The Really Useful TCM Thread

[Jen1802]

I know Sizzles long weekend's are great!! Yeah I got totally fed up with being told to chill out and it'll just happen, for the most part the people that told me that were the ones that got knocked up when they weren't even trying (though I can't say anything about those people anymore as that happened this time for us) or only tried to conceive for like a few cycles and got pregnant straight away. I think its easy for those people to just let go and let things happen as they've not experienced the constant heartache each and every month when the witch turns up. Maybe they would have a different view on things had they gone through what a lot of us on this thread have gone through. I think deep down a lot of women feel that being female means automatically you'll be able to have kids and when reality differs from what we've always felt is a given then we react in different ways, some are happy to go with the flow whereas others like me need to be proactive and feel as if we are doing something about it. XOX

 

[Jen1802]

Oh and I'd class thursday as cd1, you're right if the spotting appears late on in the day then it's not classed as cd1. x

 

[CaliDreaming]

I took soy iso to get pregnant with dd2 as I was ovulating too late in my cycle again, however I was doing this at the same time as doing tcm so I'm not sure whether it was the soy iso or the tcm. Possibly a combination of them both! Cali I was trying for 8 or 9 months to get pregnant first time round, so I can understand the anxiety now that its not happened in the same time frame as before. When we made the decision to get pregnant the second time round I tried for one cycle not doing anything and then went to the tcm practitioner again as I knew it'd worked the first time for us. Your tcm practitioner is right though, mine told me it takes awhile for the body to build itself up again after a pregnancy and not to expect anything for awhile longer this time. We were just fortunate it worked very quickly, though in some ways I wonder was my body not prepared to have another baby so quickly and is that why dd2 was born at 26 weeks... xoxo

Oh my, how is your little girl doing now?? I can't imagine what that must have been like.

 

[Jen1802]

She's doing well Cali, thank god she has managed to avoid all the main issues affecting preemies. She had a grade 1 brain bleed which is fairly mild and we'll only find out how that has affected her (if it has) when she's a bit older. The side of the brain it had affected was that which controls fine motor skills so time will tell what the legacy has been. She does have a weak respiratory system though and has been in and out of hospital with bronchiolitis since she was born. She's actually sick again with bronchiolitis at the moment, we've got her on antibiotics and inhalers but its something we're hoping she'll outgrow as she gets bigger and her airways get larger in diameter. All just a waiting game really. I can honestly say it was the most traumatic event I've ever been through and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Juno will be coming 1 on the 18th September but she shouldn't really be 1 until the 21st December so I'm feeling a tad emotional and jaded about celebrating her birthday in September as I've just so many awful memories about what happened. I have every reason to celebrate though we're extremely luck she's here at all and if that's not a good reason to celebrate I don't know what is?! LOL. When is your next consultant appt? xoxo

 

[CaliDreaming]

Jen, I can't imagine how terrifying that must have been. I'm so glad your litle girl had enough fight in her to make it through.

 

[Jen1802]

LOL I just noticed I said consultants appt instead of acupuncture appt! Oops! I've got consultant appts on the brain! When is your next acu appt Cali? x

 

[CaliDreaming]

LOL I just noticed I said consultants appt instead of acupuncture appt! Oops! I've got consultant appts on the brain! When is your next acu appt Cali? x

I've got one on Tuesday.

 

[TurboTurtle80]

Hey ladies!

Jen, I remember you post when Juno was born. We were so worried for you when we hadn't seen you in a while, so I'm joyed to have you back with great news that she'll be 1 soon.

Sizzles - so glad you AF was healthier and you're so lucky to only have 48 hours. I think waaaay back in the day, it was normal to have short and light bleeds. Nowadays we flood bcz of all the toxins in our system.

Cali, you seem calm. How are you?

Wanted to check in and say that AF arrived on her own yesterday. That's 4 months[cycles?] in a row now. Idk if I'm ovulating at all, but its fine bcz at least we have something to work off of. I honestly don't think its Acu causing it. I think my Provera in April gave me a jump start and my new healthy body is keeping it going. I love acu though and I think we still have work to do.

 

[CaliDreaming]

Cali, you seem calm. How are you?

Wanted to check in and say that AF arrived on her own yesterday. That's 4 months[cycles?] in a row now. Idk if I'm ovulating at all, but its fine bcz at least we have something to work off of. I honestly don't think its Acu causing it. I think my Provera in April gave me a jump start and my new healthy body is keeping it going. I love acu though and I think we still have work to do.

I'm doing a lot better. I got a lot of negative emotions out last week, So I guess I just needed some time to cry and get it all out. I'm still a little worried about how I will be doing when/if AF shows in a few days. I'm 10 dpo today.

Congrats on AF coming! I know you must be feeling encouraged with such a big positive change in your cycles. I find that the worst thing when there's something off with your cycles is knowing that something is wrong, but not being able to find anyone who can explain or fix the problem. I guess the main thing when it comes to getting pregnant really is being in good health in general. So many things are linked.

 

[TurboTurtle80]

Aww. Hoping this is your last countdown past DPO. We'll be here to cheer you on either way though.

