Chinese Accupuncture

[Briss]

that's very encouraging. I am going to bring my charts next time cos my FS was not at all interested in them.

 

[Blythe]

that's very encouraging. I am going to bring my charts next time cos my FS was not at all interested in them.

Briss - how is it going? You have a nice temp rise on your chart - when is AF due? i am totally F'd off with it all at the moment and have decided to get radical....i always feel like this though when i know AF on way. I had so many symptoms this month and have a TV scan booked for tomorrow so i have done some PG tests - all neg so i know I'm out. Im due on weds and think I'm going to try and take a mental break from it all....ive decided to go on a juice/soup fast sort of thing and then start again from scratch. Having let my exercise go over the last two years amongst other things i feel totally lethargic and a big wobbly so I'm hoping fast (well a variation on it - can't juice at work so will have soups instead) will get the extra pounds off....losing weight before christmas is maybe something i can achieve with my body!!

 

[Briss]

Hi Blythe, my temp looks quite usual for post O, it can get even higher so I am not getting my hopes up. besides I can feel my cervix is changing its position preparing for AF which is due tomorrow/Wednesday. I stopped pineapples on Friday. Had my acu on Sunday and she gave me more herbs which are the same mix as I had last week. she said I can take them even after Af arrives. I have not done any preg tests, too depressing… cant bear seeing bfns

I cant believe you are thinking about fasting! that was my plan I was reading a book on this just a few days ago and decided to do juice fasting for cleansing purposes for 3 days after AF arrives. It just gives me something positive to focus on instead of getting further depressed about AF. Oh yes, exercises. totally forgot I was going to take up running…

 

[Blythe]

Bfn are heartbreaking....I'm feeling good about my detox though but have a bad bad headache on my first day....if no bfp next month I will go back to Chinese medicine. I'm uppin my dosage of coq10 to 200 mg per day and upping my royal jelly intake too this month and think I will do the pineapple again too as it was tasty!

 

[Briss]

Blythe, your chart looks very promising and you are only 12 DPO. have you already started your detoxing? maybe wait a few days you may still get pregnant this cycle it takes time for the hormone to build up to show in your urine.

I will also be doing the pineapple next cycle!

 

[Blythe]

Im easing my way into a detox....today was the first time in years I had zero caffeine hence headaches. I had a smoothie for breakfast and made a mass of veg and lentil soup. I will get a juicer off eBay to be delivered by weekend and then go hardcore (well try!)....I'm ratty as hell today and have af type symptoms along with bfn this am so am almost certain I'm out this month... My friend at work is having her 12 week scan tomorrow....I'm so happy for her but my heart hurts a bit when I think of her pregnancy ( feel bad even saying that). We were tracking cycles together and it only took her three months...I have been trying since just when she met her husband (it was a whirlwind romance)...I'm just pissed off with it all at the mo!

 

[Briss]

I know this is heart breaking, my very good friend got pregnant on her second month, I had to explain to her how cycle works and how to spot LH surge etc (cos I was doing it for 2 years by the time she finally decided to try) and she is not even sure she wants it now and constantly complains. cant stand it.

my temp is moving down so guess AF will show up tomorrow, I am trying to keep my spirits up and concentrate on the next cycle. I looked into the list of herbs my acu doctor gave me and the first one I checked was not recommended in pregnancy… a bit worrying but I decided to trust my doctor knows what she is doing

The hardest part of doing detox for me is going to be not having any chocolate. I cant even imagine what it is like. I have a juicer at home so as soon as AF shows up I will do 3 days on juices (at home) and herbal teas (at work).

 

[Blythe]

I know this is heart breaking, my very good friend got pregnant on her second month, I had to explain to her how cycle works and how to spot LH surge etc (cos I was doing it for 2 years by the time she finally decided to try) and she is not even sure she wants it now and constantly complains. cant stand it.

my temp is moving down so guess AF will show up tomorrow, I am trying to keep my spirits up and concentrate on the next cycle. I looked into the list of herbs my acu doctor gave me and the first one I checked was not recommended in pregnancy… a bit worrying but I decided to trust my doctor knows what she is doing

The hardest part of doing detox for me is going to be not having any chocolate. I cant even imagine what it is like. I have a juicer at home so as soon as AF shows up I will do 3 days on juices (at home) and herbal teas (at work).

ahhhh the chocolate - just been in sainsburys and they have the giant chocolate buttons there for 1.50 - i love them the best!

