Acupuncture - Cold Uterus and tips on how to keep warm

So its been a bit of a crushing 2 weeks, after a faint faint positive clinic did bloods to reveal my levels were so low it had in fact failed. Emotionally it has been worst than last time, we have no embryos left and will need to have a fresh cycle again next time. Ive been quite shut down from it all, and basically trying to ignore it ever happened.

I looked into acupuncture before our first round in May and much to my surprise the clinic said not to bother with it. I have Raynaud's syndrome and i'm always cold, I raised this numerous times with the clinic and they reassured me that it wasn't a problem with IVF. I now feel like going in there and saying 'well you didn't listen and now look whats happened - 2 lots of IVF and still no pregnancy!'

Much to my disappointment they have told us we can go again in December with a fresh cycle and wait for it......they'll put me on aspirin to help with my circulation! Anyone else get the feeling they're not being listened to until you've had to go through the heartache of it twice?! We've decided to take a break and let my body heal for a few months before deciding anything!

Anyway I digress! I started acupuncture this week and to my surprise I actually loved it and there were also a few interesting things that came from my initial session, i have a cold uterus (i knew this i'm always, always cold thats no surprise) and apparently my liver is completely knotted (a term they use in acupuncture) and my Qi flow isn't flowing correctly, she found that my liver was full of anger and frustration! The acupuncturist seems to think if my liver is unblocked then there shouldn't be any reason why I cant conceive naturally as my health is overall very good, and fertility flows from the liver so thats the reason why I have an irregularity in my cycles, she's told me to keep my abdomen warm at all times and to drink warm lemon with water in the mornings to help with my liver function. She even recommended i sit with a hot water bottle on my lower back to warm me up, and its surprising how well it works!

So i've got a few tips for anyone who wants them, buy some haramaki's - these are essential to keep your kidneys, liver and uterus warm and originate from Japan, you can buy them in a few places online.

Always drink warm water and lemon as your first drink of the morning as this will help your liver detox

Keep your uterus warm with warming foods, no raw food (salads) in the winter as your body cools down to quickly whilst trying to digest your food.

keep to warm drinks as much as possible

and 2 books which were recommended to me which both seem very good and are by Emma Cannon who's an acupuncturist - Fertile (has recipes for warming foods in it) and The Baby Making Bible

Has anyone else seen a benefit from acupuncture and have any more tips for me and for others? I'd love to hear your views

[E_05]

Thank you for sharing, it definitely sounds like you have some positives to focus on. I’m a fan of Acupunture I’ve had it 3/4 cycles and definitely notice the improvements. I also drink lemon and ginger tea first thing which always feels warming. Another thing you could try is wearing bed socks, they say warm feet is a warm uterus - I don’t know how true it is but I thought it had to be worth a try. Wishing you lots of luck for December xx

[Hidden in reply to E_05]

I'm trying to keep myself as positive as possible, we've decided on no more treatment until I feel better from the acupuncture. I wear socks to bed every night! I have done since I was a child, i get so so cold, and the clinic were just not interested in it! Im not willing to put myself through any more cycles until they sit and listen to me! Im glad that you've seen the improvements with acupuncture on your cycles i'm really looking forward to having that time for just a bit of me time and if it helps with my fertility i'll be extremely happy!

[E_05 in reply to Hidden]

Oh that’s good, I find that Acupunture definitely helps with my anxiety and allows me to leave a little less stressed. I agree with what your say about the clinic not listening which becomes even more frustrating. I really hope you feel the benefits from Acupunture.

[Dream32]

I started acupuncture on my second round on ivf, I started hal way through that cycle which resulted in chemical pregnancy. I continued with it after now I'm 7 weeks pregnant and I'm still go every week. My acupuncturist this round told me to invest in some sheepskin slippers to keep my feet warm. I treated myself to some ugg slipper and I never take them off they are so cosy. I sleep in socks too, also like you I have poor circulation and raynaurds this has never been taken in consideration and I neve troll aspirin.

You sound like you are making some process for yourself but ultimately do whatever feels right for you. My consultant said he thinks acupuncture is a placebo effect but they now offer it at their clinic?

All the best with your jounery and take the next steps when you feel ready x

[Runner90 in reply to Dream32]

That’s interesting about the placebo effect, but if it helps people stay calm then it’s totally working!

