First Acupuncture Appt Tomorrow for Fertility - What to Expect?

[TTCmama]

I am finally trying acupuncture.  I have short LP (8-10 days) and heavy periods.  Nothing has helped so far - NPC (which helped with DD 6 years ago), Vitex, B6, Viamin C, etc....

I have never tried acupuncture before.  Any tips?  Anything you wish you knew ahead of time for those who have BTDT?

TIA!

[Jaimee]

I haven't been to acupuncture for fertility, but I have been for allergies and morning sickness.  The one thing I wish I would have known right away is to find a practitioner that you click with and that is sensitive to the sensations you get from the needles.  I started out with one that was "heavy" on the needle, which caused me a LOT of unnecessary discomfort and pain with treatments (I am, apparently, qi sensitive!).  He seemed to not really care saying that it just meant that it was working.  I later switched to a different practitioner and she was much more sensitive to my body and was "light" on the needles, recognizing that the treatment was not going to be as beneficial as it could be if I was not able to relax.  So my advice is if you don't feel good, switch.

Also, my experience has been that after the first session, which is longer due to talking, needle placement tends to take around 10-20 minutes and then you will relax with the needles in for another 20-40 minutes.  So make sure that you aren't hungry, thirsty, or need to use the bathroom or that will disrupt your experience.

[TTCmama]

Thanks for the reminder about thirst/the bathroom, etc...  Good point.

My appointment is this afternoon.  I'm excited and a little nervous. 

[TTCmama]

In case anyone is interested or later finds this thread in a search...

The first appt went very well.  I actually enjoyed the acupuncture - the needles didn't bother me at all and she was very gentle.  One she had to change out because it was uncomfortable (she told me if anything was sore/hurt after insertion to tell her so she could fix it).  The whole thing was super relaxing.

She is also having me drop sugar and wheat from my diet and basically concentrate on lots of dark green veggies, some fruit, protein and limited dairy.  I am to keep a food journal.  She will be starting me on herbs next week since AF is here.  She has"four phases" of herbs.  Not sure when I switch to what but I'm sure she will let me know.  I am to stop all supplements minus my prenatal (I was taking stuff like evening primrose oil).

The biggie is that she wants us to not TTC for 3 months.  Ack!  But her reasoning makes sense (regulate my hormones, reduce the chance of miscarriage, etc).  So no TTC until the holidays.  I am a little stressed thinking about it but I am trying to tell myself to enjoy the freedom - not 2ww for 3 months!  That's pretty cool. ;)

[Zig]

Thank you for sharing your experience! I have been meaning to make an appointment. I've done some research and found an acupuncturist I'm interested in seeing, I just never seem to get around to making the appointment. This is the push I needed to call!