Friday 2 August 2013

First acupuncture appointment

I have about a dozen things I need to do before leaving town with Mr. Turtle this evening to drive to my parents' cabin. We can't leave any earlier than 5pm, and we need to drive at least 5 hours. And I will be driving a lot since Mr. Turtle has to work today and I don't. But then I open up the blog, and time seems to slow right down and I get this powerful urge to read and write blogs, so I will.  I don't think it's a bad thing.

I went for my first appointment with Dr. Q yesterday. (I can't think of a clever nickname for her at the moment.)  Dr.Q has a degree from China in Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine.  Her website says she is  "specialized in treating conditions related to women’s health, fertility, pain syndromes, digestive disorders and mental health."  Sounds like a good choice, yes? Dr. Q was  recommended to me by a colleague. My colleague has fibromyalgia and uses massage, and occasionally acupuncture, as part of her health management.

As an aside, here's a little snapshot into how I typically manage my health care. Back in November, I developed a chronic pain in my right shoulder and arm. I had had a stiff neck for some weeks, which was probably related, but I chose to view it as inconsequential and assumed it would go away. ("Wow-I-slept-with-my-head-the-wrong-way-again??") Then one day in class, I leaned casually over a student's desk, and ow ow ow - my back was suddenly throbbing with pain. I straightened up, made a face and complained a bit. But assumed it would go away. Well, it didn't. Sometimes it would get better, but overall it got worse. The pain would vary in location: sometimes in the middle of my back, or in my shoulder, or in my right arm or wrist. Any sort of movement (or lack of movement) could bring incapacitating pain, but fine motor movement was especially  bad. I had to give up using the mouse with my right hand and I haven't since. (I am a  lefty so it was not a difficult switch).  Anyway, this went on for about 4 months. I did finally go to a walk in clinic, and saw my doctor as well. Solutions included everything from a  prescription for physiotherapy that I didn't use, exercises to relax the muscles (which seemed to help eventually), an ergonomic assessment at work (which helped a lot), a prescription for an anti-anxiety drug (WTF?). And my colleague gave me Dr. Q's contact info. I thanked her and resolved to check out Dr. Q's website in January. By the time I actually phoned, it was July. Right.

I'm not proactive about seeking health care. Maybe I just don't like doctors that much. I don't enter into trusting relationships easily.

My experience with Dr. Q did get me thinking a little bit about how the appointment with her was quite different from my other limited experiences with  health care  professionals. Before the appointment I filled out a detailed questionnaire which we went through point by point. We must have talked for half an hour. Dr. Q asked many additional  questions and scribbled notes on the form as we went. She noticed my picked-off cuticles and told me if I didn't stop doing that, my nails would thicken. (Thanks, I'll make another attempt to kick the habit.) She took my pulse (no comment.) Looked at my tongue and told me (accurately) about my poo. Mainly we focused on fertility, though I had not mentioned it specifically before making the appointment.

The conclusions:

  • My cycles are too short (yup)
  • I am likely not ovulating in some cycles even though I am getting a period (I am inclined to agree)
  • When I do ovulate, I am probably not producing a quality egg because it is happening too early (makes sense)
  • My period flow is light and therefore my uterine lining is probably too thin (ultrasound showed it was OK, but who knows)
  • One ovary may be working fine, the other may not be (interestingly, ultrasound showed follicles (4) on only one ovary)
  • Many women with wonky ovaries have acne issues (Testify!)
  • My Kidneys and Spleen are weak (note that the terms for body parts mean something different in TCM than they do in Western medicine)
  • In conclusion,  I definitely have some problems. Although they do not seem to be very very bad.
Dr. Q said she would work with me to lengthen my cycles  to 27-28 days, and thicken the uterine lining. It is important to see her on certain days of the cycle. Since I didn't time this appointment with my cycle (wasn't possible) she seemed a bit concerned about being able to work successfully with this cycle. Me too but I appreciate that she was really thinking about it and seemed to care.  We then did a treatment. I had a forest of needles in me: head, face, belly (lots!) legs and feet and hands. It was very relaxing although I was hoping she had counted them all so she didn't forget any in there, especially the ones in my hair. Dr. Q  warned me I would feel tired afterwards and boy did I ever. I felt like the Earth's gravity must have substantially increased during my appointment.

