I had my first reflexology treatment today and it was quite an eye opener! The therapist suggested doing the massage first then telling me what she found. I didn’t tell her I had any issues and she’s not a fertility reflexologist (will need to find one in my area) but she asked if I had any gynae issues as there were some blockages in my ovary/womb area and she picked up on my back issues, I was amazed!
Has anyone else used reflexology when TTC and got pregnant naturally? How frequently is good to get the most benefit from having it done?
According to my bbt I ovulated early and we’ve BD’d just about every day for the last week ☺️ Really hoping this helps
All suggestions/advice greatly received
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Sarah_a_2018
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I had it at the end of last year/beginning of this year in prep for a fet. I have lupus anticoagulant, poor circulation so the theory was that it would encourage blood flow to my womb. The lady wasn’t a fertility specialist either but she’d also had three fresh rounds of ivf and knew about stimulating the fertility points. I had treatments once every two weeks. My fet was a bfn. I haven’t bothered with it since because although I do think it had some benefits and it was really relaxing, we just can’t afford it anymore xx
Sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you Tugsgirl it can be expensive, more so than the ivf itself, we’re lucky to have one more funded cycle but we’re trying to buy a house, spent so much on seeing a nutritionist all the supplements she recommended and they’ve had no benefit whatsoever, you do everything they tell you might work expecting people who pay for IVF have endless supply of £££
Thanks Sarah. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed reflexology and I’d do it again just because anything that helps you feel more relaxed during ivf treatment is a good thing.
I think we can take it too far, you can live like a monk and still get a bfn. Sometimes I think it comes down to luck xx
If you’re wanting to carry on, look into healthcare cash back plans. You pay a monthly fee then claim back a percentage of treatment costs. Mine costs £10.84 for my hubbie and I, and we have claimed back way more than that on acupuncture, reflexology, optician and dental costs. Worth considering x
Ive had acupuncture for the last 8months and found it didnt make a difference at all, despite electro acupuncture I always ovulated late, and never had a bfp. Felt a little more relaxed after sessions but that was it.
Ive had 2 sessions of reflexology this month and it may be a coincidence but ive ovulated earlier than I would normally and so far my luteal phase is the longest its been! The lady i’m seeing is trained it ‘reproreflexology’ and she has given me homework to do between sessions. No bfp yet but so far so good 👍🏼🤞🏼 x
Ahh that great u had a good experience. It is def amazing for sure. I have reflexology to try to improve my fertility and get me ready for my FET. Mine is also great at focusing on my ovaries and stimulating what normal. Is doing me and my emotions too v good.
What ur homework out of interest?
Unsure about getting pregnant naturally from it. Sure it can happen. Won’t for me as it re low sperm count but it def better prepares you body I reck
Thanks Dreamingofbaby I’ve wanted to try and do everything to get pregnant naturally. It’s not the reflexology itself that will make a pregnancy happen, it’s more to do with the relaxation and it can improve circulation to the womb and ovaries, the same way acupuncture does. I’ve followed a few people on Instagram that have had reflexology and it’s helped them get their BFP naturally and with IVF, apparently it’s better than acupuncture but I will be doing acupuncture before we start our next round IVF because that was clinic recommended
You’d be surprised at what can happen with holistic therapy - We’re unexplained but I’ve seen people who weren’t able to get pregnant through IVF that needed it because of sperm/hormone issues and they’ve used holistic therapies and got a natural BFP, there’s so much focus on the women getting treatment because we’re the ones getting pregnant but the men should be included too, I’m trying to persuade my husband to get some reflexology, even if it’s just for relaxation 😁 x
She made me a bespoke Bachs rescue remedy mixture to take a few drops a few times a day (more to keep me calm as my mental health is all over the place at the moment), shes given me some meditation tapes and showed me a hubby a few pressure areas for the ovaries and how to stimulate them (outside of foot / ankle) and the area for calming. I have been told to do the ovary one x2 daily, which probably wont help but hey if they told me to individually pluck out every leg hair every day i’d do it! 🙈
