 per visit whereas Dr Wang charged $100 DH and I keep laughing at how much money we'll have leftover if I finally get pregnant All this is costing us a lot of money and if you add all the money that we spend on all the supplements and stuff..... Acupuncture shouldn't hurt, and if it does the person that does it is inexperienced. Dr Li didn't hurt me at all this morning and hopefully it will stay that way But in general, my experience with the other acupuncturists has been painless most of the time. I always try to go to a chinese acupuncturist because based on all the reasearch I've done they know acupuncture best because they were educated in China. But then again I'm still not pregnant so I really don't know how much truth that holds I also take all sorts of different herbs that they give me and have also done cupping with Dr Wang. They all have all sorts of different techniques (cupping, herbs etc) that they use in addition to acupuncture to help boost your chances. Oh, and one more thing that's important is to make sure that the acupuncturist that you are using specializes in infertility
Good luck!!!!

Re: acupuncture

DO IT DO IT!!!

I have PCOS and started going at the end of March for ttc and just trying to get my period!!

I started going 2x a week at first for about 10 sessions, at around session 8 I got my period!!!

And now I am pregnant!!!

I will contine to go throughout the pregnancy, because the treatments don't have to be pregnancy related everytime.... for example, I can get a treatment for anxiety or morning sickeness, fatigue. Just about anything!

Yes, some needles hurt, but not too bad some are uncomfrtable. The ears, ankles and feet particularly. But if it hurts really bad the therapist can just take them out.

Most importantly, acupuncture is a time that is specifically blocked out for you to REST and RELAX. We all have stresses in nlife and it is such a nice escape. Your own adult naptime!!! Just let go and don't put pressure on yourself and just give it a try. But I suggest you try it for a few months. I think you will love it. No matter what it is good for you and will not harm you or your baby!!!

Good Luck!

Re: acupuncture

I highly recommend it!

I also have PCOS. Honestly, I can't say either way whether that's what helped me get PG. A certain amount of times was covered under my insurance )which I used up by the end of the year). It took me a while to find the right place but after every session, I just felt soooo relaxed and comfortable. There were certain spots that hurt but only for a second.

I think i started in Sept right before my second IUI (BFN) and I continued during the IVF process

FM me if you have any questions!

Re: acupuncture - First Appointment Update

update from first appointment above