RE's friendly to acupuncture?

[Anonymous]

Hello all, I have been TTC for about 10 months. I began acupuncture treatments, including herbal supplements, about 3 months ago and it seems to be helping. After going off BCP, I had one period naturally, then 3 months later had a Provera-induced period, then last month - following a new protocol by my acupuncturist - believe that I may have ovulated and had a (brief and painful, but I'll take it) period last week.

I just saw Dr. Widra for my first RE consultation, and he was pretty dismissive of acupuncture, and told me that I would have to stop the herbal supplements altogether. I really would like to find a doctor who is more open to non-traditional treatments - or at least not opposed to them. Any suggestions?

BTW - my acupuncturist is David Blaiwas in Takoma Park and he is spectacular. Very highly recommended.

[Anonymous]

I'm at sg and also undergoing acupuncture. My RE wasn't dismissive of it, but he didn't express an opinion one way or the other. I think there's an acupuncture center associated with sg (pulling down the moon or something like that), though I've never tried it out there. I'm not taking any herbal supplements, but because they're not regulated, I imagine most medical doctors would be reluctant to endorse their use.

[Anonymous]

I know there are a lot of varried opinions about him, but DiMattina supports it. He says its a great way to manage stress and support a fertility plan. I've enjoyed working with him.

[Anonymous]

Dr Frankfurter at GW was supportive of me doing accupuncture when I asked him about it. He said it has been shown to increase bloodflow to the uterus and that he couldn't see how that could hurt. Not sure how he would have felt about herbs though.

Meridian Medical Group in NYC sells a special pre-conception pill that has folic acid and some other stuff that increases blood flow. The MD I met with there said that Dr Rosenswaks at Cornell (who was celine dion's RE) lets his patients take it. That might be a good compromise between herbs and a traditional prenatal.
http://www.meridianmedical.org

[Anonymous]

OP, Sacks is open to accupuncture, still haven't met a doc who is a fan of herbs, seems to freak them out. Sounds like your accupuncturist is really helping. Any chance he takes insurance? I am looking for new things to try and my old accupuncturist has moved out of the area.

[Anonymous]

OP, Sacks is open to accupuncture, still haven't met a doc who is a fan of herbs, seems to freak them out. Sounds like your accupuncturist is really helping. Any chance he takes insurance? I am looking for new things to try and my old accupuncturist has moved out of the area.

[Anonymous]

I went to Dominion several years ago and was doing some alternative treatments (reiki and acupuncture). Doctors weren't dismissive, but said they didn't have any scientific proof that it would help. Ultimately, they said anything that relaxed me would be a good thing. They did caution against the use of any herbal supplements saying they didn't know how this would affect the IVF meds.

[Anonymous]

I also saw Dr. Frankfurter and he said accupuncture is fine, just don't do the herbs. GW MFA recommends Dr. Huang at the Center for Integrative Medicine and my nurse gave me the brochure. So I would say they are very supportive of acupuncture.

[Anonymous]

My RE at SG was supportive of acupuncture. He said it can't hurt and could maybe help, but not to plan on doing it to help fertility specifically. I started doing it mainly for stress reduction. And, yes, SG brought Pulling Down the Moon to the area.

I think most, if not all, REs will steer you away from herbs when you are using stims, as they can interfere or impact the work that the stims are doing. And, since they are unregulated as PP states, it is hard to gauge what specific impact they may have given the variability from one batch to another. I think some docs are fine with using the herbs when you are not actively cycling, though not sure there are any around here.

[Anonymous]

Thanks all. To the poster who asked about whether my acupuncturist takes insurance - I have had to pay him, but I have been able to get reimbursed by my insurance as the original purpose for my visits was muscle pain, which is covered. Acupuncture for infertility - not at all surprisingly - isn't covered at all.

[Anonymous]

Deb Earley takes insurance

[Anonymous]

Blue Heron in Silver Spring takes one form of insurance (can't remember which one - not mine). Don't know if that means the insurance company covers it or whether that just means Blue Heron will process the claim, though.

[Anonymous]

I see Kerri Westhauser and she takes my insurance. (Blue Cross) But I think it is true that not all cover infertility. My does, but it is Federal. Good luck!