Ear Ear

I love acupuncture, I wasn't sure I would be a fan, but it seems I am.

Dr Angel pulled out the stops at my session last week, she placed more needles this time and in slightly different places, there was even one between my eyebrows, freaky!

It was like a little therapy session, although instead of giving me any suggestions, she listened and then placed needles to try to fix it :-) We talked about how tired I was, the terrible AF pains this cycle and my sleeping problems, we even touched on the stress from my SIL and then she proceeded with her foot stroking thing. Turns out she learnt this stroking thing for relaxation from a healer she saw for 20 years, it works for me, must show OH how to do this properly.

To help with the sleeping thing she suggested some homoeopathic medicine, I'm a scientist by trade so I wasn't going to be fooled easily and interrogated her a little, lol, she cottoned on and so just told me of her own experiences. In the end, we decided together that with only 4 days left before my baseline (and hopefully starting stimulation injections) it probably wasn't worth it. Instead she said she'd like to try a little ear acupuncture, it all sounded very interesting, she prodded my ear with a metal probe in three points in my left ear (the side I sleep least on) and asked me which one could I feel the most. 

She then stuck a little sticky square thing in my ear, it had a little metal stud on it, similar to this photo I found on the BBC website [if it's good enough for Cherie Blair it's good enough for me]. I was to keep this in for as many days as I could, if it was uncomfortable or throbbing I could take it off at any time. If I felt stressed she said give it a little press.  I loved it, my own little acu to take home!  I felt a bit silly but my hair covered it well and I kept it in for a couple of days until I accidentally brushed it out when blow drying my hair [gutted].

Dr Angel didn't stop there in her quest to fix me, she then got me to sit up and used the moxa stick thingymebob at 3 places on my back to stimulate blood flow. Apparently moxibustion can be good for back pain or menstrual cramps, it left me with a really warm sensation on my back. Can't wait for my next acu session.

Dr Angel

I met Dr Angel last night, my first real taste of acupuncture and I liked it!

I came back home feeling pretty relaxed and absolutely starving (is that normal?), I think I could have eaten a horse had OH put one in front of me (gross but you get my point). I decided to stay away from the l-a-p-t-o-p last night, so that was good as I stayed relaxed for the rest of the evening and didn't think much about work, of course I still had my phone  though (one step at a time) and I watched some 'trash telly' to keep me occupied . . . America's Next Top Model (final!!) and 90210 (how old am I?) :-)

Dr Angel asked me lots of questions about how I'm feeling right now and we had a good discussion about what I usually eat and any current stresses in my life.  She mentioned the cheese thing!  I've been a bit sceptical about this before but willing to give anything a try, and as I pretty much hate cheese anyway it wasn't a big deal, she confirmed that it's probably a good idea to keep avoiding this for now as the body will produce more mucus and we want everything to be free flowing with no obstructions. I asked about bananas, she wasn't too fussed about these as long as I don't have too many (gone off them though) and she insisted on avoiding raw vegetables, salad and fruit in the evenings, instead keep them to during the day when my body has more energy to digest and break them down, seems pretty straightforward. 

I laid on 'the couch' and Dr Angel checked my pulse qualities and tongue, similar to how Dr Energyflow did when OH and I saw him at our first acupuncture consultation (see OH's guest blog entry - Prickly Subject). She then did this really lovely massage/stroking thing on my feet for what seemed like ages, very very relaxing indeed. Apparently I can teach OH to do this to keep me relaxed at home when I need it.   Dr Angel inserted 7 needles in total, 2 in my legs, 2 in my ankles and 3 around my belly button.  They didn't hurt at all, I just looked a bit freaky when I looked down! she also put a heat lamp over my belly, mmm made me feel all warm and cosy!

I like Dr Angel, I'm glad I've tried something new (tick), she didn't make any promise of baby miracles (tick), she spoke genuinely (tick) and she thinks she can help me with worrying, relaxation and being more balanced (triple tick!), so I'm signing up for more of that.  I'll see her weekly from now on and more frequently around embryo transfer if I am fortunate to reach this stage again.

And relaaaaaax.

Prickly Subject

OH and I took a trip to meet a fertility acupuncturist for the first time this morning at the crack of dawn (7am?! who starts work at this time?). I've heard a lot of good things about acupuncture for infertility and in the spirit of trying something new we thought we'd give it a go in preparation for our second IVF/ICSI cycle.

I thought it would be fun to get OH (aka "Sun", husband of Moon ;-)) to give his perspective, so I'm allowing him to be a guest blogger on this post, ha ha! Here it is-

As a methodical and logical type I purposely decided to go into this with an open mind and listened carefully to everything Dr Energyflow said and answered his questions honestly - I felt he could see inside my mind so no point in lying here.
A lot of the stuff he covered we already knew about: keep the boys cool and ventilated; organic food; cut down the alcohol; exercise (but not too much); brush twice a day; respect your elders. He also repeated that childhood mumps could be the cause (something our GP and Consultant said could be a contributing factor).

