As you may or may not know, I did acupuncture every other week for a year. I stopped back in April of this year and have only been back once. Now that I’m about to embark on IVF, I did a little research on the effectiveness of IVF success rates when combined with acupuncture. The studies are pretty mixed. Some doctors say it helps, but that it might only be the placebo effect. Women are more positive about the IVF cycle when they think they’re doing something that will improve the success rate. Some doctors don’t think it helps at all.
When the nurse called with my beta results on Friday, I asked her what the doctor’s perspective was on acupuncture. She told me he doesn’t believe it in, but if you ask her she’d say she does. Case in point: there’s not a right answer.
I was considering going to one of those infertility-focused acupuncture places but honestly since we’re paying for all of this out-of-pocket (including IVF), I feel like those specialists totally rip you off. My acupuncturist is still expensive ($90/visit) but that’s significantly cheaper than the IF acupuncture specialists in my area.
If the research isn’t there to back it up (if you know of any, please send it my way!), I think I’ll stick with the acupuncturist that I know and trust. She might not be a specialist, but if the “improved” success rates are rooted in feeling positive with less anxiety and stress, then I’m in great hands. The plan is to go every other week until we start stims, and then go every week.
I’ve always wanted to do one of those poll things … So, what do you think? Does acupuncture help?
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