Success with acupuncture only (after multiple IVF fails)?

[Anonymous]

Has anyone had success using only acupuncture, vitamins, and Chinese herbs, under the care of a traditional Chinese doctor? I realize it is difficult to know what was responsible for the success, but I am looking for general input.

I have secondary infertility, most likely due to egg quality. I had my son naturally at age 39. I am 42 now. FSH and AMH are good for my age. Three failed IUI's, 4 failed IVF's, including teo FET's with PGS normal embryos. Hysteroscopy showed no uterine scarring from C-section or infections. We are giving up on IVF and turning to acupuncture only. Just trying to figure out if all the acupuncture visits and costs are worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone had success using only acupuncture, vitamins, and Chinese herbs, under the care of a traditional Chinese doctor? I realize it is difficult to know what was responsible for the success, but I am looking for general input.

I have secondary infertility, most likely due to egg quality. I had my son naturally at age 39. I am 42 now. FSH and AMH are good for my age. Three failed IUI's, 4 failed IVF's, including teo FET's with PGS normal embryos. Hysteroscopy showed no uterine scarring from C-section or infections. We are giving up on IVF and turning to acupuncture only. Just trying to figure out if all the acupuncture visits and costs are worth it.

I went to acupuncture weekly for a year and a half, starting at age 40, through three IUI cycles and one IVF. Also with excellent FSH And AMH levels for my age. I got pregnant in one of those cycles, but miscarried.
Acupuncture itself won't get you pregnant at age 42. It's a complentary therapy at best. It might help with stress and keeping you generally healthy during the process, but it's not going to, on its own, get you pregnant. My insurance covered it, and the money we socked away in a HSA covered the copays, so I did it weekly.

As for the herbs, some people swear by vitex; my hormone levels were just fine and my acupuncturist didn't want to mess with them with herbs. Which often come from China under not-so-stellar quality conditions. You're better off making sure your husband is taking a multivitamin to improve his sperm quality. Older eggs can't repair DNA problems in sperm as well, but multivitamins can work wonders at improving sperm quality in all men, an oft-forgeten part of the equation in ART. Through in some flax and brazil nuts into both of your diets, and it might help, too.

But there's no magic cure at 42.

[Anonymous]

Are you taking Coq10 and vitamin D?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I am taking those two vitamins and several others (folic acid, vitamin C, E, fish oil), as well as low-dose aspirin. Also, there is no sperm issue.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like there might be some hard-to-pinpoint implantation issues. Did you and your husband take antibiotics during your IVF cycles? Prednisone?

And as for sperm quality, there's a chapter in It Starts With the Egg about how vital a multivitamin can be for men. It can dramatically change sperm quality. I think it's in Chapter 11. It's not something REs pay a lot of attention to, if you've got plenty to work with, etc. But if you're trying naturally it can be so important.

[Anonymous]

Very interesting. During all IVF cycles, my husband took the prescribed docycycline. For the first IVF, I took the prescribed Z-pack. Around that time, one day before the emryo transfer, I was feeling awful from the progesterone shots and had an increased heart rate (the RE sent me to the ER to be observed). All was fine, but for the last three IVFs, they put the antibiotic in the IV during retrieval instead. Does this information spur any further thoughts about antibiotics or implantation?

My husband will start the multi-vitamin right away.

Also, I take Synthroid. TSH is under 1.

More information on my cycles:

1st IVF: transferred 4 three-day embryos, failed; froze 1 five-day blast, no PGS
natural FET: pregnant until 10 1/2 weeks, chromosomal abnormality

2nd IVF: 11 retrieved, 5 made it to biopsy, 1 tested as PGS normal and frozen

3rd IVF: 18 retrieved, 4 made it to biopsy, 1 tested as PGS normal and frozen

Unmedicated FET of PGS normal embryo: fail (no beta)

Medicated FET of PGS normal embryo: fail (beta of 6.7)

4th IVF: 10 retrieved, 4 transferred at day 3: beta of 128, then only 148, fail

[Anonymous]

Like a pp said, acupuncture would be complimentary at best. If you would become pregnant, it would be more likely that you won the golden egg lottery than the acupuncture sessions.

[Anonymous]

The cycle where I used acupuncture went worse than the cycle without.

[Anonymous]

OP did you ever do acu during any of those ivf cycles?

[Anonymous]

OP here. No, I never did acupuncture during those cycles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. No, I never did acupuncture during those cycles.

OP - is there any way you would be open to doing another ivf after 6 months of acupuncture? I honestly feel if you are willing to give it one more shot that would be your best approach. It's too bad that you never did acu as preparation for any of those cycles but if you'd be willing to give it one more try...

[Anonymous]

Also I'm the pp recommending acu for 6 months. You need to find a good fertility avupuncturist. Expect to pay about $110-140 a visit. I paid oop and I still swear that it was the best money I ever spent.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I would be open to another round of IVf, but my husband has had enough. He wants to put it all behind us, but is happy to keep trying naturally, although he knows the chances are slim. My RE is not a big believer in acupuncture, so I never even considered it. His nurse gave me recommendations when I recently asked, saying that it cannot hurt and that some of her patients swear by it. Yes, the acupuncturist specializes in fertility and has an MD and PhD, as does her partner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I would be open to another round of IVf, but my husband has had enough. He wants to put it all behind us, but is happy to keep trying naturally, although he knows the chances are slim. My RE is not a big believer in acupuncture, so I never even considered it. His nurse gave me recommendations when I recently asked, saying that it cannot hurt and that some of her patients swear by it. Yes, the acupuncturist specializes in fertility and has an MD and PhD, as does her partner.

Good - they sound perfect! Take the next 6 months to get your eggs in good shape (it takes 90 days for an egg to mature but 6 months gives you extra time to let it correct any other deficiencies). Also be open to herbs if they recommend them. I found them more effective than acu itself. If your acupuncturist specializes in fertility then they will know the most effective times to use electroacupuncture as well as when to treat your back vs. front etc.

I'm getting ready to go for number 2 this summer and will be starting acu again this January in preparation. Our first is 18 months old ;
(Unexplained Dx; second round ivf was successful). I wouldn't go into another ivf session without first doing ivf in preparation and we have one frostie that we are starting with.

[Anonymous]

If you transferred PGS normal embryos and did not have success, you might as well try acupuncture and just try to conceive naturally.