Prior to booking an initial consultation for fertility, many women ring in first just to find out a little bit more about how I work.
Usually I will have agreed with my client beforehand to book her appointment at key points in her cycle – around day 7, 14 and 21, though this can vary hugely depending on the length of each woman’s cycle. We start off with a general chat about how she felt after the last acupuncture session and how her week has been mentally, emotionally and physically. If she has been charting (checking her daily temperatures), keeping a food diary or has brought in a recent set of blood results she hands over everything to me. Depending on what arises in our conversation combined with her Chinese tongue and pulse diagnosis I decide whether to start needling on her back or front. It can be a very different experience lying face up or down – and some women have a clear preference about which makes them feel better afterwards! I tap all the needles in very gently at first, then revisit each needle and work with my client to achieve the ‘De-Qi’ sensation on as many points as possible rechecking the pulses as I go. Heat lamps and electro-acupuncture are added now if needed. Once I am satisfied that my client is comfortable and warm, I turn the lights down, gather up her notes and leave the room.
While she is relaxing I sit in a nearby room, writing up her notes and examining any new information she may have brought in. This is the time when I review her progress and make a decision about what I will ask her to do out of the clinic until her next appointment. The acupuncture needles stay in for 25-35 mins and occasionally longer if needed. When I return, I check the pulses again before removing the needles, leaving the room while my client dresses. We then have several minutes at the end of each session to discuss lifestyle or dietary changes for that week and make a ‘contract’ about what realistically can implement.
With each woman we quite early on decide on a key marker (or several markers), that would indicate to both of us that progress is being made. An example could be a change in the menstrual flow – in Chinese medicine we aim for a period that starts with bright fresh looking blood with minimal clotting that is at it’s heaviest in the first two days before tailing off to a scanty bleed for the rest of the period. So if one of my clients has an extremely scanty and brownish coloured menstrual bleed throughout, a key marker would be a increase in flow and redness of her bleed. In Chinese medicine this is equated to improved Yin and Qi in the pelvic region, but you could also relate it to a thicker endometrial lining from a conventional perspective.
I constantly refer back to these key markers in each case – sometimes acupuncture alone is not strong or quick enough to change the environment in a woman’s body and that’s when I will ask her to implement a change in her life that week. Very often I ask my clients to commit to one yoga and meditation class per week. In my opinion it is one of the most effective ways of managing stress, improving circulation to the pelvic region – undoing the effects of sedentary desk jobs and heavy workloads. And it’s a fraction of the price of acupuncture! It is simply my ‘wonder tool’ for bringing anyone back into balance physically and mentally and most importantly the only thing my clients have told me that has stopped the internal stress caused by not getting pregnant! There are many fantastic yoga teachers in Norwich, I recommend Louise Kitchener and Michelle Busuttil for yoga that truly transforms you from inside out!
Often I will ask my clients to alter their diets. I may be encouraging them to gain or lose weight and most often making sure they eat warm well cooked meals. Yes strange as it may seem cold salads and refrigerated sandwiches are not on the menu with fertility acupuncture! All meals should be warm and easy to digest – so cinnamon porridge instead of cornflakes for breakfast and soups instead of sandwiches at lunch.
The combined effects of acupuncture and lifestyle changes should yield noticeable results within 2-3 menstrual cycles. The initial focus is on these key markers – welcoming each new improved menstruation as a sign the body is becoming more fertile rather than the common pattern of sadness and frustration if the period arrives. It is difficult to shift the attention away from a positive pregnancy test – but that is often the key with fertility acupuncture – enjoying the journey, observing the changes in oneself and knowing everything is happening just as it should.
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