Ya, I found that so depressing watching people's tickers go by and I'd be on day 1000. And then I'd feel annoyed ppl complained about the witch when I never saw her and didn't have any type of cycle. So now it feels somewhat normal. I still have no control or idea, but at least I know changes are being made and I'm starting to "jog" a little in this race.

 

[Sizzles]

LOL I just noticed I said consultants appt instead of acupuncture appt! Oops! I've got consultant appts on the brain! When is your next acu appt Cali? x

I've got one on Tuesday.

SNAP! We can compare notes!

I'm CD5 now and the post af spotting has just about stopped, so I guess that means...

 

[CaliDreaming]

Aww. Hoping this is your last countdown past DPO. We'll be here to cheer you on either way though.

Ya, I found that so depressing watching people's tickers go by and I'd be on day 1000. And then I'd feel annoyed ppl complained about the witch when I never saw her and didn't have any type of cycle. So now it feels somewhat normal. I still have no control or idea, but at least I know changes are being made and I'm starting to "jog" a little in this race.

So you went for three years without seeing AF??? Wow, that must have been a very isolating feeling. Just makes the fact that AF has come on her own even more amazing! As much as I complain about her, if AF stayed away for more than a month, I would lose my mind.

LOL I just noticed I said consultants appt instead of acupuncture appt! Oops! I've got consultant appts on the brain! When is your next acu appt Cali? x

I've got one on Tuesday.

SNAP! We can compare notes!

I'm CD5 now and the post af spotting has just about stopped, so I guess that means...

Cool! We are going to have lots to talk about. Oh, and happy bd'ing. That BD smilie makes me laugh everytime I see it, especially the little smilie on the bottom.

 

[TurboTurtle80]

Ya, pretty much. I'd go years without a period, so when I did get one, it was a HUGE deal. Lol. Ya, its a big deal for me to get a normal cycle going. I think I'm around 38 days now. I can cope with that easily!

 

[fitzy79]

Great news that your cycle is coming regular Turbo...about time for your body to play ball!!

Cali and Sizzles...you don't have journal links in your siggies but do you have them??

Jen, so good to see you back posting. My Bf had her daughter at 26 weeks and she is now a very healthy and active 4 year old( well she'll be 4 in September) she's still very petite but more than makes up for it in ability to talk!!

 

[CaliDreaming]

Fitzy, I have a journal and I just put a link to it in my siggie. I had wondered why I hadn't got any stalkers yet, lol. DUH.

 

[Sizzles]

I don't have a journal; I just like stalking other people!

So, acupuncture session 6 I guess:

She seemed happy with the report on my period and agreed that it seemed it was closing down the window of spotting/bleeding, which can only be a good thing.

I told her that last session I had been really quite uncomfortable with one or two of the tummy needles and felt a shooting sensation inside from my abdoment down to my pubic area; I said I hadn't been sure whether or not to say anything so chose to tell her now and find out whether I should have said anything! She said definitely say something and she felt it was 'energy' movement that I could feel and hypothesised that this may have been the reason for my painful period.

So today she used towards 20 needles in total. Mostly they were ones in similar places to previously: I had the one in my scalp, about 5 in my tummy, some in my ear and wrists and around my ankles. I also had a couple in my lower inner calf sort of area and one in my forehead, which was a new one! She burnt moxa on my tummy and also the calf points.

I felt much more relaxed this session. I think it helped not concentrating on any pain! None of them were particularly painful today, apart from a couple when they went in. I read a thing in the Sunday papers about sort of self-hypno/meditation and concentrating on things you are grateful for: you think about all the things you are grateful for for 30seconds, then concentrate on the feelings of gratefullness. Well I'm not sure if it's helpful or not, but since I seem to focus on what I don't have, i.e. a baby, I thought it might be useful to think about what I do have. So I did that for a while.

Also, I was relatively energised after today's session. I came away thinking of all the things I was going to do when I got home. Of course, I didn't get nearly all of them done, but I was quite active for the rest of the day.

I mentioned to acu lady that I'm investigating the possibility of having a wheat intolerance. (Can't remember if I've mentioned that on here before or not, but I suffer with extreme bloating, which can be quite uncomfotable, and I know it's not fat.) She agreed it was worth investigating, and said that a wheat-free diet is actually very good for you. I'm not convinced about cutting it out completely: I LOVE dippy bread and oil etc. and no pasta, or nice sandwiches etc. would make me sad. However, I'm keeping an eye on it and will try to limit my wheat intake to see if it affects things.

So I only have next week's appointment before my FS appointment 2 weeks today.

 

[CaliDreaming]

Sizzles,

That sounds like it was a very good and informative session. I'm wondering why she would say your painful period was due to energy movement though. I thought that energy movement was a good thing.

That is such a good idea to meditate while you're on the table. Lately my mind has been focusing just on the sad parts of my life and all that's wrong with it. I'm finding it harder to relax at my appts.

Are you looking forward to your FS appointment? I'm going to be making an appointment next month, and I'm both dreading it and anxious to be seen.

 

[CaliDreaming]

I had my acu session today too. Nothing new really happened. I got needles in the usual spots in feet, ankles, lower leg, by my belly button, in between my breast bone, four in my wrist, my ear and forehead.

