The Really Useful TCM Thread

[fitzy79]

Abs, ordered The Infertility Cure from Amazon last weekend and waiting on it to arrive so will be reading the PCOS chapter with great interest. Got a new herbal pill at accu yesterday for cysts so started taking it today. I hate decisions Thanks for the support!!

 

[Carrie29]

Happy Friday everyone!!.. i'm beginning to like them even more now that i have acupuncture on Fridays.. a positvie OPK on Tues (negatives since), higher temps, pains in my right ovary, lots of EWCM and now white cm all sugest i may have ovulated on Wednesday... if my temp stays up tomorrow morning, my chart will add the crosshairs , i really hope it does as that mean i ov'd on CD12 yippppeeee!!.. still trying to wait until tomorrow to know for sure though!..

Apparently my pulses are improving allot!.. and moxa seems to work well on me!.. had so much energy this week it's scary!. Yiota (acupuncturist) said that's shes away for a week in April and just wanted to let me know, but she said not that i think you'll still be seeing me by then anyway

For those of you with PCOS i've been doing allot of reading about the effects of fresh pineapple every day, it's been rumoured to reduce the male hormone androgen?.. and has a great effect on balancing hormones, so starting 3 days ago i've been having fresh pineapple every day.. worth a try and at least it's healthy!

Have a great wkend everyone!

 

[rubyloo]

carrie - that's all great news! well done you and fingers crossed! i got a smiley face on my opk this morning...was so excited i skipped into the bedroom and woke up DH. he wasn't too impressed but wow - things are working even if its taken me 29 days to get to this point. loads and loads of ewcm. really taken me by suprise (i've obviously been a walking sahara these last 12 months.....)
anyway, funny you should mention pineapple - my prac recomended it as helping to support Ying energy in the phase leading up to ov.

even if this month doesn't work at least i know the acu is doing something and i'm feeling a damn sight better than i did this time last month!

 

[jojo-m]

Just brewing up my tree's ready for drinking tomorrow, they smell vile I can't imagine trying to choke down 3 cups of the stuff. So any tips? hold nose and down it? or drink something normal straight after?

Great news for you both Carrie and rubyloo! I'm sure there will be more TCM bfp's on here very soon!

Also for you girls who brew herbs, how do you keep the tea to drink the following day? In fridge? Do you warm it before you drink it?? I have no idea what to do with it now lol xx

 

[misskat29]

Hey ladies, sorry i've not had chance to catch up on all your posts since i was last on......but have a quick question.

Do you think i would see changes straight away after accu'? the reason i ask is, monday night i went for my first session. mainly to help with pcos and raised prolactin levels.

Tuesday i went to the specialist about my raised prolactin and he took more bloods, my previous prolactin levels where Dec 09 - 643, Jan 10 - 1340.

This morning he rang with my blood results and you'll never guess, they have dropped to 250!!!! i could not believe it.

If thats not a positve response from accu' then i dont no what is.

 

[rubyloo]

misskat - that is mamzing! i noticed a real difference even after my first session. i knew i ought to be ov'ing around this weekend, but it was only after my session on wed of this week that my body really started to gear itself up. i am a definite convert and would suggest it as treatment to anyone with fertility issues, be that pcos, long irregular cycles and the rest!

 

[muncho]

Great news Misskat..

just a quickie for you girls. You may or may not know this.

today i had another scan at the clinic and still only have 1 follicle. The doc says we have a very small chance of ivf success 2% maybe.
I said well at least there will an egg in there and we can hope it fertilises..
he said not all follicles contain an egg!!!!!!!!!! i said i had been ov as my cd21 results showed the prog levels were good.
he said that the cd21 is an indication there was follicular activity NOT that an egg was released.
I was shocked,

So girls all this monitoring of ov does not mean we release an egg every month, Im sure most of the time we do, but there are times that we may not and if we do it could be it was not great quality (esp the older ladies)

I thought i would share that. i have done a bit of reading on it too and it seems to be correct

 

[muncho]

ERRR where is everyone, its friday night. dont tell me you are all out having a good time?

I'll take back what i said about not having any more acu. when i went for my scan today she said my lining was lovely and thick. 9.4mm - the thickest its ever been . So im
happy about that!

