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Acupuncture Dilema.
Hi Girls
Been going to see a acupuncturist now for 6 sessions. All going well considering im terrified of needles but have to get over this hurdle quick cause I start to self inject from the 5th Nov.
Well I spoke to a friend today who has been through similar experience and swears by acupuncture. Especially on day of transfer however The woman who does mine said from the beginning she would not touch me on transfer day. Also I live 3 hours away from clinic and have decided to stay in nearby hotel to the clinic straight after just to rest and recover. As I am also being sedated for the procedure...
So my friend gave me a number of a well know acupuncturist near the clinic where I attend so gave her a call to sound her out.... Anyway she says I should NOT be sedated for procedure and I am to immediately cut out all dairy and wheat out of my diet and I should see her before transfer day...
My doctor has encouraged me to up my dairy and has from the beginning said I would be sedated for the procedure due to my health problems... Now im confused on what to do. My husband is having a fit saying I should just ignore everyones advice and just do what the doc says.
Any advice.
Thanks Girls
Emma x
Been going to see a acupuncturist now for 6 sessions. All going well considering im terrified of needles but have to get over this hurdle quick cause I start to self inject from the 5th Nov.
Well I spoke to a friend today who has been through similar experience and swears by acupuncture. Especially on day of transfer however The woman who does mine said from the beginning she would not touch me on transfer day. Also I live 3 hours away from clinic and have decided to stay in nearby hotel to the clinic straight after just to rest and recover. As I am also being sedated for the procedure...
So my friend gave me a number of a well know acupuncturist near the clinic where I attend so gave her a call to sound her out.... Anyway she says I should NOT be sedated for procedure and I am to immediately cut out all dairy and wheat out of my diet and I should see her before transfer day...
My doctor has encouraged me to up my dairy and has from the beginning said I would be sedated for the procedure due to my health problems... Now im confused on what to do. My husband is having a fit saying I should just ignore everyones advice and just do what the doc says.
Any advice.
Thanks Girls
Emma x
0
Replies
Will you have a trial embryo transfer beforehand? I had one when they checked my ovaries had down regulated (I was on a long protocol) My personal feeling is the clinic will know whether you need sedation or not and stuff that acupuncturist telling what you should and should not have!!!
I'm with your GP. When I was stimming I switched to full fat organic milk with cereal for brekkie and every other day had a boiled egg on 2 pieces of toast for lunch (colleague from work owns chickens so they were always fresh!) The other thing I took was whey protein shakes (original from holland and Barrett) Truly the most disgusting stuff I've ever taken and only lasted 8 days on them.
I also had accupuncture before transfer and about 2 hours later.
I got 11 eggs, 10 suitable and 8 fertilised. 4 then went on and made it to grade 2. I've now got 2 on board and 2 frosties in the freezer.
We had ICSI (first time) and got a BFP last friday. Still very early days but to get this far on our first attempt is bloomin marvelous!!!
Good luck for your treatment, I also had no side effects whatsoever and only 2 small bruises(extremely jammy!!!)
xxxx
Good luck with your treatment - you'll be amazed at how easy the injections are. The needles are so small that they really do just slip in without you really noticing.
I kind of had a similar dilemma in that my acupuncturist was giving me herbs and wanted to carry on. When we had our very first appointment at the IVF clinic, the consultant said he was happy for me to carry on with the acupuncture, but not the herbs. Hubby agreed with him, so I stopped the herbs - and my acupuncturist was fine with that.
My feeling is that the acupuncturist should be working with the treatment that you're having, rather than opposing the decisions that your consultant is making. As I understand it, sedation is unusual for embryo transfer, although some (mainly US) clinics give Valium as a matter of course - but if your consultant thinks it's necessary for you, I don't think the acupuncturist should try to second-guess him - particularly if she hasn't even met you yet.
As for the dairy, there are very good reasons for increasing your dairy intake during treatment. I've done a little bit of research on this to find out why my clinic was recommending that I drink more milk - this is an extract from what I said on my blog about it:
"As for milk, it can help throughout the IVF cycle - the protein it contains can help to produce better quality eggs. The calcium is useful when downregging - the induction of a mini-menopause can lead to depletion of calcium levels in your bones, increasing the risk of osteoporosis in later life.
Calcium is also very important in pregnancy for the development of the baby's teeth, bones, etc, and if you're not taking enough in, the foetus will take what it needs from your body, again increasing the risk of osteoporosis in the future.
Many people in the West these days have a diet which is deficient in calcium, particularly if they're trying to be careful of their weight (avoiding cheese, full-fat milk, etc) so getting those levels of consumption up is a good thing. Also, because during pregnancy you have to avoid soft cheeses, many women's calcium consumption may actually be going down and increasing consumption of milk/yogurt/hard cheese can counteract that effect."
This acupuncturist sounds a bit pushy to me - perhaps you could see if there are any others in the same area, as I think it's important that you get on well with your acupuncturist and have confidence in them.
Good luck xxx
It must be so hard when muliple professionals give conflicting advice! That being said, I'm inclined to agree with the other ladies on the board (and your husband) that your medical professionals' advice should take precedence.
I agree with LDOM that complimentary treatments should really work in conjunction with fertility treatments, and this accupuncturist sounds a little bit bossy! Ultimately you need to do what feels best for you, and obviously relaxation is important. Have you thought about using hypnotherapy CDs?
Best, best of luck with the treatment.