I am "telling the world"
about my experience since
I have been trying for nearly 7 years
including all the fertility, blah blah,
without any (well one quick miscarriage)
success.

A friend I met on the internet from London (39)
going through similar things decided to try
accupuncture before going through IVF again.
She got pregnant after two months.
So I went when I had my period.
Never got my period again!

The acupuncture is used to get
the energy flowing properly or "chi" through
your body. If you are overweight or
out of shape there are probably "dead"
zones in your body. Your body needs to be
completely connected and flowing
properly for everything to work in unison.
The needles open up the channels
and get everything flowing again.

I was doubtful when I first went,
but tried it anyway.
The needles are VERY thin and don't hurt much.
They put in alot though, usually 17-25 all over
your body. My chinese guy put most in my legs
a few in my belly and three in my head.
At first I felt a slight sensation.
Then after a few visits I felt alot of
"stuff" moving around which he said was my chi reconnecting.
After a few more visits I didn't feel that "action"
and he said I was reconnected.

The herbs he had me take where straight from China.
I cooked up a batch every two days
and drank it twice a day.
They consisted of berries, twigs and
the like and it tasted awful.
I really think this helped clean out
and strengthen my inards! Plus he had
me take another herb blend pill for which was
to strengthen and tone my blood.

I really think it is important that you find an
acupuncturist who is chinese or trained
in china and has the herbs as well as the pins
to use them in conjunction.

Once I called him (on day 38) and
told him I was pregnant he told me we were
finished and that was the last I spoke to him.

It cost me $40.00 a session
and I went to him about 12 times.
Thats pretty reasonable considering the
cost of fertility!!

I found my little chinese doctor over
the internet on acupuncture.com.

Thanks and god bless

Lisa

Dear Momma Kath,

I was really glad to see you'd responded to Lisa's
letter with a page for acupuncture and infertility.
I am the woman she referred to at the beginning of
her letter, sadly my preg. after 3 years of TTC and
3 lots of unsuccessful IUIs ended in an early m/c.
However, the Chinese doctor I'm seeing is confident
I'll be pregnant again really soon and will give me
different herbs to prevent a miscarriage occurring
again.

She told me that in China a women with unexplained
infertility is given daily acupuncture and herbs for
one month then 90% conceive within 3 months. With
my treatment she gave me acupuncture 3 times a week
for a month then weekly after this. For the second
month I also had their powerful herbal medicine.
Within this time my cycle changed from 29 days long
to 26 and my ov. shifted to day 10. My period
changed from brown to red and was a fuller flow than
ever before. My general health also changed, my
lifelong cold hands and feet became warm and my hot
night sweats disappeared, I felt lively, happier and
more balanced in my daily life.

I am totally convinced that traditional Chinese
medicine is a powerful and effective treatment for
many conditions including infertility. The Chinese
have been practising this as their main form of
medicine for over 2000 years and it was the first
time a doctor had found a reason logical to them as
to why I wasn't conceiving. She claimed my kidney
and spleen meridians were blocked and my womb had
stagnant blood in and around it. It's a system so
different to ours it's almost impossible to
comprehend what they mean but there's now 2 of us
who it has worked for really quickly. I'm still
being needled weekly and taking daily doses of the
herbs and will keep you informed as to what happens.

Lastly, I think it's important to find a Chinese Dr.
who knows about Western fertility treatments as my
doctor says that she will treat someone while they
do IVF etc. claiming it will improve the chances of
women who have blocked tubes etc.