That’s a great idea! She did show me where I can stimulate the ovary and womb pressure points but I was wondering if it would have the same effect doing it myself? Will get hubby to do it 😁
I’ll definitely be booking another appointment but I might just stick with the lady I’m seeing, I’d have to go to Glasgow or Edinburgh and then have to pay an extra £20-30 per session 😩 even if the reflexology has no fertility benefit but helps me to relax and feel better in myself then it’s definitely worth doing xx
I had fertility relflexology for a year, during which we tried IVF and then had two natural pregnancies one of which stuck! I can’t rwcommend it enough. My hormones were all over the place when I started going, I wasn’t eating properly or drinking enough water. I had appointments every 2 weeks to start with for a while then went to once a month. I still go now for maternity reflexology every 8 weeks and will start again more regularly when we want to conceive again x good luck
Congratulations on your pregnancy that’s great news! I was thinking once every 2 weeks and then maybe go weekly about 6-8 weeks before we start IVF, the clinic did recommend acupuncture so will need to arrange that too x
I had acupuncture for about 6 weeks leading up to my first FET and it was a BFN. I’m sure it was beneficial but I still found it hard to relax properly and wasn’t sleeping very well - so I’m not surprised it didn’t work. Second FET I went for two reflexology sessions beforehand and I got a BFP. It relaxed me so much. I almost drifted off every time, and the therapist worked on stimulating all the reproductive system as well as helping to calm down my stress levels.
I can’t comment on success rates for natural conception but I found it the most relaxing and reassuring thing to do while going through treatment. Best of luck!! x
Thanks PearlyDuck it helps knowing there are success stories, even if it’s not from the reflexology itself but just knowing it helps as I do feel the benefit of it already after just one session x
Hi Sarah, Yes I’m having reflexology treatments at the moment too. I have a one hour session once a week and have had this for 8 weeks now. I’ve got 2 left and then we start on a fresh cycle (I’m stopping it then as I’ve been told not to continue whilst in/on a cycle and to then start acupuncture instead). I won’t be having acupuncture as I’m scared of needles...crazy whilst going through I know!! I’ve never been a been able to do one of my own injections, my husband and Mum do them all for me 🙈 (they enjoy jabbing me a bit too much 😂!).
My reflexologist focuses on my ankles too (which I had researched was the main area) and she also picked up on a bad shoulder issue that I have without me mentioning it beforehand.
I can’t say for sure that it has helped me conceive (as we’re due to start soon) but it has definitely helped me to relax and try to stay as stress free as I can. I listen to relaxation sessions and visualisation recordings as well to link in with the whole ethos xxx
Thanks ShinyStar thats been really helpful - my appointment ran over there were so many bad points lol but I had a back injury and with my powerlifting I expected to have some tight areas 🙈 I’m going to stick with it and see how I get on
I used to be terrified of needles but I was able to overcome it, was surprised how well I coped with the injections as I was able to do them myself, I’ve had acupuncture when I had my disc prolapse and it helped, even more so that the needles were on my back so I couldn’t see them 🙈 you don’t feel them going in unless you’re really tense but even then it’s not like getting an injection they’re really fine needles, ive read a lot about acupuncture and reflexology and people I’ve spoke to so far have recommended reflexology over acupuncture, good luck with your next cycle! Xx
Hi Sarah, obviously I can’t say for sure but I had reflexology since my failed ivf earlier this year and am now 8.5 weeks pregnant naturally. It can’t hurt to keep it going. Wishing you lots of luck.xx
Thanks Noobs congratulations on your pregnancy! I’d love to be able to conceive naturally but I’ve accepted we might still need IVF but it can’t hurt to try, will get another session booked for next week, according to my bbt chart I ovulated 3 days early so AF might just happen 3 days earlier 🙈 right on time for next weekend 😩 I’m really hoping to not have AF at all this month as we’ve BD’d just about every day so far lol xx
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