Acupuncture

A few weeks ago I decided to finally bite the bullet and start going to see an acupuncturist. I have always been curious about it and there are some people (especially in the infertility world) who swear it makes a HUGE difference, so I've always wondered about it. But there were two things that scared me away from it: 1. the amount of time that it would take out of my already busy schedule and 2. the money. (Acupuncture, like most medically related things for me these days, is not covered by insurance - or at least mine - surprise surprise.) The needles didn't so much worry me because HELLO! I have stuck myself with hundreds of needles over the past year..that fear just does not exist for me anymore. Anyway, I finally decided to give it a shot because CCRM recommends it and also because I figure I'm already paying a butt load for all this IVF stuff, what's a couple more hundred dollars a month, right?

Well, I went to my first appointment a couple of weeks ago. First of all, I really like the acupuncturist. When I told her what my diagnosis was and how I have the eggs supply of a 40 year old, plus I have the crazy tube thing going on, she looked at me and just said "well that sucks!" Ha! Most people give me a look of pity, or of misunderstanding, or they try to give me advice (see prior post). This was the first time that someone, especially a doctor, looked me in the eye and said "that sucks!" I just laughed and said "yep, sure does!"

Acupuncture is not like I expected it to be. I mean, don't get me wrong, the whole ambiance that I expected was there - the low lights, the creepy hippie music that's supposed to be relaxing but just makes me nervous - all of that was there. But, I was not expecting how uncomfortable the whole thing is. Anyone who tells you that the needles don't hurt is lying through their teeth. It's not terrible or anything, but it's definitely not painless! However, I was ready for that part - to an extent - what I wasn't ready for was the whole electrode thing. I need to pause right now and explain that this is the one part of this whole trying to conceive journey that I just didn't look into. All procedures or appointments that I've had, I have researched about what to expect, but for some reason I didn't with Acupuncture. I just kind of made the appointment on a whim one day and then didn't think much more of it until I got there. So, as I was saying, she put these clips on the needles to connect them with wires and then turned them on so that there was a pulse going between the needles. It was such a weird feeling! I know those of you who have always done acupuncture are probably reading this and thinking "uh yeah, what did you think they did?" but like I said, I just didn't have any idea what was involved! So it wasn't terribly painful, but it certainly wasn't comfortable. It's hard to relax lying flat on your back and scared to move because of the needles sticking out of your wrists, ankles, stomach, and ears! I guess it will get better though!

All in all it was interesting and I must say that I did leave that appointment leaving very rejuvenated! I went to my second appointment last week and I was more prepared for the whole thing. She wants me to go every other week until May and then I'll start going every week to prepare for the IVF. It does take a lot of time out of my day, but I'm going to try to look at it as a way to make myself take an hour to just lay still and clear my mind. God knows I could use a little chill time!