I have another appointment for CD 15 and we'll see where it goes. She will also discuss some herbs with me at that time. Should be good timing because we go back to The Fertility Clinic next Thursday to go over the latest test results and discuss (I hope) a direction.

What do I think? I felt like the assessment was a lot more thorough than what I'm used to getting from Western doctors. I started with a new doctor about this time last summer (Dr. Gnomish, who is also Mr. Turtle's doctor). On our first appointment, Dr. Gnomish asked if I had any health conditions, was on any prescription drugs, or if I smoked. The answer being no to all of the above, we were pretty much done. Dr. Gnomish was impressed. "Most people have a string of health conditions and a list of prescriptions as long as my arm." A few weeks later I came in for a physical. Did all the usual stuff, was assured none of my moles looked cancerous, and was sent on my way. Now I'm not saying Dr. Gnomish did anything wrong.  But my experience with him, and doctors in general is this: If I am not sick and I don't need drugs, well, they have no further business with me.  I always seem to be in and out the door in record time.

Again, I'm not trying to blame anybody, but it does seem to me that this attitude is not conducive to understanding fertility. In hindsight, although we've only been TTC for two years, I've always known in the back of my mind that there might be something "off." The acne. The irregular cycles. The fact that I had regular spells of unexplained nausea as a teenager, which I suspect were related to hormones. (It is not so severe anymore, but I still get mild nausea one or two times in second half of my cycle.)  But the symptoms never made me sick, in the incapacitating sense.

So I suppose the main difference I felt in Dr. Q's office was that she was willing to take time with me, to listen and ask questions, to question my assumptions, and to make time for treatment, rather than sending me out the door with a prescription and the unspoken conclusion that seriously, I am a pretty boring patient.

How all of this will fit together with The Fertility Clinic I am not sure yet, but I'm glad I'm giving it a try.

18 comments:

  1. My acne has been awful since I was a teen so I'd be very interested in more info about the wonky ovary/acne correlation. If you find anything else out please let me know! I've become very picky about my doctors. Unless they show a real interest and make an effort to solve any issues I have, POOF out the door. I have no patience for bad doctors any more. Or mediocre ones! There are plenty of GOOD doctors out there, so why waste time with anyone else?

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    1. So true Anne. I have had so little to do with doctors I don't know if I even have a clear idea of what makes a good doctor! That would make a good blog entry, wouldn't it: each person's idea of what makes a good doctor? I will definitely keep you up to date about anything I learn from Dr. Q or other sources about ovaries!

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  2. I have my first acupuncture appt next month. Have you been charting your cycles? I've only ever used OPK and have really never charted my temps. But they want me to start...

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    1. Hi Jenny, great to hear from you again. I hope you have a good experience with acupuncture!
      As for charting, I did chart when we were trying with timed intercourse, but when we got the diagnosis of MFI and the news that we wouldn't conceive unassisted, I stopped. I probably shouldn't have, but I was ready to take a break from the whole business for a while and that was a good excuse. I will probably start charting again in the next few months.

      When we were timing intercourse I bought a tool called the Ovacue which tracks electrolyte changes in saliva and cervical mucous. You can read about it here: http://www.ovacue.com/how-ovacue-fertility-monitor-works

      I'm not necessarily recommending it, but I think it actually is fairly good at tracking when I ovulated or when my body was trying to ovulate. I used it for about a year and there were consistent patterns. OPKs sometimes worked with me, sometimes didn't, and it was hard to tell if that was because I didn't have an LH surge or I'd just peed a lot in the preceding hours.

      I also did temp charting for some months. I know it is the gold standard and I probably should have kept it up, and maybe I will psych myself up to do it again, but I found it frustrating. I would never seem to sleep well when I expected my temp to go up, so when I took it in the morning, I would always wonder if it was accurate. Or I'd wake up in the middle of the night for an hour or two and wonder: should I take the temp or wait? I preferred the OvaCue because I could choose when to use it.

      Anyway, if you do chart be sure to use an online system (Ovacue has a good one on their website, and I'm sure there are others) because then the computer makes it nice and tidy. Totally annoying to be penciling in charts, IMO!