its tuff to hear someone complaining about pregnancy, especially if it is a good friend. Like you i told my friend all about opks etc etc - crickey i didn't mean for her to go and get pregnant though!!! I am feeling decidedly more upbeat today as i have just returned from hospital and TV scan and she said i had nice ovaries and lots of eggs and should be able to conceive. Im focusing on the good stuff now - i.e. i have regular cycles and ovulate each month and i know so many ladies struggle with their cycles so i feel i am lucky in that respect - so I'm thinking i have 12 brand new opportunities to conceive next year and one more left this year!!!

its good you got a list of herbs from your practitioner - sometimes i felt they were just throwing my prescriptions together - some of them even tasted nice which is always a bit of a concern with that stuff. a lot of herbs are contraindicated during pregnancy - i look at the back of the containers of the stuff I'm taking now and it states 'don't take during pregnancy'....black cohosh and dong quai are not recommended but lots of ladies have used them successfully to conceive but might be worth running it by your practitioner.

i had my expected dip in temp this am so expect AF thursday but have new focus of juicing to look forward to which helps.

 

[vkj73]

she got me yesterday.

i'm feeling much better today.

i have a fertility specialist appointment set up for december.

i also decided to give acupuncture another try again this cycle (after a break last cycle).

to all!!!

 

[Briss]

she got me yesterday.

i'm feeling much better today.

i have a fertility specialist appointment set up for december.

i also decided to give acupuncture another try again this cycle (after a break last cycle).

to all!!!

sorry about the witch. mine will be here any minute now

 

[Briss]

Blythe, how's your detox going?

AF finally got me it's time to start my 3 day juice cleansing! from tomorrow that is. it will be interesting to see whether I will manage to last that long without any chocolate or food. Also not sure whether this is good time to be doing it during your period but I ovulate so early on that I really do not want to be hungry during my fertile days. I will continue with acu and herbs though

 

[Blythe]

Blythe, how's your detox going?

AF finally got me it's time to start my 3 day juice cleansing! from tomorrow that is. it will be interesting to see whether I will manage to last that long without any chocolate or food. Also not sure whether this is good time to be doing it during your period but I ovulate so early on that I really do not want to be hungry during my fertile days. I will continue with acu and herbs though

Af due any minute for me...sorry she arrived for you..my friend at work came in today with her 12 week scan pic and was showing everyone...had to disappear to the basement.....still good news is that I have lost 5lb since Monday. I have been having smoothies in the am, soup for lunch and tea and herbal teas and a handful of nuts and seeds in the daytime. I will get my juicer hopefully this weekend along with a couple of juicing books. I watched a few you tube videos of people who have done juice fasts and I'm very inspired. There is one guy who did 100 days And it completely changed his life....I'm quite excited and hope it will have a positive effect on my health. I feel like doing it upi to ovulation so maybe up to 10 days although I have no idea if I can last just one day yet. I have had no choc this week and I do feel better for it but I do love it so much. Do you work at the weekend? Im not sure whether it's best to do these things on work days or home days....at work I can find the hours whizz by (well sometimes!) but at home I suppose if hungry I could just make more juices.

 

[Blythe]

she got me yesterday.

i'm feeling much better today.

i have a fertility specialist appointment set up for december.

i also decided to give acupuncture another try again this cycle (after a break last cycle).

to all!!!

Sorry about af....hope you are feeling ok

 

[Briss]

I think you might be right, it will be quite difficult at home. I am thinking of putting it off until Monday... besides weekends are the only time when I allow myself to enjoy coffee

 

[Briss]

I spoke with my old chinese doc and asked about blood clots and he asked how big - i said no larger than a 10pence piece and for first couple of days of cycle only - he said that is totally normal. I know the TCM diagnostics pay a lot of attention to a woman's cycle and secretions - i have lots of books on it so must check up about clotting and when its an issue.

I had my second acu session today and asked the doctor about clots, she said it means poor blood circulation but acu and herbs should help. from this week I decided to take chinese herbs instead of my vitamins.