 

[fitzy79]

I'm here...on my ownsome with OH away for the weekend!! Enjoying the peace and "me" time. Fantastic news about your ultra-thick lining Muncho Never knew that mature follicle does not always equal eggie...WOW!! But, given that I don't get too many eggies anyhoo...well it's already part of my life Glad to hear you're gonna stick to accu and think positive....one egg is all it takes so hope that follicle has a lovely ripe one waiting for you

 

[Carrie29]

Hi Girls.. went out for dinner last night and i was naughty and gave in and had 1 glass of wine, my acupuncturist told me not to drink anything on the day if acu, hope it didn't take away the effects, acu was at 11.30am and glass of wine was at 9pm so hopefully that was long enough.. didn't get to bed till 1am and then at 6.30am woke and did my temp and it had risen again, i was soo excited that i couldn't get back to sleep. I couldn't wait to get on fertility friend to see the crosshairs appear for the first time.. how sad is that!!

Good news about the EWCM rubyloo that's how i knew ov was approaching this month.. i def credit that to acu and herbs..

Jojo - i had the raw herbs for a week before swapping to pills, and the doc told me to store the cup in the fridge with clingfilm over it and then just pop in the microwave for 1min before using.. let it cool a bit so that's warm.

Muncho - great to hear the lining has improved.. sucks about follicle's not always releasing an egg though.. how much harder does ttc have to be.. grrrr!!! fingers crossed for a great egg!

 

[Laummatt]

Morning girls...

Your all sounding positive and it really looks like TCM is working with us hey?

Well my witch arrived yesterday!! A day earlier than expected - bloody cheek - but maybe I miscalculated my ov day I dunno. Anyway even tho she is here I didnt have any PMS, pain and general illness the usual run up brings and lets just say this AF is rather more healthy, into day 2 now and still red (sorry if thats TMI but I really believe its the herbs)

The best bit is that this month I didnt feel disappointed, frustrated yes but I knew I wouldnt catch yet cos I need to sort my body out. Its quite nice not having the downer, but the frustration is still there. My LO will be at school by the time #2 makes an apperance.... and it def will.... SOON!!!

Have a good weekend all.....

 

[jojo-m]

thanks carrie, I dont' know if I boiled them wrong but ended up with a small amount of tea looking liquid, so i've just put some in a cup and added water like i'm making real tea, must say I doubt I could drink it neat - the after taste was so gross I nearly gagged! I'm about to enjoy my 2nd cup of the day - oh joy! Think I may search for tablet versions next time!

Laumatt sorry the witch arrived but sounds like good changes are happening anyway - its all a step closer to that bfp. My LO will be starting school next January and although if I do get pregnant soon its a bigger gap than I would have liked, its also nice that I'll have the same quality time I had with my son all over again without a demanding toddler constantly wanting attention.

xx

 

[abster]

Muncho asked me in my journal what my issues are so I replied using the book and decided to post it here too. Think I understand it better myself now. Def need to read the book again. Still need to post friday's acu session as well.

My kidney ying (cool, pre-ov energy) is stronger than my deficient kidney yang (warm, post-ov energy), so ovulation is happening too late - if they were properly in balance, my periods would be 28 days with 14 days pre and 14 days post-ov.
The spleen produces progesterone so correcting the imbalance there should help (and stop it producing all the horrible phlegm it was producing, which seems to be working very well) and it's already giving me more energy.
The uterus (remember my cold uterus?) is connected to the kidneys by a network of blood supply by which the kidney essence nourishes the uterus and thickens the uterine lining (so we know your kidneys and uterus are working well!). My uterus also needs to respond to the warming effects of progesterone post-ov. Using a hot water bottle pre-ov can help to dilate the blood vessels in that area, improving blood supply and warmth.

 

[jojo-m]

my randine diagnosis is very similar to yours abi, kidney yang - and spleen - with cold uterus. I started the herbs for phase 1 as its prolonged (delayed ovulation same as you) they are far too disgusting though to take all my cycle, I feel sick just at the thought of having this mornings which is currently cooling. So I've ordered a tablet decoction that randine advised and i'll just do the herbs in my luteal phase (which is only 10 days so guess I can choke my way thru them!

x

 

[rubyloo]

abs - interesting to read about your issues. i also have massively delayed ovulation. i was told my kidney energy is depleated, my blood needs nourishing and my ying energy is also bad. my prac doesn't do herbs but as i posted a few pages back has given all sorts of dietry advice to help all three - along with telling me, quite firmly, to rest and avoid too much stress. ying needs rest and pampering - all the 'female' stuff like hot baths, massages etc. not always easy to avoid the stress.....she said kidney energy gets used up when we are tired and have to 'push' to get things done. so the past month or so i've been doing everything i need to do, but when i get to a certain point of tiredness i just stop. it defo think its making a difference. i've come to the conclusion we don't live in a female-friendly or family-friendly world. we all run around being all competitive with our careers and forcing ourselves to take on masculine 'ying' energy traits to get by. no wonder so many women have issues conceiving!

anyway - its only taken me a whole month, but i have ovulated and am now into the 2ww. feeling pretty calm about it all actually. dh and i have done all we can and that's it really!

