The Really Useful TCM Thread

Hi all,
muncho, jen1802 and I have all started using TCM (traditional chinese medicine) to help our ttc efforts. We thought we'd start a thread detailing our experiences to help any other girls who feel they'd like to try it.
If you're thinking of trying TCM to help you ttc, I can recommend the book The Infertility Cure by Randine Lewis. My practitioner, Quing, told me it would be really helpful and she was spot-on! It explains the effects of TCM on infertility with great clarity and make so much sense that I can't quite describe its effects on me, other than inspirational.
Anyway, here we are and we hope you find our experiences useful.
Abi x

My First Acupuncture Session - 23rd November 2009
I was really looking forward to this and have great faith in its ability to help with fertility issues. The woman I went to helped 2 of my friends conceive, one of whom was about to start IVF, and she had a thank-you card on her reception wall from a woman she'd helped to have a baby following 3 failed IVF cycles.

When I arrived she had me fill in a registration form. She then took me into the treatment room, asked me what I wanted help with (conception and mucousy sinuses), looked at my tongue (this tells a lot about our health apparently) asked me a few questions about my periods: age they started (14 1/2), length (6-ish days), heavy/light (heavy), PMS (no), cramps (not since having #1 and lots of reflexology). She asked me if I get cold hands /feet (feet, yes); and about my digestive and urinary health (both very good, thanks). She also asked if I get anxious (yes, I can worry - particularly over TTC!)

She believes my kidneys are weak (evidenced by my tongue, and the facts that my periods started late-ish and we're having trouble conceiving) which she can help with. She recommended a book to me (The Infertility Cure, by Randine Lewis, PhD - I had a quick squizz in her copy and apparently the kidneys, liver and - I think - lungs are closely linked to the endocrine system (hormone production) and a small imbalance can throw fertility awry. I'll be looking for this book I think! Obviously there's more to it than that, but it was a quick squizz at a thick book.

She asked about my charting then gave me a paper chart to fill in for this month and asked me to bring all my Fertility Friend charts next week (weekly appointments for a while) - she can tell a lot about the cycle by looking at temps and the shape of the chart. I told her about my short luteal phase (8-11 days) and that I think I have low progesterone levels because I breast fed for a long time and have read that prolactin can suppress progesterone levels - she didn't seem to agree with this, at least not in my case. She's also a chinese herbalist and has said after loking at my sharts and treating me again next week she may well give me some herbs to help lengthen my LP.

The Treatment:

She had me take off my boots and lie face-down on the bed and put a couple of needles in the back of my skull, just at the top of my neck, which gave me a slightly dull feeling, for a moment and then nothing more unless I moved my head. Another needle went in along my backbone, near the small of my back. I was then left with blankets on, under a heat lamp and left to relax.

When I moved onto my back she put 3 needles in my uterine area, with the heat lamp above my tummy, and a couple just above each ankle and again left me to relax. Again this didn't hurt other than a slightly dull sensation as they went in. She also checked on tenderness in other areas.

When she took these out, she put a few little sticky squares in my right ear, with pressure points on them and said that I'm to press each one for a few minutes about 10 times each day - these were to help me not to stress, she said, and I need to keep them dry otherwise they'll fall off.

Phew. She was very calm, gentle and professional. I'm going back next week for another session.

When I walked out of there I felt very, very light and slightly tingly, in a very good way. I think I'm going to enjoy this.
x

Abi's 2nd Acupuncture Appointment - 30th November 2009
At my 2nd appointment today, my practitioner looked at my charts and, apart from telling me I'm doing my temps wrong - I should just be taking my temp whenever I wake up in the morning, as long as it's straight after a block of 3 hours' sleep (not lying still for half an hour if I wake up at 6:30!), which would stop them being so erratic - said that the charts also tell her (high menstruation temps, slow post-ov rise and dips below the line post-ov, sub-11-day lp) that I have a progesterone deficiency.
So I'm a numpty, but I was right about the progesterone.
I showed her everything I'm taking today and she said it's fine. (EPO and agnus castus pre-ov, B-100, Pregnacare and Omega 3:6:9 oils in case I haven't mentioned it often enough just yet). She also gave me some herbal tablets (12 2 x day).

I told her I'm keeping my feet wrapped up to keep them warm when I'm sitting around, whilst at the same time keeping a hot wheat bag on my lower abdomen. That'll sort out my cold uterus!

Did I tell you my diagnosis is kidney yang deficiency and cold uterus? Makes perfect sense if you have the book I've been banging on about.

I have the stickers on my ear again. Found they worked very well last week - deeply relaxing, piching them between my fingers, seriously.

More next monday!

