Getting pinned

Several weeks before starting TTC I called and made an appointment with Dr. Yang, a Chinese acupuncturist who specializes in fertility. My friend S had seen her years ago for fertility acupuncture, and had many positive things to say about her.

I found her office on Michigan Ave, a pretty utilitarian space with a small waiting area and fluorescent lighting. Her clients seemed quite multi-national; there was an African man there waiting for his wife, and a Chinese man waiting for his wife. Perhaps Chinese acupuncturists have a different attitude towards patient privacy, or perhaps she assumed nobody could understand her conversation in Chinese, but as I filled out forms I listened to Dr. Yang talk to this man in Chinese about how he could improve the potency of his sperm by avoiding hot tubs and too many soy products.

Our consultation was encouraging. She looked at my medical history and asked me some questions. She was very knowledgeable about fertility, and all the Western procedures and protocols for IUIs, IVFs, and so on. She took my pulse, examined my tongue, and said 还不错 (haibucuo - not bad). I had no specific fertility problems to address, but wanted to do what I could to make sure my inseminations would be successful. So she began a series of treatments to help stimulate and regulate the ovaries, and to help reduce stress.

I love acupuncture, even though it actually does hurt a little bit. You lie down on this table, she sticks a bunch of pins into you at the magic places, then turns off the lights, turns on a heat lamp over your feet, pipes in some cheesy Chinese restaurant music, and leaves you for a while. Sometimes she tells me to relax; other times she tells me to breathe deeply and focus on my abdominal area. It is supposed to be a half hour, but I loose track of time, doze off, and am often slightly startled when she bustles back into the room and turns the lights back on.

She also gave me some generic Chinese herbal pills for women. I'd asked about herbal medicine, what my colleague L likes to call "nastea," but she said it might be too strong for me.

For now, I'm going about once a week, sometimes more. She wants me to come in more often right before and after the insemination. She charges less than other places, but she also wants you to come in more often.

This is one classic example of the type of decision you have to make during TTC, which can be an incredibly expensive process. Do you pay for acupuncture, with the hope that it will save you money in the long run? Do you buy 2 vials and have 2 inseminations per cycle, with the hope that it will cover your fertile window a bit more and save you from having to pay for another insemination? Do you risk having multiples with the hormone medication, knowing things will cost twice as much in the future?

I don't have any answers, but am practicing making my efforts while letting the universe take care of things I can't control. I like acupuncture, and do find that it seems to be doing something. My abdominal area tingles after treatment, and I do feel relaxed. Besides, I like talking to Dr. Yang; she is the only doctor giving me any advice at the moment.

Dr. Licai Yang has offices in Chicago and the suburbs.
http://www.fertility-fertility-fertility.com/
She charges $90 for the first treatment with consultation, and $60 for each subsequent visit. She has very flexible hours, including evenings and weekends.

Another great resource is Randine Lewis's book The Infertility Cure. She explains the TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) approach to fertility in great detail, and suggests many things you can do on your own to regulate the systems that affect fertility.