Speak soon

Kim

I am new to this site, but wanted to respond
to your acupuncture page.

dh and i have been trying to get pregnant for almost two years.
my cycles are somewhat long and unpredictable -
anywhere from 32 - 40 days (occasionally longer).
we've gone through some testing - sa, hsg, postcoital -
and our re can't explain why we haven't yet conceived.
i had been considering acupuncture for several months...
i finally began about 1 1/2 months ago.
my acupuncturist is working to warm my body and get my chi flowing.
i am trying to eat warm foods and have stopped swimming
(maybe the water was too cold for my body?).
anyway, right away with the treatment,
i noticed an overall sense of well-being.
i was just more focused in my work and life in general.
i felt and continue to feel more at peace and more centered.
this is my fourth cycle of charting temps and i am now 11cd,
and have noticed a change in my temps. my pre-o temps are
markedly higher than previous cycles. i used to get temps
as low as 96.8, usually hovering around 97.0-97.1.
this cycle, my temps are hovering around 97.5.
my cm is also beginning to show signs of fertility -
usually i don't see these signs till 17-18cd,
so i am pretty sure that i will o much earlier in this cycle!
i am feeling hopeful that my body is beginning to warm up and
things (i.e., my chi is flowing more easily). for 2 weeks now,
daily, i have been using a special type of herb (moxa) which
i light like a big fat incense stick,
and i move it across my belly
(to warm my ovaries and uterus)
and dh moves it across my back
(to warm my kidneys and liver).
i am also about to begin taking some chinese herbs -
i just met with the herbalist
last week and she is creating
a loose tea formula to help shorten
my cycles, which should in
turn help conception. it's still
early to guess how acupuncture
is helping me and will help me
down the road, but i feel very
confident that it is helping my body.

anyone interested in trying
acupuncture...try it! it is a
very subtle and powerful experience.
i feel strongly that it is exactly
what my body needs right now.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hi,

I am 28 and dh is 26, he checks out fine, thank goodness. I quit bcp in summer 99 and nothing happened. 11 months passed with only one period. So we tried provera and clomid for 5 cycles, which resulted in 3 O's, lots of unpleasant side effects but no pg.

On Dec 5th 2000 I got af and 3 days later I had my first appt with a TCM practitioner. He said I didn't need acupuncture as it apparently only helps if you have it regularly and I lived a long way from the practitioner. But he prescribed my a tubful of ground herbs that I took in hot water twice a day as a kind of tea. It tasted revolting but it was worth it. After only 11 days of taking the tea, I ovulated. Incredible with my track record! But unlike my previous 3 clomid ovulations, it occurred without me being aware of it because my typical signs (sore breasts and twinges) weren't there. It was a painfree ovulation this time!

About 3 weeks after beginning the herbs I took my basal temperature (just to check if I had O'd) that I realised I had. I was amayed that I had a high temp because although the practitioner prmised me that my periods would resulme within 3-7 months, this was 11 days!! With hindsight I remember seeing ewcm at New Years but didn't think there was enough for O to be immenent.

I continued to track my temps and this morning I took an htp. I got a positive result almost immediately and my husband and I have been in shock all day.

We were both thrilled that I O'd this cycle, and so quickly but we can hardly believe our luck that we got a positive result on our first natural cycle, even if we have been trying for 18 months.

I have great faith in TCM and I hope that this will encourage someone to think about it for themselves. I have heard countless success stories and I truly believed that the herbs would help me but I never expected to be blessed so quickly.

I think my due date is the 23rd Sept 01, no doubt I will find out soon enough.

Best wishes and GOOD LUCK to you all,
Samantha

The following is my success story with TCM/acupuncture and fertility. I would appreciate remaining anonymous for at least another month.

I'm 33 & my husband is 39. I've always had irregular periods and my husband had low sperm motility. After 2 years of trying, including the use of Clomid, we decided to see a specialist of Traditional Chinese Medecine. Susannah Neal, MA, Dipl.AC, treated me with acupuncture once a week, plus herbs (in the form of pills which were easy to take), for 2 months. My husband took several vitamins in relatively high doses.

I just found out I am 8 weeks pregnant, without Clomid or any other fertility drugs! Even though our insurance did not cover these treatments or the vitamins or herbs, the total cost was less than $1000, cheaper than fertility drugs, inseminations, or a laparoscopy! Also, I felt that Susannah Neal cared about me personally and wanted to get to the cause of the problems, not just treat the symptoms. The acupuncture was not at all painful and there were no negative side effects (unlike what I experienced on Clomid).

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