We Know Something They Don't Know

Marvy tried to let his sister know a while back (about a month ago) that we might not be able to join the rest of the family to Oregon to see them when she has the baby. She was sad about it. Or perhaps a better description is somewhere between sad and a pout. They also had a conversation about the fact that they'd be going to TX to my in-laws for Christmas. Marvy also tried to warn her that there's a possibility we might not be able to join them for Christmas either. He said that if we weren't pregnant by then it would be too hard. We might just end up on a cruise to the Caribbean instead.

This really got to her to. She said that we may not meet the baby for a whole year and she'd be a different person by then. He tried to explain to her that long term plans are just really hard for us. Plus by Christmas if we weren't pregnant that would mean we would have gone through 3 failed IUI's and possibly 2 failed IVF's to be at that point. That's a lot to bear. Honestly, I'd have to admit that I was the teeniest bit frustrated by her lack of understanding. I just hoped that we would not be in that boat by the time we reached the holidays.

So these last couple weeks everyone's been finalizing the plans to go up to Oregon and Marvy and I have been a big '?'. The latest news was that we were going to go, as long as we were in a position where I didn't have to be tethered to the clinic with monitoring. Then today he told his parents that we went ahead and bought our tickets but with the additional insurance "just in case" we had to cancel. Marvy's parents were genuinely concerned. "Well, is Liv going to be okay, when so much is going to be about the baby?". "Are you sure that's what she wants to do?"

Pretty sweet of my father-in-law to think that. Then my mother-in-law asked if the medications would give me a bloat that would make me look like I was already pregnant. She wanted to make sure that people didn't see me and start to openly speculate and cause further pain to an already sensitive situation.

Gotta love it. Nobody suspects a thing. One of my other SIL's sent an article to my MIL and asked if it would be appropriate to send to me. It featured "supplements" that may help with fertility. My MIL asked Marvy if it would be okay to send he said, "Well she is pretty well 'supplemented' right now. But sure send it over" HA!!!! If they only knew. When Marvy got off the phone he exclaimed, "We know something, they don't know." :o)

When asked about how our cycle went, Marvy's answer was, "Not yet. Maybe next month". Which you have to admit is brilliant. Because you are saying, "No, not yet....[you don't get to know quite yet]....but maybe next month". It does make you feel bad to receive so many words of sympathy and we are essentially leading them astray. But, oh well. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Our plan is to tell parents 4th of July weekend. Then the next weekend we'll drive up to see my brother and tell him and then we will go to Oregon on the 25th where we'll tell the rest of the family then. This is all a little sooner then I wanted, (a bump up of about 2 weeks on the time table) but considering everyone's schedules and how all the main players who we want to tell in person will be in the same city. We've decided to go with it.

Oh, man it's exciting huh?

:::other thoughts:::

My abdomen feels like I've been doing 100 crunches a day. Sometimes I'll roll over in bed or something and stretch something wrong and go "That hurt". Then I've had cramps that are AF like but a little different. Guessing this is that uterine stretching I keep reading about. But just this evening I've been getting really sharp pains on my left hand side. Like someone is taking a safety pin and poking my left ovary area.

Normal? Anything to be concerned over?

I'm going to my acupuncturist tomorrow. It was a long scheduled appointment but I decided to keep it even with the pregnancy. Figured it could be helpful to prevent lower back pain and big time nausea. Anybody else have acu treatments during pregnancy?

Nighty, Night.

Acupuncture Virgin: Poked for the Very First Time...

I should have picked a more professional and appropriate title as the point of this post was to help others who are considering acupuncture treatment for infertility with a bit of insight, commentary and resources. Which I will inevitably get to shortly but I promised a number, and now I must perform.

This one's dedicated to all my sistah's like me that who enjoy a good pokin'.

Acupuncture Virgin: Poked For the Very First Time
I'm going through Infertility's wilderness
Somehow I'll make it through

Didn't know how lost I was

Until I found you

IF's got me beat... family's incomplete

Makes me mad, Makes me sad and blue

But you made me feel

Yeah, you made me feel

Shiny and new

Chorus: Acupuncture Virgin

Poked for the very first time

Acupuncture Virgin

When will that heart beat

Next to mine

Okay, enough funny business, on to the topic at hand. While researching acupuncture I have run across a number of studies and articles that all have various degrees of either backing up acupuncture to reporting no scientific difference. However, they all seem to agree that it is perfectly safe when practiced with a licenced professional. So, even though I recommend acupuncture I take everything with a grain of salt, and don't necessarily believe my doctor's claims of 80% success rate. I don't feel that it can "cure" infertility. I feel that it falls under the category of "It doesn't hurt, and it may help." My joke is that when we take a quick look at the population of the world, the easterners beat the westerners by a pretty healthy margin...so why stick to just a western doctor?