One thing of note happened as she was placing a needle in my feet. She was trying to place a needle or something in the arch of my foot,and I felt electricity shoot up my leg up kind of pool on the palm of my feet. She seemed pleased that that had happened, and said something about the conception vessel being open and that it ran along the leg and ended in the feet. She said that point was Li4.

When she tried it on the other side though, I felt a lot of pain. It felt like she had a needle in, and i told her that one was hurting. Turned out she had not placed a needle at all on that side, but whatever she did made it hurt very badly. I guess that side is blocked up or something. None of the other things she did hurt.

I laid on the table, but had a hard time relaxing. At the end, she said I could use some massage.

I got put back on Jia Wei Xiao Yao San, and it looks like I will be on this for some time to come. I also am to continue with the "Women's Treasure" formulation I've been on.

 

[Sizzles]

Sizzles,

That sounds like it was a very good and informative session. I'm wondering why she would say your painful period was due to energy movement though. I thought that energy movement was a good thing.

That is such a good idea to meditate while you're on the table. Lately my mind has been focusing just on the sad parts of my life and all that's wrong with it. I'm finding it harder to relax at my appts.

Are you looking forward to your FS appointment? I'm going to be making an appointment next month, and I'm both dreading it and anxious to be seen.

I wondered why energy movement would cause what would appear to be a negative outcome too, but didn't like to ask!

My FS appointment: I have mixed feelings about it to be honest. I'm approaching it a bit like I approach my acu appointments - I'm sort of looking forward to it, in that it's a step closer (hopefully!) to having a baby, but I'm also disappointed that I've had to make it as far as this appointment (whilst secretly hoping to be pg - albeit too early to test - at the appointment) and anxious about what sort of time-scales will be involved in the next step and what exactly will be involved. The hospital I'm attending has a partnership with another for 'assisted' fertility as it doesn't deal with it all inhouse; I/we need to make decisions about whether to be referred to another nearby (equidistant) hospital which would deal with all of it or stay put but deal with 2 different hospitals. The first would be preferable, except I can't help thinking this may delay the process, but it wouldn't be as convenient for OH as he works in the town of the other hospital (where my current appointments are). There will have to be lots of Qs asked at the appointment regarding what is involved and how much OH will need to attend and how frequently I will attend, but more importantly, how frequently I will need someone else there for transport purposes. I'm also now regretting slightly having told so many people about it. Gradually over the last 6 months to a year I've told a few people about ttc (prior to this only a couple of close friends knew) and as the process has gone on, I've told them about the FS side of things. Now I'm wishing I didn't need to keep people informed, so I think I might be quite vague about timings when they ask Qs following my appointment. I might need to be creative with the truth and mutter about waiting lists etc. Of course, all the while hoping to get pg in the meantime!

Phew! That was a long old ramble! I'll shut up now and let someone else have a turn!

 

[CaliDreaming]

I wondered why energy movement would cause what would appear to be a negative outcome too, but didn't like to ask!

My FS appointment: I have mixed feelings about it to be honest. I'm approaching it a bit like I approach my acu appointments - I'm sort of looking forward to it, in that it's a step closer (hopefully!) to having a baby, but I'm also disappointed that I've had to make it as far as this appointment (whilst secretly hoping to be pg - albeit too early to test - at the appointment) and anxious about what sort of time-scales will be involved in the next step and what exactly will be involved. The hospital I'm attending has a partnership with another for 'assisted' fertility as it doesn't deal with it all inhouse; I/we need to make decisions about whether to be referred to another nearby (equidistant) hospital which would deal with all of it or stay put but deal with 2 different hospitals. The first would be preferable, except I can't help thinking this may delay the process, but it wouldn't be as convenient for OH as he works in the town of the other hospital (where my current appointments are). There will have to be lots of Qs asked at the appointment regarding what is involved and how much OH will need to attend and how frequently I will attend, but more importantly, how frequently I will need someone else there for transport purposes. I'm also now regretting slightly having told so many people about it. Gradually over the last 6 months to a year I've told a few people about ttc (prior to this only a couple of close friends knew) and as the process has gone on, I've told them about the FS side of things. Now I'm wishing I didn't need to keep people informed, so I think I might be quite vague about timings when they ask Qs following my appointment. I might need to be creative with the truth and mutter about waiting lists etc. Of course, all the while hoping to get pg in the meantime!

Phew! That was a long old ramble! I'll shut up now and let someone else have a turn!

I know what you mean about not wanting to ask your acu questions. No matter how off the wall the comment, it just doesn't feel right.

That's a tough choice about which hospital to go to, but it seems like there are pros and cons to both. I'm sure you'll be able to work it out either way. Is your dh really committed to fertility treatments? With my dh, I'd want to make sure it was as convenient as possible for him so he wouldn't get disenchanted with the process.

I've been very tightlipped about my TTC because of the problems you're having with people. Sometimes I want to let someone know, but I know there are many days I just don't want to talk about it, and it seems once someone knows a little, they feel entitled to know everything with regular updates and all.