Well that wasn't as painful as I thought it might be!! ;-)

So it finally rolled around - the day of my first acupuncture session with Maureen!

We've had a lot on the last few days, so I was even more stressed than normal by the time my appointment time came.  When I went into the clinic it was all very nice and welcoming (even if the guy at the desk was a bit strange and manic!!) and I didn't have to wait too long until Maureen called me through.  The first thing she did was ask my main reason for going, which was obviously because we're about to start IVF, then she explained she'd ask me a lot of questions - some of which I might not think were relevant but they'd give her an all round picture of "me"

I explained to her that I've always had a bit of a worry that my AF's aren't right, but when I've said this to any of the nurses I've seen they always say it's fine because all my scans and blood tests came back ok.  Basically although my AF's are very regular, it only lasts 24 hours, and even then I barely even need to use anything because it's so light.  Maureen agreed it did sound a bit strange, especially when the scans have shown my uterine lining is fine (either thick or thin depending on the timing of the scan) and said she thinks it's to do with my blood lacking in something and not flowing around my uterus the way it should.  She gave me a list of blood enriching foods that she said I should try and eat more of to help, plus she gave me some Chinese herbs to take the first two weeks of my next cycle.  She said she'll treat me for blood enriching too when I have appointments, but she understands that treatment sessions are expensive and as the herbs are a lot cheaper (£10 for enough to do me two weeks) she would rather I take them to try and help and need less  sessions (I was impressed with that)  I have to take 8 tablets (!) three times a day from CD1 until I ovulate when I next have AF - I'm strangely looking forward to taking them!! lol

After we'd gone through all my history and discussed it in detail, Maureen asked me to get up onto the bed so she could check the pulses in my hands and feet and the temperature of my abdomen.  Something I found strange, was that she said when she felt my pulse that it felt sad, and she asked me why.  I told her that a couple of weeks ago my Dad had collapsed suddenly and we thought we were going to lose him (at which point I almost burst into tears) and she said that would explain it.  She then started to put the needles into my skin; two in my tummy (one just above my lady garden and the other about three inches further up), one in each of my knees just under my knee caps, and one in each of my wrists.  It was funny, because when she put the one in my right wrist it hit a small nerve and made my pinky go numb - it didn't hurt though and as soon as I told her she moved it and said that sometimes it can touch a little nerve in the skin.

I lay on the table and Maureen manipulated the needles every so often while she was talking to me, but it didn't hurt at any point at all and was a really strange sensation.  Once the time was up the needles were taken out (again, didn't hurt at all) and Maureen did my pulses again. I don't really know if there was any difference because I forgot to ask!!

I have another appointment to go back to see Maureen when AF arrives next (should be 6th July) although if she decides to play up it's not a hassle to change my appointments to suit.  I've already got some of my blood enriching foods to eat (some apricots) and my next shopping I'll be sure to stock up on more.

Hubby said that he thinks is all a load of rubbish, and I'll be honest, I'm not sure if I think it works or not.  I just think that it's worth a try though, even if it's just for the 45 minutes each time I go to just be about me and to have Maureen advise me of what to eat/drink/do all the way through the whole process (she's already given me pointers for when I'm growing follicles, and she said she'll tell me what to do/not do at each stage when I see her)

Now, just need to keep the chilled out feeling I have after today going until our appointment at the hospital on Monday afternoon to get our dates for treatment.

S x