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  3. I felt the same exact way! The Acupuncture doctor would have spent all day with me, while at my Western doctor I seem to get moved in and out like a factory. Im so interested in all this, happy you had a good appointment!

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    1. I am interested in it too, and very ready to learn. I want to become better at advocating for myself and my health, as well. It sure helps when someone is willing to make time for you and treat you like an individual. Gives me something to think about when I consider the conversation that's going to happen at The Fertility Clinic next week.

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  4. I'm a huge acupuncture fan because it's all about healing the body naturally, getting to the cause of the problem, not just masking the problem with a pill or a procedure!! Very interesting everything you learned. The Infertility Cure book really helped me to understand more, just as a recommendation (I just picked it up from our library). Excited to hear more updates!

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    1. Hi Caroline, I have The Infertility Cure as well. I have read some of it, but there is a ton of information so I find I have to take time to process it. It has helped me to understand the TCM approach and have an idea of what to expect. I will keep updating.

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  5. Congrats on a positive visit to the accu. I think Western medicine focuses more on treatment rather than prevention and maintenace. I found out that CM focuses on prevention of illnesses and maintainance of a healthy balance. They are big on diet and "chi" (flow).
    You mentioned OPKs. I learnt the hard way that they are not accurate for people with POF. This is beacuse of the high FSH that tends to make the LH spike erroneously. This happened to me in July. I had two positive OPKs that turned out to be false (see my post on the failed IUI).
    As for temping; (you mentioned it here), fertility friend is a great way to enter you temps and it does everything else for you.
    It is so interesting re: the acne coz that is something I have struggled with.

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    1. Thanks for the note on the OPKs. I wasn't aware of how FSH could affect the LH surge. So many pieces in the puzzle! I'll check out Fertility Friend. I wish we didn't have this problem but it is interesting to compare notes.

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  6. So glad you had a positive first visit with Dr. Q! Keep us updated on how it goes. I also have very light periods, though my thin uterine lining has been confirmed on ultrasound every time I've gotten one. I'm curious what her recommendation is for helping with that.

    Hope you and Mr. Turtle have a wonderful time at the cabin :)

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    1. Thanks. We did enjoy it a lot though we wished we had more time. I will keep the updates coming! I hope there are some positive results.

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  7. I have some of the similar problems. I ovulated around CD9 and CD10 for a while. Acupuncture has helped me push back ovulation to CD12 for the last few months. I have had more egg white CF since started acupuncture. I was usually cold on my hands and feet because of weak Kidney as well. Nowadays I am a lot warmer. My hubby has the same problem; kidney yang deficiency. From this last IVF cycle, his sperm count has actually gone up and his morphology has improved. I will attribute part of that to his acupuncture treatment as well. I hope that this doctor can help you with your cycle just like how mine has helped with my cycle. Enjoy the time you get to rest at your acupuncturist's. :) Oh and enjoy your time at the cabin. :)

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    1. I am glad to hear you had some good effects. That is very encouraging. Mr. Turtle will give Dr. Q a call soon too I hope and maybe she can help him too. We did have a nice weekend, thank you!

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  8. I'm glad you had a positive experience with the TCM consultation and acupuncture. I'm interested to know if your TCM physician gave any advice regarding your lifestyle, diet, and type of constitution because I notice most of them do that. I understand your frustration about Western medicine doctors! For them to do something, they need to have an actual diagnosis, to identify a medical condition that they have a name for. However, the problem is that many of us are in a state of sub-health (for me, it was gastrointestinal problems and menstrual pain) without actually being ill, and Western medicine has no idea what to do about this. I hope TCM does something for you. Good luck!

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    1. Very good points Ariel. We did not talk diet or lifestyle at this appointment but I expect we will talk more about that at coming appointments.

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  9. I'm glad you had such a great experience with Dr. Q. I have really been considering Eastern Medicine lately and I am looking forward to reading about what Dr. Q recommends for you. It is so nice to feel like a health care provider really listens and CARES about you. I hope you see some positive results from your treatment.

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  10. Thanks, me too! I will share how things go as that helps me to process too.

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