I had my very first acupuncture appointment today, which was great. The practitioner specializes in in/fertility issues, and seemed very competent. She took my complete medical history, asked very in-depth questions in regards to my cycle and whatnot, and then looked at my tongue and took my pulse before administering the pins. She talked about how it was good that I was starting acupuncture now, and that while my chances of conceiving every cycle are about 20%, it shouldn't take me long to get pregnant. (I knocked on the wooden armrest of the chair I was sitting in.) Good stuff. BUT.
Right before she started in with the needles, she did mention that there was one little thing that I should do to help out my chances. NO MORE ALCOHOL. Poop. Boo. Big Boo. I have been soooo good with changing my diet, getting rid of caffeine, taking all my supplements and drinking my tea, making sure I get good sleep, yadda yadda yadda....my nightly glass of wine (or two- who are we kidding) has been the last bastion of..well....fun. Oh I am a whiney wee bastard aren't I? I need to just f*in suck it up and deal. I'm going to have to give it up entirely soon (knock knock again), so why not now? Chefy is laughing at me from the other room b/c she says I sound really upset. Haha. Please tell me that I'm being a whiney little snot who needs to suck it up bigtime and take one for the team. Please. Or tell me how ya'll got rid of your vices before/during baby time. I need some inspiration here ladies. Think The Biggest Loser, only for mild alcoholics....
12 years ago
hmm, thats really interesting because my acupucturist felt that a some (or a few glasses of) red wine shouldn't be an issue...then again, we are starting cycle #4 so maybe I shouldn't be giving advice :)
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I am RIGHT with you on the wining. I asked my RE and he was pretty certain it didn't make a damn bit of difference, and that was good enough for me. I think alcohol has been involved in a great many conceptions, and I have a friend (who got pregnant on her second IUI) who kept drinking her nightly glass or two right up until she saw the double pink lines. Not that I am saying ignore your acupuncturist, but hell. You gotta draw the line somewhere...
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I stopped completely and it was my acupuncturist who advised it. I also had to cut out sugar. And caffeine. Yeah.
ReplyDeleteIt was hard, sure, but it's only for a limited amount of time and I figured if I was going to DO this, I was going to try to do it with all of my 110%. But that's just me.
However, I did get pregnant on the 6th IUI (no small feat for my age) but later miscarried...and we know I got knocked up x 2 after that.
Was it because of the 'rules' I followed? Who knows.
So, um....suck it up!
Ultimately it has to be your decision, but with all of the time and MONEY we were spending to try to get pregnant--it just wasn't worth any risky business for me.
For me, giving up caffeine was way harder than alcohol. I didn't give it up, in fact, until like the week or two before my last (and successful) IUI. Now, that can be taken one of two ways: 1. cutting caffeine out caused me to get pregnant 2. it just so happens that the month the timing worked perfectly, I had stopped drinking coffee. From my current, already-there-pregnant perspective, it's so easy for me to be inclined toward #2. But I also have to say I am glad I gave the coffee up, because you never know, and it is so, so worth it.
ReplyDeleteI drank 2 glasses of wine the night before my last IUI. My friend who has a beautiful 6-month old daughter said she kept her normal routine up until after her positive pregnancy test.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't drink between TWW cycles if I thought it affected my fertility like nicotine, but (like Schroe) I haven't really read anything that suggests that. And I have to agree with Bea, caffeine is WAY harder than alcohol. So much so, that I had to quit cold turkey and am still feeling anxious about it almost a month later. Still worth it, but it's so goddamn hard.
I'm going to have to ask my acupuncturist about this.
My medical team (all 3 of them) said a couple of glasses of wine a day are fine in the weeks that aren't TWW weeks. They also said up to 12 oz of coffee was fine. BUT, 5 IUI cycles later, I am still unpregnant. So I'm weaning both (down to 1 cup of half-caf a day!) and wondering how much they've gotten in the way so far.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard not to have the comforts (or, uh, addictions) that you're used to to help you through the times when this process gets tough and "isn't working." That's the hardest part.
Thanks for all the thoughtful feedback everyone. I've decided simply to suck it up and deal. I have to go with Puffer on this one and give it my 110%. I will eliminate all drinking at home, and limit my drinks to 2 when we go out (not that often). Here's to sober living!
ReplyDeleteI gave up coffee and alcohol entirely before my first IUI because I wanted to give 110%. And it still took me 2 ICIs, 8 IUIs, and 2 rounds of IVF before I finally got pregnant. Who knows, maybe it would have taken me twice as long if I hadn't given it up. All I'm saying is that giving this stuff up did NOT make me sure fertile!
ReplyDeleteHi again...I just had my first acupuncture appointment today as well and asked the big A question. I blogged about it if you're interested:
ReplyDeletehttp://breathedragon.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/acupuncture-day/
I'm off the sauce for now and plan to stay that way. I am *that* tired of BFNs!
ps: Would you add me to your blogroll if you find it appropriate? Thanks!
Since you're goal is to start in March you have a little bit of time to taper down. :) I did that with all my vices. Drink a gladd every other day or maybe half as much every day. Also, create another routine for yourself. Maybe have 2 glasses of tea every evening. (I know, I know, its not wine!) At least you'll still feel like you're having "something". :)
ReplyDeleteAll this advice from you ladies has been awesome, so thank you, thank you, thank you. Its' been a week since I've cut down and I'm proud to say that I have had a total of 2 glasses of wine at home the entire week. I also went out one night and had two drinks. Not perfect, but change comes slowly, and it certainly is a big change from drinking two glasses every night. Thanks again, ladies.. you're encouragement means everything!
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