What is acupuncture?

Originating from China over 3,000 years ago, typically acupuncture is the practice of inserting thin needles into specific body points to improve health and well-being. Other forms of therapy may also be utilized such as prescribed herbs, moxibustion treatment, cupping therapy, heat therapy or pressure point massage. There are various eastern countries with acupuncture techniques, not simply limited to the Chinese, but for the purposes of this post I'll simply describe my experience with Chinese Acupuncture.

What does it help with?

Our western doctors and researchers haven't yet exactly pinpointed definitively if, how or why acupuncture works. However, considering there is so much we don't know about infertility, it's almost not surprising. I have seen commentary that it can help with the circulation of blood in the woman's reproductive system, help the development of follicle production, and improving the quality of the lining of the uterus to help promote and sustain pregnancy.

What does a typical appointment consist of?

When they call me back and take me to a room, I'm instructed to undress and put on a hospital gown opening in the back. For the first consult the doctor asked me a series of questions. He spent a few minutes interviewing me and was interested in whether or not I had painful menstruation cycles, how long we had been trying, what do I do in my line of work, stress? Then he had my lay on my back. He placed a towel over my lower half and lifted my gown to expose only my mid section. He placed the needles in a pattern that to me made me think they were over each ovary, at the top, mid and bottom points of my uterus. Then he placed the needles on the inside of my knee and around my ankles. I usually do not feel the needles go in, but I do feel the tapping vibration he makes as he inserts the needles. After they are placed where they should be he starts to twist the needles lowering them just a little bit. He tells me to tell him when I feel an "achy" sensation. Then he moves on to each needle twisting them in slightly until I feel them. It doesn't hurt, although it can feel odd. Then he places electrodes to two of the needles and turns on the machine until I feel small pulses.

He leaves me with a heat lamp so I don't feel cold, turns off the lights and tells me to rest for 15 min. After my nap, a massage therapist comes in to remove the needles, turn me over on my stomach, exposes my back and begins a 15 minute massage on my back and shoulders. When she's done the doctor comes back to place the needles on my back. He normally will find 10 points on my back and shoulders. Then it's the electrodes, heat lamp, lights off, nap time. When I'm in this position, my face is resting on one of those horseshoe shaped face cushions and the red from the heat lamp illuminates the the white sheet underneath it...but strangely enough, when I open my eyes it looks like a little pink uterus. So, I try to visualize a healthy environment and an embryo to making themselves at home to stay for a while. All of two inches from my face. Then the assistant comes in to wake me from my good dream. Session over.

How I found my acupuncturist.

I started with my insurance provider. My company covers limited acupuncture, so I checked with the insurance companies list of approved doctors. In the United States, regulation of acupuncture varies but you can check to see if the doctor is board certified with NCCAOM. I called many offices and asked for a website. I found the website of the acupuncture center and was pleased with what I found. Without out insurance the cost for me will be about $70-80 per session.

One other tid bit that made me feel comfortable with that doctor was the way he described our Qi (pronounced chee) on his website. I didn't need to know this, but it just made me go, Right On!

What is “chi” or “qi”?

Chi or qi, pronounced as chee, is a form of energy, the energy flow, or a kind of life force. A better term is “the breath of life”. It is an important concept in acupuncture and Chinese medicine. The qi flows freely in the body to make us live and keep us healthy. Without the qi we will be dead, or lacking of the qi we will be ill.

Where does the qi come from and where does it start?

In Genesis 2:7 “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being”.

Additional words of advice.

I said this in my last post but I'll say it again. Be sure to empty your bladder before your session and try not to go on an empty stomach. I think it was a contributing factor to my lovely bruise. [Thank you for all your kind words on that by the way. Thankfully, it looks much worse than it actually feels.] Also, another thing to do as my doctor suggested is to not drink cold drinks. When I asked what he meant by that he said that especially during menstruation it's important to drink tea or even room temperature liquids. He said that in Chinese culture woman take special care not to have something too cold as it can shock the system. The idea is to keep the blood flow free to properly clear out everything and help with uterine lining. I haven't a clue as to if there is any truth to this, but you'll see me refraining from using the ice machine at work. :o) He also said to go to bed at a decent hour, no later than 11pm. He said that staying up late or for people working late shifts simply changing this one thing can help with infertility. Which I did find a study of nurses (male/female) who worked the third shift vs. those who worked during the day and the findings suggested those working late may have an effect on their fertility.

And with that last thought I must now run to bed, as I must listen to my acu!

For my readers that have experience with acupuncture and would like to share your insight, please do. Permission to hijack the comment section granted!