After the general chit-chat I was moved to the table and had the blood pressure and pulse taken. BP was good - 120/70 I pride myself on that; pulse he didn't say, though he wasn't really counting, more manipulating the veins in my wrist. Scary stuff.
Then it was tongue inspection time, from 4 angles no less. My tongue is red on the sides and very slightly bobbled, this means:

• I may worry/think too much.
• My body may be heaty (not as in temperature). I have other symptoms of heaty-ness such as feeling hot.
• Something to do with 'Liver'. Not your physical liver but your Qi/Chi liver and circulation of energy. I get a bit lost at this point.

More tongue diagnosis click here.

Next the weapons came out, 1 under my belly button, 2 in my shins, 1 in each foot, 1 on each side of my neck. I can honestly say that only the left foot hurt momentarily. I was not aware that there were needles in my neck until he took them out. The needles are extremely thin, the stat Dr Energyflow gave was that 20 of these can fit inside a hypodermic needle.

So that was it. Not sure I feel any different. Though the process was rather relaxing, but I wouldn't say any more so than paying £60 to lay on a bed. Sorry the skeptic is coming out again.

The final part was herbs ('erbs for Moon's American friends) and remedies (potions). There are a few common Chinese remedies for male fertility, some of which share common ingredients with the Wellman tablets I'm taking at the moment which contain lot of science. Given my last tests these seem to be working but I'm open to trying anything that can help. Doing some research today I've narrowed the list down to:

Maca - 2000-3000mg/day! (250mg in Wellman). Also known as Peruvian Viagra ladies - the Incas had their priorities right. Supposedly helps with energy, stamina and libido and is 'presumed' to increase sperm count and motility. Wellman tabs have 250mg of this gear.
Ginseng - 500mg/day has shown some effect if taken daily for 2/3 weeks - though there are only 30mg in a Wellman tab. Not to be taken for long periods of time though according to Google. Dr Energyflow said that Chinese or American ginseng was better as it's slow growing. Siberian (the one in Wellman) is less effective and can contribute to a warmer (not temperature) liver (not the thing that cleans your blood).
Pine Bark - Yummy. 25mg/day has shown effects. 30mg in Wellman so covered there.

Here's the interesting one:
Hochu-ekki 
"According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a study showed that the level of human sperm motility was significantly higher in groups taking the herbs than in control groups". This is a Japanese herbal remedy containing 10 magic beans:
Astragalus root 
Atractylodes lancea rhizome 
Bupleurum root 
Cimicifuga rhizome 
Citrus unshiu peel 
Ginger rhizome 
Ginseng root 
Glycyrrhiza root 
Japanese angelica root 
Jujube fruit 
Kampo

Some of these we know about (Ginseng, Ginger) the rest are as yet a mystery. I'm assuming that some of these break down into the compounds and vitamins found in the Wellman tabs. More reading Wikipedia research required here.
Well I hope you enjoyed this first guest blog. Take care and let's catch up again soon :-)
Sun

What did you think of the guest blogger? :-)

For my part of the session, I just had the consultation as there was not enough time left for Dr Energyflow to stab me.  Here are the things that stuck out for me:

1. I need to eat breakfast.
2. My tongue is pale at the sides, I could be slightly anaemic.
3. Eat pâté (?) and iron rich foods.
4. My immune system is active at the moment, I might be coming down with something.
5. We should consider delaying our next treatment cycle for 3 months (whaaaat?)

Err number 5 almost had me in tears . . . we are not delaying our treatment based on the possible chance some 'erbs will make a difference to OH's sperm, I can't wait another 3 months!

On the topic of 'erbs, there were a couple mentioned for me to think about. I'm not keen on the chinese 'erbs at this stage, but I looked them up anyway, the Ying Yang House website was very helpful-

Xiao Yao Wan - Free and Easy Wanderer Pills
Uses: Stress, Depression, Anxiety, PMS. 
Well known ancient Chinese herbal medicine for liver Qi stagnation. 
Caution: Do not use if pregnant.

Ba Zhen Wan Nu Ke Ba Zhen Wan - Women's Eight Treasure Tea Pills
Uses: Anemia, Heavy Menstruation, Painful Cramps, Dizziness, Weakness.
Nourishes vital qi (energy) and benefits the blood. It is used for spontaneous deficiency of both qi and blood marked by pale or sallow complexion, palpitation, shortness of breath, laziness to talk, weakness of limbs, dizziness, loss of appetite, pale tongue with thin and whitish fur, and feeble pulse.
Caution: This formula has a tendency to cause some indigestion problems in certain people, if you have indigestion avoid this formula.  Use with caution if you are pregnant.

Scary they both have caution remarks if you are pregnant, I think I'll just stick to the plain old acupuncture for now and stay away from the 'erbs.