I'm going for my first acupuncture appointment today. I'm scared of needles but pumped to try some traditional Chinese medicine. Anyone have any experience or stories?
I'm nervous and excited all at the same time.
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I haven't tried it, but I heard it doesn't hurt!
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@MrsH: I had acupuncture and herbs for a while, and I enjoyed it. The first appointment is definitely going a new experience, but try to relax as much as you can. I almost never felt the needles, and I kept my eyes closed so I didn't see anything either. It helped to bring my own relaxing music too. Also, I did get pregnant my first full month there (though I m/c'd) and I've heard of a lot of ladies having good luck too. Hope it works for you!
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I didn't try it for fertility, but for headaches, and I really liked it. It really helped my headaches I get them so much less frequently and with less intensity.
I didn't think the needles hurt-- I would compare the sensation of them going in with tweezing a little hair-- like you feel a teeny prick, but not painful at all. The only time it hurt was when she would put it into really tight spot in my neck or back-- they same as massaging a knot hurts more than a loose muscle. Of course, the fertility spots are totally different probably.
I'm a big believer in acupuncture for a lot of things. Hope it goes well.
ETA: When I say it 'hurt' in some spots, it still wasn't anywhere close to the feeling a flu shot or something like that. It was the tight muscle reacting around it, not the needle.
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i go! i know some people really enjoy it, i wish i did, but for me it's more like i know it's good for me, so i go- like some people go to the gym because they love to work out & others go because they know it's good for them. i've gone to a community style group where you kept your clothes on & sat in a lazy boy and a regular one where you have your own room & remove all but your underthings & lay on a massage table. i can go over how my visits go if that's helpful? if not just skip it =)
first we sit and she takes my pulse on both wrists & looks at my tongue. she looks at my chart for that week and she asks me about how i'm feeling, sleeping, and my stress level. then she goes in the other room while i get undressed & get under the sheet on the table, i start laying on my back & have a sheet over my underwear but not my top half, i can leave my bra on. she comes back in and wipes a disinfectant on the areas she is going to put needles, then starts at the top of my head & works her way around my body putting them in. some i don't feel, others pinch, others hurt (arches of my feet!). some give a zingy sensation, some are sore & some i don't notice at all. she puts on a relaxation cd & turns the lights down and leaves me there for about 30 mins. then she come back, removes the needles, and i roll onto my belly for her to do the same to that side. sometimes i have some bruising, but nothing bad. i've done the electro kind as well, so if you're interested in that just let me know & i can tell you what that was like =) -
I did it twice a month the whole time we were TTC! You're going to love it. The needles are TINY and feel like a tiny pinch going in and then you can't feel them at all after (unless you have some 'chi pain', which is this bizarre sensation that's not really a normal part of your body where you can actually feel the energy blocks... i often felt like she was popping a bubble under my skin when the needle went in, and it would dissipate after a couple of seconds). I always felt soooo relaxed afterward
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I went in for acupuncture for the first time ever on the day of my IUI the cycle I got pregnant. I had the IUI in the morning, went home, then went in for acupuncture in the early afternoon. It was fine, the needles don't hurt and you just kind of lay there for a while with your thoughts. It's def relaxing!
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i just started going three weeks ago for fertility and i just got my BFP, i know it played a part in the magic..
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Yaaaaaaaaaay! Good luck, girl!! :))
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@Mrs.Someone: @Foodnerd81: @mrs. bird: @JoJoGirl: @Modern Daisy: @MrsCastro: I think I got the zingy sensation not only when she put them in but when I was laying there an sometimes I would flinch just laying there for no apparent reason, is that normal?
I also had one in each hand where my thumb connects those are still sore an hour later. Maybe next time ill put my hands by my side instead of on my midsection?
@Ash: thanks!!
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@MrsH: Yep - the zingy sensation is the chi.
Hard to wrap your mind around, eh? It feels like electricity sometimes.. it just means the needles are getting things moving.
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@JoJoGirl: ha, maybe I should do some research into what the needles are actually doing.
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@MrsH: Nah don't bother - it's so out of the realm of western science it's not even worth it.
Unless you're super open-minded to that stuff. Just know it works!
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@JoJoGirl: I'm pretty open minded for a super analytical person.
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@MrsH: He he, me too!! Definitely read up on it
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Is there a desirable day in your cycle to have a treatment? I've been trying to find info on this and haven't seen anything yet.
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@Happygal: My person always said the week before ovulation was the best time.. I'd see her around CD7 and CD14 when I normally Od around CD18 or 19.
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@MrsH: Yeah sometimes I'd have a weird zingy sensation, or sometimes a certain spot would start to ache for a little bit, then I couldn't feel it again. Once in a really tight spot in my back I could feel the muscle twitching, like it would with a deep massage pressure. I don't necessarily buy into the whole chi thing, but I believe it was working *something* out that needed to be. I did not read up on it and just let it be
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@Happygal: I was told it was best to go weekly.
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I went once for pain.....and happened to mention I hadn't ovulated in a year. (No periods).
I guess they must have somehow decided to treat that too, and a week later I was pregnant! -
@Happygal: the ones i've gone to say that it is a more is better type thing, but at least once a week when you're working on something as complex as fertility, which is different than trying to clear up a cold or something less involved. and that you should be able to commit to a couple of months at that rate because the treatments build on each other. i don't think it matters as much which day you start, but more that you are consistent with it.
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I did it during my IVF cycle. My acupuncturist specialized in treating infertility and she had me bring in my IVF calendar so she could do specific treatments based on my hormone levels for that day. I went 2-3 times a week for those three weeks and got pregnant! I also continued treatment during my pregnancy.
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@MrsH: I had acupuncture for about a year and herbs for about six months, which got me ovulating again and then the cycle we decided to TTC I also had cycle monitoring at a fertility clinic to be sure I was actually ovulating and we got preg that first try : ) I have thin type PCOS and was pretty convinced I needed medication to get pregnant so was delighted we managed without!
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