Abi x

wow i am very excited to see how this works for you!!

Thanks for sharing abster, very interesting stuff. I think I may have some sort of hormonal imbalance or deficiency. Fertility speacialist said my lining is thin and my eggs small for the cycle day I was at during the appt. Very curious to see how this works for you. Will be following closely. Good luck and baby dust!!

hiya

i have been for 2 sessions so far of acupuncture and 1 refloxology:

acupuncture. My experience is similar to absters. i felt it really relaxing and i have read so many things about how it can help with ttc. We will soon be going for IVF and in our booklet for the clinic it recommends acupuncture. This is a big things for doctors to agree that complimenatary therapy works as normally they are sceptical about these things.
My 2nd session was not as good but thats beacuse i was on CD2 and you cant really interfere the the blood flow so i had a bit if a massage.
at the moment i am not taking the herbs but thats because last week i started taking the following:

wheatgrass
pregnacare from zita west
omega 3 tabs
EPO (af-ov)

so i need my body to get used to these tabs before i start bombarding it with even more.

my next session is on friday 4th . as we are trying to concieve naturally this month he is trying to get as many done by ov as possible....


Refexology : found it very relaxing. I have one one functional tube but 2 functional ovaries . She sayd i have good energy from my ovaries which is really good

Now i think i normally ov from my left ( as i get the pain). This is the side where i only have the non functional tube so idealy i need to ov from the right.

the day after this reflexologu for the 1st time since ttc i felt twinges oin my right. I HAVE NEVER had this. I knew wasnt ov as i was due af ..... so dont know what that means...

finally my af is normally a regular 28 days and last for 2 days. This month it was 25 days and lasted for 3. I need it to last for longer as i have endo and my lining is not thick enough to implant!

so there are 3 reasons why this could have been different:

1) acupuncture has encouraged more blood flow to the uterus - which is what i want
2) i had a laparoscopy 3weeks ago. Alhtough this should not interfer with AF
3) i ahve strated taking a cocktail of vitamins and its scrwed it up a bit this month

eiether way i dont know but i will be carrying on with both and would highly recommend it

good luch.......phew long post!

Crap! Was part-way through long entry and it disappeared! Think I hit Control and some random other key

Found myself cooking up herbs in the kitchen last night - OH has started going to the Chinese MEdicine Centre for treatment for his psoriasis and was given dried chinese herbs ot take. We have to boil them up to make 400ml of tea and he takes 100ml twice a day, 30 mins after breakfast and tea. Boiling up som emore on monday night. Thought I'd write about his treatment as well.

My nose hasn't been blocked and runny in teh morning since I started the acu, so I've been able to do my yoga. Hurrah for acu!
Abi x

Very interesting thread . Very intriged! Will be following you guys!

Had my 2nd acu appt on Friday. was very good. Scott ( the acu guy) starts off with a back massage to try to release any blockages - a sthey can also affect blood flow to the organs

Anyway we had our session and he was asking me how i felt, was i stressed? am i sleelping better etc..

well i asked my DH how i have the last few weeks ( bearing in mind all our bad news re: IVf etc and all our bloods which came back with poor results , so its been stressful)
and he said i have been surprsingly calmer and less irritable etc etc. i was shocked coz i felt the same. Im sure its the acu as scott said to me that acu regluates the hormones which also helps stress etc...........

cheeky DH says he would pay for me to have acu everyday i gave him a slap!

Abi's 3rd Acu Appointment.

Quing says my chart is far better now I'm temping after a sleep of at least 3 hours, rather than trying to lie still til temp time. Brilliant! Check it out! I'm 3dpo.

I've had a chesty cough this week, so she treated me for that as well.

Started off on my front, with 2 needles in my scalp, 4 at the top of my back, in the middle and 2 near the small of my back. Lay there being warm and relexed under blankets and a heat lamp for a while and then she came back, removed the needles at the top of my back and replaced them with what I can only describe as a soft, playdoughy ball with a ruddy heavy weight in it. She told me my chest should clear by the end of tomorrow and I've certainly been bringing up more this evening (nice, cheers Ab).

Then onto my back. 2 needles in each of my legs, maybe mid-calf height on the inside and in in my lower left abdomen, about where you'd imagine your ovary is. Blankets and lamp back on. Nearly fell asleep thi stime, very relaxed.

I have herb spots in my right ear again, for liver, kidneys, heart and hormones, to press hard for a little while each day, individually, 10 times.
At the end she gave me another bottle of the pills I'm already taking, called Kidney Qui Pill from the Golden Cabinet. These are apparently an ancient "recipe" thousands of years old and are very versatile and effective.

I have another appt at 3pm next monday - watch this space!

Abi x