Decisions..

Last week we had two appointments. Monday we met with IVF Clinic #2 for a consult; to get an idea of their process, their program and to get a feel for the doctor. Although the clinic was very professional and the Dr. was really nice and knowledgeable, it all comes down to cost and the warranty programs each clinic offer. The first clinic, where I attended their IVF seminar earlier this month, has by far the best process and the best warranty program, so we'll be going with them. 

Exciting!, right? Well..not so fast. I came across another option that I needed to check out first, before we take the big leap with IVF.

I came across someone who went to a Chinese wellness clinic when she was having problems getting pregnant. She met with one of the clinic's doctors, who is trained in China and atop of her medical degree, was also a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist. During her consult and following appointments, the Chinese doctor found an imbalance and put her on a treatment plan of acupuncture twice a week, herbal supplements and some dietary changes. The dietary changes are what's interesting. She had to eat specific mushrooms each day and also eat three green apples a day; her body was missing specific nutrients and this would help get her back in balance. Like most Chinese medicine, it can take three to six months to get your body fully balanced, but after just five weeks, she was pregnant and carried to term and birthed a healthy baby!

As you probably know by now, I'm a big believer in natural healing, especially acupuncture and its affect on fertility and fertility treatments, so I had to check this out for myself. Could it be this easy?? Could I save myself the stress and expense of IVF and get pregnant naturally??

I checked out their website to make sure they were legit and was impressed by the information and knowledge this team of Chinese doctors had, so I made an appointment and met with them on Thursday.

The doctor I met with specifically deals with infertility and since she had a medical degree, she understood all the testing, medications and treatments that we'd already done up to this point. After hearing her background and the success they've had treating infertility, I was feeling good about this but was taken aback when she said I was her youngest patient at this clinic (they have five locations). She said she treats mostly women in their late 30's and more in their 40's and alot of them have done IVF without success. She even had a patient that was 46 and now pregnant! She understood my frustration of "unexplained infertility" and reassured me how common it was. She was totally confident she could help me so we discussed a treatment plan.

She told me to read a book “Fertility and Diet” since your diet can greatly affect your fertility. I've actually read about this already in another book, but was willing to do more research to find the right diet to maximize fertility. (pretty sure I'd do anything to increase fertility at this point!) She also told me to eat more fiber and veggies but didn't suggest any crazy dietary changes like I had heard, but every body is different.

She also recommended acupuncture sessions twice a week and herbal tea twice a day. Although there are herbal supplements, she preferred to make a mix of the herbs depending on my cycle and I would steep the herbs and make my own tea. However, this would be more expensive, but more potent and specific to my body and my cycle...oh, and she warned me that it would taste horrible. Lovely. So I thought maybe this would be okay...maybe this wouldn't be so bad....

She got the herbs together for my tea and was instructing me on how to steep the tea for my four day supply. Wait, only a FOUR day supply? Let's just say the herbs weren't cheap and when I started to add up the acupuncture sessions and the tea and the time commitment, was I really willing to do this? Was I willing to put everything on hold again for the next three months in the HOPE that this would work? The answer is no, no I wasn't. 

It's just too late. We've come so far in our treatments and felt we were finally getting closer to a solution and I just can't put everything on hold again. My patience has run out and I don't think I could do this to the full extent that I need to really make it work. If I had found this clinic in the beginning, for sure I would've done this before starting Western treatments, but for now, IVF is our next step. 

I'm really glad I researched this other option...cause I know that if for SOME reason, IVF doesn't work for us, that there is another option. I would be able to fully commit myself to making this treatment work. But...I don't think that I'll have to drink nasty tea every day. Our decision is made and it WILL work!