 

[jennyellen13]

hey everybody, hope your ok!

im thinking of starting acupuncture soon, has anybody had any success with it?? i lost my daughter in july and have been trying ever since, i dont think i relax enough and i am always worrying that i have something wrong with me etc so im hoping it will help me relax and maybe help with the ttc. anythings worth a go!!

xxxxx

 

[jojo-m]

Hi Jennyellen welcome to the thread, Don't know if you've read any of this thread already but 2 ladies have recently got their bfp's thanks to TCM.

I just wanted to ask a pretty random question to you ladies taking the herbs. I've only been having them for 3 days now and i've noticed a massive but positive difference with my bowels, and dare I say it.. lost a bit of the bloated weight around my tummy. Has anyone else experienced this?

xx

 

[jennyellen13]

oh thats good, im thinking il start it next cycle, iv already emailed my local one for more information and they said to ring for an appointment so think il do that soon. xxx

 

[abster]

Quing and I agreed that I ovulated earlier, although not early enough, and that my LP was too short and too cold. I was on CD3.

Started off on my front, with 2 needles in my scalp, either side of the top of my neck, a couple towards the top of my back and a cup, used in 2 positions, all to help with my spleen/phlegm problem which is improving all the time. Also had one roughly in the small of my back, as normal, for my uterus.

Once on my back I had one in the flap of skin next to the thumb of each hand, several on my legs, below the knee, again all for the spleen I think, with one in my tummy. As ahs happened before, it was difficult to find the dull, achey feeling on my abdomen.

She's really trying to kick-start my spleen. Asked me to slow down the Er-Chen-Wan to 10 twice a day, to make it last a bit longer. Gave me more of the You-Gui-Wan for my kidney yang. Strongly advised me to go walking every day,as well as my yoga. This walking is good for the spleen and kidney yang (getting the body hot can deplete the kidney ying but helps with the kidney yang). So I've been arranging my days to take #1 out in the buggy every day - either dragging the OH out with me at the weekend or parking in an ingenious place on the way back from a musical activity, as I did today, to push her a mile or so to the pond, to feed the ducks. On days when I don't already push her somewhere - a mile or so to swimming on thursday morning - I'm gong ot keep trying to be ingenious.

Tell you what, though. After feeling run down for the last 3 or so months of last year, seemingly always getting colds, which I now know were just phlegm attacks courtesy of my spleen deficiency - I now realise I was stuck in a vicious cycle, where the cold I thought I had made me take it really easy, sometimes staying in bed and generally being unable to do any yoga because of my nose being blocked. Exercise helps the spleen and kidney yang!!! Having started treatment for my spleen and given up the dairy, I have far more energy and don't feel fuzzy-headed adn sluggish all the time. I'm not tired enough to go to bed at 10pm and knackered if I don't sleep right through til 7. I feel really well! Not pregnant, but well all the same. Didn't realise how crappy I felt til I felt better. Certainly didn't feel well. Just wish I'd started TCM earlier - then I wouldn't feel so impatient and be at the 17th-cycle stage. Oh well... enough about me!

Hi jennyellen, awfully sorry for your loss.
TCM should be very helpful for you - there's a marvellous book I can recommend to you; my practitioner told me to get it, to help me to understand TCM and I've passed on the recommendation to girls on here - it seems to be going down a storm. It can tell you everything you need to know about TCM for fertility and help you to fins out what your issues may be.

jojo-m, I've not taken the herbal tea, although I've heard how rank it can be. It doesn't surprise me that it had a positive effect so quickly (think of how quickly a few pints of guinness affect your bowels!). Probably a good idea to go for the tablet decoction for your pre-ov phase.

Sorry about the bitch, laummatt

Congrats on ov-ing, rubyloo!

Carrie, I wouldn't worry too much about the drink - Randine doesn't mention it and my prac's never sais anything. Anyway, by the time you had your booze it was hours since the needles had been concentrating the energy in your body. (Get me!)

Sorry if I've missed anybody, but ihtink I've waffled enough...

 

[jojo-m]

I've had to quit the herbs, seriously I was brewing the next load last night and even the smell of them this time had me retching and throwing up, I found a way to drink them without tasting them which was fine but I can't brew them, they smell THAT bad!!!!

I'll give the tablets a go when they come and I have another one in a powder for the luteal phase.

Abi things are moving in the right way and your putting in lots of effort, you will get to where you want to be very soon! xx