Thursday, November 15, 2007

Slowly But Surely

Third u/s showed follie on the right has grown to 21mm. The RE wanted to see it at 23mm so I have to go back (AGAIN!) tomorrow to trigger. I felt like saying "GIVE ME THE DAMN SHOT NOW!!!" It's probably up to 23mm as we speak.

I think my ovaries are riding the short bus to school.

I am so over this. Now up to $200 out of pocket for ultrasounds in one week. (Did I ever say how much my insurance sucks?! I'm sure an OB u/s wouldn't cost me a dime.) Not to mention it took me an hour and a half to get to work from the clinic this morning due to the inclement weather. I was exhausted before I even got to work so you can imagine that my brain would be mush. I can't say I was at my most productive today. And I get to wash, rinse and repeat tomorrow. Thank goodness it'll be Friday.


I've given it some thought and I think that I'm going to break after this cycle, as opposed to cycling again in December. I just don't want to go through another lame response and $200 more dollars of pointless ultrasounds around the holidays. Instead of dealing with the med stress, I'm thinking of starting acupuncture and doing that for a few months while we are in our "not trying, not preventing" phase. I found this place and it seems like a good way to detox from TTC.

Are there any acupuncture vets out there? I'd love to hear about your experiences. How much does it cost? Does insurance reimburse you for any treatment? How long do you have to go? How often do you go? Do you like it or dislike it and why? Would you recommend it?

Any contributions to my research would be most helpful.

19 comments:

Meghan said...

I haven't done acupuncture, but I think it sounds good.

And sorry that follicle isn't moving quite as fast as you'd like. I hate how quickly it all adds up

Emily said...

sorry you are spending so much on u/s...but hopefully you will see a big fat 23mm one tomorrow.

you know, ilissa was doing acupuncture. you might want to talk to her about it?

Shelby said...

Let me tell you how much I love acupuncture! I go to a clinic in Gaithersburg (healthpointemd.com), and it's incredible. The first month before I cycled, and month that I cycled, I was going twice a week. Then, after I got the BFP, I've been going every other week, to help de-stress and help with symptoms. Depending on your insurance, if you go to a provider accepted by them, they should do 10 or 12 treatements per year, for just a copay. The prices I got were around 85 for the first treatment, and 70 for each additional one.

If anything, it really does help me relax. And I like to think that it helped me deal with all of the hormones and stress. Let me know if you have any other questions!

A'Dell said...

Acupuncture is my next "thing" to research as well. It's not terribly easy to find a good place though.

I'm eager to see what your readers have to say too.

Grad3 said...

I am sorry that the dr is making you come once again... geeze already!

I did acup. for a while. I really, really liked it. I went to a student, she was being trained in the office and supervised by those who were licensed. It was $40 for a student and $75 for a "professional".

I always felt so much better after a treatment. I did stop going becuase I started to feel like the student was starting to push her own agenda on me, she kept telling me "to let go" of the whole baby thing. Grrr... I do miss it though- don't let my experience scare you off! I would look for someone who specialized in fertility issues.

I never approached my insurance about it 'cause they sucked. That being said we were able to take some of the visits off our taxes last year.

Let us know what you decide and good luck!!!

Unknown said...

I've done accupuncture once. Loved it. I'm a complete needle phobe, but really-I only felt it in a couple spots-inbetween my thumb and index finger and between the eye brows. I'll tell you that the little while you're laying on the table "relaxing" is the best sleep you'll ever have. Seriously. I only don't do it anymore b/c our finances have gone to crap. Good luck!

Barb said...

Certain acupuncture needles really did make me feel good. I liked it. It was peaceful. There were a few times it hurt, and that wasn't fun, but overall I liked it. I didn't see lots of results, but I didn't get to do it long and I am pretty messed up. ;-)

I had to stop due to money constraints unfortunately. She was the only doctor who I ever felt actually tried to treat ME as a person and really LISTENED and dealt with symptoms. I loved it. I miss her a lot. Mine was very expensive. If you bought 10 at a time, you got 2 free, but each session was $75. I know some are cheaper, but she just came so highly recommended.

My insurance does allow 10 visits a year (hardly as many as you need), but only with their contracted providers. And unfortunately.. there are VERY FEW contracted providers and they mostly specialize in chiropractic care and pain management. I definitely wanted someone whose specialty was infertility.

Good luck and let us know how you like it!

Courtney said...

I'm so sorry that you are having to make repeated trips to the doctor's office, but hopefully tomorrow things look great and you will be able to get trigger happy. :)

Christy said...

I love, love, love, love, love acupuncture! I started it at the end of March. I've written about it before on my blog. I'll try to get you the link so that I don't take up too much space here. I also pay $65 a session, but my insurance reimburses me $35 dollars a session, however, my guy doesn't bill as infertility treatment, but rather "headaches and pms". Oh, and this should make you feel better about your out of pocket costs for ultrasounds . . . I pay $300 for each one. And yes, my IVF cycle consisted of 9 ultrasounds, not including those needed for retrieval and transfer. My IUI cycles demanded anywhere from 3 to 5 ultrasounds. The math is not pretty.