Hi Briss - i have been having a look through my books on TCM and cycles and, more to the point, clotting! My understanding through conversations with TCM practitioners and through my own reading is that smallish bright red clots are a normal part of the cycle - sometimes i get them sometimes i don't (or at least don't notice them) - i think they are more of a concern if they are darker in colour or larger clots [obviously big caveat is that tcm diagnostics is unique to each person so the following may not apply for all girls with clotting - speak to a professional bla bla bla] - Dark Clots in menstrual blood - Ordinarily women don't worry about dark clots in their blood, but in oriental medicine, the clots are a sign that all is not well with the liver qi.....
maybe due to the following:

stagnant qi and blood - often due to nervous stress or emotional depression - may notice distended pain in chest and breasts, scanty blood with dark purple clots and an irregular cycle.

stagnant cold and damp - inhibits smooth flow of qi and blood causing blockage and pain - accompanying symptoms are a pale complexion, cold hands and feet, scanty flow with purple clots and a delayed cycle. caused by poor diet, excessive ingestion of cold/raw food and drinks or catching a chill when you are cold and wet during period. - hot water bottle at night - keep nice and warm - i have been told to keep feet in bowl of nice warm water in evening and use hot water bottle on belly - warming/easy to digest foods

stagnant liver qi and blood - can cause blood to sit and congeal rather than flow out freely and smoothly - dark clots result of stagnant liver qi that lead to liver blood stagnation - old blood that has been blocked and lying stagnant in the body will appear dark purple, or sometimes blackish with thick clots.
perhaps due to stagnant food in intestines due to overeating, stagnant blood due to trauma, long-term blood deficiency and dampness can all impede qis flow. - signs of qi congestion & liver stagnation are: feeling of fullness or discomfort in chest, belly or head, agitation, anger, frustration, depression, blood clots, pre-menstrual breast distention, irregular periods, and cramps at the beginning of the cycle {eeekks sounds pretty normal to me!)

advice is: warm the body with warming and nourishing foods - disperse stagnant liver qi and blood, tone and relax the liver, activate the qi. I know a lot of this stuff is done with needles and herbs but worth looking at self help stuff you can do. When i conceived my first i did qi gong - a little like tai chi. anyhow, just putting your hands over your liver and pretending its happy and smiling will help (sounds bonkers but i hope you get the idea).

I won't go on but there are other reasons such as weak spleen and one i have noticed to be a common thing here is kidney yang or jing deficiency - i think most of my treatments revolved around strengthening kidneys. I'm not so sure what they deal is if there is loads of blood and lots of larger bright red clots....

just to update re clots, after having done 3 acu sessions and 2 weeks of herbs I still have clots (big ones) but overall AF is far more liquidy than before. It will be interesting to see if my next AF has any clots, although as always I hope I wont get the next AF..

 

[Blythe]

fingers crossed there will be no next one briss. More liquidy sounds like a positive development....I am on day one today and went out and brought some L-arginine and have been thinking about DHEA although that might be something a little further down the line

 

[Briss]

so sorry AF got you

be careful with DHEA if you are not deficient you may overdose.

I topped up hubby's L-arginine and maca, hoping his sex drive will go up

 

[Blythe]

so sorry AF got you

be careful with DHEA if you are not deficient you may overdose.

I topped up hubby's L-arginine and maca, hoping his sex drive will go up

yeah having checked out some more stuff online i think il give it a wide berth - really don't want excess facial hair on top of it all! i have also instructed DH to take these L-arginine pills i brought yesterday on top of the well man and fish oil tabs. i will also take a l-arginine tab. i was looking at iui and ivf options last night - i was checked out create health. If i were to go down that route it would take up to 5k out of our deposit funds...think i will return to TCM for at least a three month period before exploring that avenue any further. are you geared up for your juice fast? someone came into the office yesterday with a coffee for as a gift so i felt i couldn't refuse it - i had about 3 hours sleep last night - it's amazing how powerful caffeine is once you have eliminated it.

 

[Briss]

I talked to a lady on B&B who did natural cycle IVF at create health and got her BFP on her second attempt so she recommended this clinic and it's one of the clinics I am considering for our treatment. Hubby is still not convinced so may take some time to get him to the right state of mind. I am sure acu and herbs will help get my body into shape for pregnancy but because it's a male issue I really think we only have a slim chance TTC natural (although miracles do happen). Hubby still drinks beer from time to time so it is not helping. Money wise a standard medicated IVF would be well over 5K, cos of hidden costs i.e. drugs are more expensive than the actual procedure. 3-5K is only for natural unmedicated IVF. Hubby suggested to check clinics abroad but I find it so daunting.

am off to a market to get more greens for my juices and then I will start mixing just to get an idea what it tastes like and try to find an appropriate combination that i can live with for 3 days Monday is off cos I have to go to a conference for the whole day and will be socialising so not ideal for fasting

Surprisingly after cutting down coffee for 4 months, one small cup is more than enough for me, anything more and I feel my heart racing

 

[Blythe]

Have just eaten entire contents of chocolate advent calendar