Wednesday, November 4, 2009

My body is ready...am I ?

Yesterday I had my third ultrasound. There are some new follicles and ones that were there before have disappeared. I have one "almost" mature follicle on my right that measures 1.67 and the two that were on my left seem to be gone. The nurse practitioner that did my ultrasound couldn't get a clear view of my left ovary, so there may be some follicles she missed on that side. She said its normal for follicles to disappear, especially when you are on a low dose and slow paced follicle stimulation plan like I have been on. Last night was the last injection of Menopur and tonight, between 5:00pm-7:00pm, I will be giving myself the Ovidrel injection to make me ovulate. I will be having two inseminations, one Friday morning and one Saturday morning. I'm not looking forward to having the one on Saturday as it will be at the Minneapolis clinic, I was hoping that wouldn't happen. I am trying to have a positive outlook on this cycle, staying positive and relaxed. I'm not sure what our plan will be after this cycle, right now it is to take one day at a time. Eli seems a little more relaxed with cycle as well. We haven't been talking about it all the time which helps. Please pray hard for us in the next couple of days. All prayers I got for this cycle seemed to help, all of the little follicles in my ovaries didn't grow!! So keep praying!!
This time I am also going to incorporate natural medicine/Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture. I have had a lot of people email me with suggestions to try acupuncture. I did some research and found a clinic in Bloomington that insurance will cover. Here is some info about acupuncture and PCOS;
Acupuncture is a 3,000 year-old traditional form of Chinese medicine used to promote health and treat disorders. It involves the use of very fine, sterile, disposable stainless steel needles placed at selected acupuncture points.
The practice of acupuncture is based on the understanding that a vital energy called "Qi" flows along pathways or meridians throughout the body. Each pathway is associated with a particular physiological system and internal organ. Acupuncture allows Qi to flow to areas where it is deficient and away from where it is in excess. If Qi is blocked or obstructed in its flow, pain or dysfunction may occur.
Acupuncture regulates and restores the harmonious energetic balance of the body, causing pain or illness to be resolved. Acupuncture points are places along the meridians near the body's surface where Qi can be manipulated by the insertion of acupuncture needles.
There are hundreds of acupuncture points and each point has a predictable therapeutic effect. Problems can be addressed by needling points close to and distant from the problem being treated, because the meridians run throughout the body.
Upon insertion of an acupuncture needle, people may experience varying sensations, ranging from no pain at all, to a slight pinch, a feeling of heaviness, warmth or possibly tingling and an electric sensation. The needles are retained for 20-45 minutes and people often become deeply relaxed and sometimes even fall asleep. After needle removal, you may feel energized, sleepy or lighter. You may notice immediate improvement of your symptoms.
Acupuncture provides a safe, effective, drug-free and natural approach, strengthens and balances all systems of the body, and assists our own internal energies to restore endocrine harmony encouraging conception and a healthy pregnancy.
Acupuncture emphasizes holistic care. PCOS is a very complex disorder and due to multiple hormonal imbalances. The abnormalities in the ovary are really more the result of the whole body’s dysfunction, not the cause. Currently this disorder is not well understood, so there is no single solution to reverse PCOS or assess all the symptoms. However, you can certainly choose acupuncture as a holistic medicine along with a healthy diet to improve your overall health – as a way of achieving better emotional balance and well-being, regulated periods, enriched sleep, and greater energy. Optimizing a general sense of well-being definitely influences the body’s internal hormones, chemicals and metabolisms, which in turn effectively minimize and eliminate numerous factors in the processes of PCOS.
Acupunture treats the underlying, root causes of conditions. PCOS is one of the major leading causes of infertility. Recently conventional medicine has not had a great deal of success in treating PCOS and infertility. The most popular form of treatment is with the use of ovulation inducers like clomid, hCG and gonadotropin. Unfortunately, these drugs do not easily or effectively address the underlying failure of ovarian health such as poor quality of eggs or an androgen rich surrounding environment. As a result, women have a lower pregnancy rate, a higher rate of miscarriage, and potentially undesirable side effects from drugs.
Acupuncture and Chinese medicine are designed to stimulate the body’s own natural production of hormones and regulate the menstrual cycle by gently correcting underlying deficiencies and/or eliminating disruptions. For example, when applied they can;
a) restore reproductive energy in the kidney system which represents the reproductive endocrine system to normalize the production of hormones that regulate ovulation.
b) balance the liver system which controls smooth flow and distribution of blood to remove obstruction or constriction of blood circulation in the pelvic organs, which might be caused from living with high stress, consistent anger, frustration and/or anxiety.
c) build an adequate supply of blood to sustain a normal menstrual cycle, nourish the eggs to be revitalized, and support a healthy pregnancy.
d) help dissolve the thick, waxy coating found on the surface of the ovaries to improve ovarian function, enhance egg quality with the use of Chinese herbal medicine.
e) soothe the sympathetic nervous system to relax the body, reduce stress and influence healthy ovulation


My first appointment was today. I was a little nervous before, but it went very well. The needles only gave a little "pinch", especially in areas where there isn't much skin. The ones in my ears and feet hurt the most going in. Once the needles are in she inserts them a little more and then leaves them in for 20 min. It was actually very relaxing and I felt warm and tingling in the areas where the needles were. She put needles in my ears, arms, stomach, legs and feet. My next appointment is Sunday. I felt it to be very beneficial, if not physically but mentally. I will be going back!

Love, Kristen & Eli

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