Doughnut said...

My wife and daughter have both had acupuncture for pain relief and found that it worked for them. I have an adversion to all needles so even though it might relieve physical pain, it wouldn't be good for me emotionally. I'd probably pass out - lol! I know that many guys are whimps when it comes to needles. I am much more tolerant of them today than I was a few months ago though.

Unfortunately it is also one of those practices that isn't covered by insurance but cheap enough to try....you can't win the lottery unless you buy a ticket :)

Lisa said...

I love acupuncture too. Have been going for a while and my insurance covers 10 visits per year with co-pay. It is extremely relaxing and stress relieving.
Hope today's u/s goes good and you can trigger.

s day @ sdayrunning.blogspot.com said...

That's soooo crazy! Kday's and my plan is exactly the same as yours. Take a break and maybe give accupuncture a shot! We must be on the same ESP station:0)

Anonymous said...

Hi there-on EC's on FF there is a girl Erin who swears by it. She may have some great advise for you. Also-I hear ya on the PS Latte. Miss you on our BG! Pray for you everyday.

Anonymous said...

Do the accupunture. The one cycle I did it, was the one i got pregnant. I do not know if there was a direct link between the Accupunture and the BFP, but I do think it helped calm me. I just starting going agian. The draw back is the cost....but, I think I read somewhere that I can use my Flexable healthcare spending dollars towards it. If you have one of those through work, I would look into it. At least then it is pre-tax dollars.

Mel said...

I am on a holiday break, too, I feel you. My u/s are $200 each as well, and I just didn't feel like dealing with all of that when I could be buying christmas presents and holiday cocktails instead!!!!
I have not done accupuncture either but was thinking of it... I hope this cycle works out well for you, though, and you may not even have to think about any of the other stuff!

In and Out of Luck said...

I hear you on the crappy insurance, I pay $150 for every ultrasound visit. For my first pregnancy I went for two months twice a week to an M.D. acupuncturist who charged $125 an hour. It was a ton of money, but I got pregnant. She's fantastic. This time, that sort of money was completely out of the question, so I went to another person who was covered by insurance (I call Kaiser "socialized medicine that you pay for"). My co-pay was $15. 4 months at 1-2 a week and also herbs 3X a day. The woman was nice and her speciality was infertility, but I had no result. I know other people who did get pregnant with her, though.

Anonymous said...

I endorse acupuncture too! I've been going once a week for the last 6 months. The gal I see specializes in women's care & works with lots of IF women. Be warned it's a slow process and you need to be patient (my big downfall). But I've ovulated twice since I started, which is twice more than I ovulated in the 6 months before acupuncture.

I pay $50/session. It can hurt but usually doesn't--and I have been a needle-fainter my whole life. My acupuncturist is also very down on ART (even though working with these women is her bread & butter)--you'll have to find one who is a good fit for you AND knows how to treat fertility issues. The first acupuncturist I saw was only interested in treating my headaches.

megan said...

i have an acupuncture story for you, but am well aware that it's success can easily be attributed to not only fluke but a myriad of other things...
i went to an acupuncture clinic that specializes and focuses on infertility (acubalance.ca). my story aside, i'll first tell you that i found it to be very relaxing and just nice....when they weren't playing the IF focused meditations while i was supposed to be relaxing, because those always made me cry.
my story, which again, please take with the appropriate caveats is this -- i ovulated on july 25th. my first appointment was on july 27th. by my third appointment i had a positive pee stick. i continued on with treatments through my first 12 weeks with some extra treatments thrown in to make sure that all was going on as it should. i'm still pregnant.
fluke? perhaps? or did the acupuncture make it stick? and keep on developing? placebo? i can't say. you can think of my story as anecdotal and nothing more.
i have to reiterate that i did find the treatments very relaxing and refreshing regardless. i'm in Canada so it's a bit different insurance wise, but i was covered up to $200 and the rest will be tax deductible. each session was $82 so it wasn't cheap. i think it was worth it though. even if you don't find any "proof" or substantial evidence-based research that acupuncture will help you conceive (and stay pregnant, which was our problem too) it will not only help you feel good in general, it may help you feel like you're doing something proactive. being proactive in IF treatments is next to impossible because you're at the whim of your body, your clinic, and the drugs. doing something like this for yourself is something that you can be in control of and might just help with your overall well being.
good luck, and i hope you try it.
xoxo

Mirabel's Parents said...

i'm so sorry i've gotten here so late, it has been quite a week.

acupuncture rocks. it really does. it rocks even more if you can get insurance to cover it.

at this point, you have nothing to lose by trying it. at the very least, you will feel relaxed and more in tune with yourself during and immediately after the treatment.