acupuncture? homeopathy?

Hi,

I have IR / PCOS, but am normal weight, exercise, do the diet and have been on Metformin for almost a year now. I am still not regular - in fact, there has been no real change in the length or frequency of my periods since before I went on Metformin - if anything, they have become less frequent and I have ovulated less on Metformin than before I started taking it. (Having said that, I am convinced that it has done positive things for me, I just wonder if there is such a thing as a too high dose! Anyway, that is a different question)

I am wondering if anyone has had success with acupuncture regulating their cycles? (I've tried Clomid, but hated it)

We have male factor as well, so I am not expecting pregnancy to come easily even if my cycles are regular and I am ovulating regularly, but I would like something to be able to make my cycles "normal" - or as close to normal as possible.

Anyone tried homeopathy?

Thanks :)

Hi ShellShell,

We have the exact same problem - I have PCOS and we also have sperm motility issues....I am of normal weight.
Have gone through the whole Clomid thing - only O'd 3 out of 6 times.. then 2 IVF attempts 1st one nothing and the 2nd one just last month we did get a positive but unfortunately miscarried a couple of weeks later. A friend of mine has put me onto her Naturopath (I'm not sure where you are - I am in Perth) as she had 5 IVF attemts all failed then fell pregnant within 6 months of seeing the Naturopath. She has also sent her SIL there who has PCOS and her cycles became regular after about 2 months.
So I'm guessing it's definately worth a shot...I'm not too sure about Accupuncture but have heard positive things from reports that it helps in conjunction with IVF treatment.... hope this helps. Good Luck
Cheers Alex xoxox

Hi Shell,
I am not totally sure with regards to this problem but acupuncture is generally good for hormonal issues so I would imagine that an acupuncturist would be a good start. A word of warning - make sure you go to someone acredited and not just a GP who has done a weekend course in acupuncture. Good luck!

ShellShell,

I was having troubles concieving and had two losses and was told by my caregivers to start thinking about IVF. I decided against IVF as I wanted to try alternative treatments, and within 4 cycles of seeing a naturopath I got my bfp. Now 13wks pg and all going well (touch wood ;) ). I would recommend that you go to someone who comes with a recommendation and good track record.

Where abouts in Oz are you?

Good luck sweets :)

PS Sorry I forgot to mention, I dont have PCOS but I do know she has treated lots of women with PCOS. Its worth a try I reckon.

Hi Shell,
Just wanted to let you know I don't have pcos, but have struggled with endometriosis for 21yrs now, after being diagnosed when I was 9 yrs old.
My cycles were crazy - and just too unpredictable from one cycle to the next... years of medications and surgeries did nothing.
My mum took me to see a naturopath / acupuncturist as a "We'll try anything at this stage" resort, and within 3 - 4 cycles, I was having a normal menstral cycle... and regularly!!!
I went from having a period that lasted anywhere from 10 - 20days long with 7 - 10days inbetween, and then getting my period again.
It was absolute hell!!!!
Now I have a spot on 28 day cycle, that lasts from 5-10 days... much better than before!!!

I live in Terrigal NSW (about 1hr north of Sydney), and seriously have the greatest therapist ever!!
Not sure where you are, but I can recommend her with all of my heart... if you're not up here, I can find out if she can recommend anyone where you are.... she knows therapists everywhere, and has recommended heaps to different friends and family members of mine.
I have regular acupuncture and take chinese herbs, and have certain foods that I have taken from my diet - you can really tell and feel the difference - especially the acupuncture, its amazing.
The chinese herbs also have improved our embryo quality, and fixed my uterus lining - 2 things I have had trouble with over 4 cycles of IVF.
Let me know if I can help you any further:D

Holly xxx

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all your great replies. I have booked myself in for acupuncture at the health centre (in Sydney). They specialise in fertility treatments, and come highly recommended.

My first appointment is next week Tuesday... I'm really looking forward to it!

It is great to hear the success stories! Thanks :)

Best of luck Shell!

Shell, there are a few of us that use Rozelle. I love Leah and have been going for about 6 months now. She really knows what she's talking about and has done so much for me in being able to keep a positive outlook and generally feel better and healthier than I have in a long time. Be prepared to discuss very strange things like the nature of your bowel motions (seriously!) and the precise nature of AF. She'll also probably suggest some drastic changes in diet which seem overwhelming at first but really DO make a difference.

We had hoped that she'd be able to fix me up so we'd conceive naturally, but our issues turn out to be with both of us and we need IVF anyway, but I'm feeling so much more relaxed and calm about the whole process simply because of those weekly acupuncture appointments. And the needles don't hurt!

BW

Hi there
I have been going to a chinese herbalist and accupuncture for a while now and he explained to me yesterday that all these things work together. The herbs help with certian individual issues of blood flow and cleansing etc. The accupuncture makes you super receptive around O time. Like a super boost. He said eating well and exercising might give you another 20% chance herbs another 20% chance and accupuncture another 20% (those are not exact figures from studies just examples). So all together the more you can do the better the odds. A numbers game if you will.
Hope this helps a little. Good luck with your journey.

Hi ladies,

Thanks for your responses.

BW - I had my first appointment today and it was with Leah. I liked her too. Yes, and we did discuss in detail stuff like what the flow (blood) of my periods is like etc.! LOL :)

She didn't recommend much in terms of dietary changes - just one small change. After seeing 2 naturopaths and a dietitian over the past year, I am glad she couldn't recommend drastic changes!! My diet has been churned over and churned over by so many different specialists seriously...

I am back next week and the week after that, and then we are going to reassess depending on what happens - if I get AF or not, I suppose.

Thanks for your support, and I'm really glad I could come on here and talk about this kind of stuff! :)

Hi Shellshell, I also see Leah at Rozelle and I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed your meeting with her. Good luck with everything.

Shell Shell I would love to hear how you got on with your treatment ans I have started to see a chinese herbalist too. I will keep my fingers crosed for you.

Hi,

I went for three weeks - three sessions - and then I stopped going because my DH is just having more troubles with his prostate which is affected his sperm (along with his Y chromosome microdeletion), so I thought, why put so much effort into making an egg for me, when there's no sperm there to catch it??!! (My DH had an op in early March to try and help the prob, but it is likely he will need another op - we will find out for sure in May)

I also had a laparoscopy done and they took photos of my ovaries and showed me a corpus luteum on one of my ovaries which showed that I had ovulated. There was a dominant follicle on the other, which showed that O was most likely going to happen this cycle as well. So this was exciting news for me, since last year I went months without getting AF.

We will see how things go with DH before making a decision to head back to acupuncture or not.

Hope it works out for you. :)

Hi Baby love / Alex, Can you please tell me the details of your Natropath. I live in Perth am I interested in giving this a go.
Ta Kaz

Hi all,

Can anyone recommend an acupuncture clinic/centre in Melbourne (preferably southeast). Thanks.

HI Shellshell & BW,

I emailed Rozelle's and they were really helpful and recommended an acupuncture clinic in Melbourne.

I'm glad they could help you, Gardenscent. Good luck!

BW