Acupuncture for infertility--did it work for you?

[Anonymous]

didn't work for me, but my dx is unexplained (5 yrs ttc+2 m/c), and it was before i tried IVF. i went to a lady in alexandria i wasn't really comfortable with. it was relaxing but i didn't feel a difference. if i tried it now i would go someplace more legit, like pulling down the moon but now that i'm doing ivf i can't handle juggling even more medical appts and time off work. i had heard there are stats that show it improves ivf outcomes, which is why i tried it (i tried to stick to stuff that had studies supporting it so i didn't get too carried away in all the scams.) Also i had always felt like i had poor circulation (cold hands and feet) so i thought it might help with that, but it did not (at least not the cold hands part) so it made me more skeptical. FWIW i feel i keep seeing DOR women here saying they had luck with NC-IVF, but that's my completely uneducated observation. good luck to you.

[Anonymous]

The second cycle that I did, with acupuncture, went worse than the first cycle I did, which was without acupuncture.

[Anonymous]

I did and I love it! But I think if you don't believe in it or alternative medicine and fear needles it's not for you. It doesn't hurt and is very relaxing. I had an undetectable amh and I did it with supplements, spontaneous conception and I have a healthy happy 10 month old born when I was 41.

[Anonymous]

Congratulations on your success, PP. Do you think that acupuncture played a role in the success? In what ways?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The second cycle that I did, with acupuncture, went worse than the first cycle I did, which was without acupuncture.

Mine was the opposite: first cycle was with acupuncture, went horribly. second cycle was without, went much better (though still not successful).

[Anonymous]

The thing with acupuncture is that it's effect is cumulative. So for those stating that a cycle with or without acu was better or worse, my question for you all is how long were you doing acu? If you were doing it for less than three months I don't think you can really attribute any effect on your cycle to it. At least as far as its impact on egg quality. With respect to the pre-and post transfer acu - if that's the only time you did it I really don't think you can attribute a cycle not resulting in a pregnancy to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thing with acupuncture is that it's effect is cumulative. So for those stating that a cycle with or without acu was better or worse, my question for you all is how long were you doing acu? If you were doing it for less than three months I don't think you can really attribute any effect on your cycle to it. At least as far as its impact on egg quality. With respect to the pre-and post transfer acu - if that's the only time you did it I really don't think you can attribute a cycle not resulting in a pregnancy to it.

This is something I did not know ... My acupuncturist nor my RE (or his nurse) told me that. Is that from some sort of research, pp?

[Anonymous]

If what's holding you back is fear, please don't give in to that. It's absolutely not anything like getting stuck with needles like the needles that exist for giving injections. They are tiny, tiny, tiny needles and barely go in. Often I don't feel them at all or at most it's a very minor, very quick pinch that is over before it begins. As for "whether it works," well... it depends on the issue. Acupuncture is not going to change the quality of an egg. It's not going to give you an egg if you don't have one. It's not going to cure endrometretrosis or blood clotting issues etc. What it can dramatically impact is hormone levels and blood flow. So if you do it regularly (once a week), it's going to do things like regulate your cycle very well, ease wild hormonal swings (like after a miscarriage), increase blood flow to the uterus, etc. These kinds of improvements can definitely "boost" some women's abilities to conceive and hold on to a pregnancy. But it isn't a cure all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The thing with acupuncture is that it's effect is cumulative. So for those stating that a cycle with or without acu was better or worse, my question for you all is how long were you doing acu? If you were doing it for less than three months I don't think you can really attribute any effect on your cycle to it. At least as far as its impact on egg quality. With respect to the pre-and post transfer acu - if that's the only time you did it I really don't think you can attribute a cycle not resulting in a pregnancy to it.

This is something I did not know ... My acupuncturist nor my RE (or his nurse) told me that. Is that from some sort of research, pp?

It's based on the fact that it takes about 3 months for an egg to mature and so to impact that batch of eggs that will be ovulated or retrieved during an IVF cycle - you need to start acu at least three months before.

[Anonymous]

I've tried all sorts of combinations (with accupuncture, without, starting months before, just doing it around transfer) and it didn't seem to make any difference for me.

[Anonymous]

Impossible to say as there are too many variables involved in a pregnancy, so anyone who claims it "worked" is really leading you astray with false hope.

[Anonymous]

I tried acupuncture and didn't love it. I have found that doing guided meditation has helped me A LOT with stress and anxiety during cycles. I bought Circle + Bloom meditation for FET, but I'm sure there are others out there too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thing with acupuncture is that it's effect is cumulative. So for those stating that a cycle with or without acu was better or worse, my question for you all is how long were you doing acu? If you were doing it for less than three months I don't think you can really attribute any effect on your cycle to it. At least as far as its impact on egg quality. With respect to the pre-and post transfer acu - if that's the only time you did it I really don't think you can attribute a cycle not resulting in a pregnancy to it.

I did it for 18 months, while doing IUI and IVF at age 40.5-42.

I credit it for helping me heal faster after a lap to remove a fallopian tube. But if the effect was cumulative, then it would have "worked" in the way the OP is looking for acupuncture to magically deliver results for her. And although I got pregnant in the second of four IVF cycles, I miscarried because of chromosomal abnormalities.

I totally abandoned it the fourth round of IVF, except for the pre- and post-transfer acupuncture. Which also didn't "work." (And I use "work" in quotations because acupuncture is at best a complimentary therapy.)

Like previous posters have said, it might help with hormone issues and blood flow, but those were not problems for me to begin with. Old eggs were.

[Anonymous]

To the pp who did acu for 18 months - i don't believe it will correct a chromosomal abnormal egg and at the age you did acu most of your eggs were most likely abnormal. What I do believe it can do is help those normal eggs grow appropriately, help your lining grow appropriately and balance out your hormones. In my case in addition to all of that - it helped me not have any discomfort during my ivf cycles where I carried a boatload of eggs, helped me recover really quickly from egg retrieval, gave me an excessively thick lining during stims and during pregnancy helped me have a seamless pregnancy with really no pain (and anytime I had pain I went in for a treatment and it corrected things). So no it's not a magical cure but it can most certainly help create an optimal environment.

[Anonymous]

I did it for about a year and a half between ages 37 and 38. It did not help me to get a BFP on any of my multiple IVF or IUI cycles. The only thing that finally helped me was moving on to DE at 38.