[Dream32 in reply to Runner90]

I totally agree. I love it and I'm not pregnant x

[Tugsgirl]

This is very interesting. I haven’t been diagnosed with Raynauds or anything but when I was younger my doctor did say I had bad circulation. I also had chilblains on my toes. I always have cold feet. I’m booked in for reflexology on Monday, I’m hoping it helps my blood flow a bit better xx

[Hidden in reply to Tugsgirl]

I was diagnosed as a child I have primary raynauds syndrome and it can’t be controlled with medications as my body doesn’t like them! So I keep warm as much as possible I’m alway shivering and cold and the evenings are the worse for me, the clinic weren’t worried at all even when I was sat there showing them my purple hands in most of my appointments! I’m hoping acupuncture will help my blood flow a bit better and I’m doing little bits from the books and looking at warming foods to help keep my uterus warm, if it warms me up a bit I’ll be very happy! I hate being cold!

[Fredaflintstone]

Yes I was told to avoid cold drinks and raw foods, keep warm especially my feet etc and did so and did acupuncture- got bfp this time. Didn’t do any of that the first time and got a bfn. Not saying that was the difference - I also did all the other things this time eg pineapple, Brazil nuts, no ice cream, no sugary foods, pomegranate juice too. Every little helps I think xx I find acupuncture relaxing so worthwhile for the time alone xx

[Kiedy84]

Thank you for sharing, I didn't realise liver is so crucial in ttc. Do you have any more information on this please? x

[Hidden in reply to Kiedy84]

It’s very interesting to know the liver is a big factor in fertility, I don’t know much more but the books are really informative, I’m also reading more into it, if my acupuncturist tells me more I’ll message you and let you know!

[Loopielu]

Agree with all of this. My liver and Qi both block - I hold my stress in and it causes issues with energy flow and I have endo which compounds things. I've been drinking hot water with lemon before anything else every morning for about a year now and I also did a lot of work on my liver with detoxing herbs - dandelion is great, as is nettle. Recommend getting teas of both to drink (2 birds one stone that way too!). Burdock root is also good and milk thistle My feet are always freezing - I bought a heated slipper boot thing on eBay to help and use it when I am sat on the sofa to really heat my feet up. That plus thermal socks and slippers ALL the time really helps. Key is to make sure your abdomen is also warm to the touch. I can hold a lot of damp there which doesn't help implantation. Beetroot juice first thing is also really good for you - blood tonic. I really rate acupuncture. It's helped me regulate my cycle and feel so much better. I'm half way through my 2ww so 🙏🏻🤞🏻 it's worked this round. Best of luck! xx

[Lizzielizzielizzie]

My acupuncturist did a toxin drain which was amazing but took quite a few sessions. Has yours mentioned this? It basically involves lying still with needles all over my back, which went red and I had to keep doing it until she could put the needles in and they didn’t go red anymore. I felt amazing afterwards.

[Hidden in reply to Lizzielizzielizzie]

Yes she did this on my first session, some of my areas took 20minutes to go down, she’s going to repeat it again next week when I see her.

[Lizzielizzielizzie in reply to Hidden]

It took some of mine four hours!! (Over five sessions)

[Ang24816]

Hiya. I feel your pain with the clinic not doing anything until you've had failed cycles...i have had 4 in the last year (2 failed, a misscarrages and a bio-chemical pregnancy), we have male factor infertility, hubby has a blockage but produces good quality sperm it nust cant get out :-(. After the first failure (I over stimulated and was sooo unwell), got AF 5 days post trans) they did nothing new....after the 2nd failure they sent me for a cavity scan (normal), then after my misscarrage they sent me for a hysterscopy and did tests on my blood thickness (I don't think I've had my immune tested but hubby does, I am going to call on monday), after my bio-chemical pregnancy in August I decided to look into what else couod possibly be wrong....i have had my karotyping tested (all normal, hubby has already been tested and is normal) and am taking part in a trial in coventry on uterine NK cells (there's alot of speculation around whether these effect implantation/sustaining a pregnancy) I hope to have my next fet in January, depending on what the trial indicates I may take steroids. Let me know if you want to chat about the tests I've had done or details on the trial xx