Relaxed..

AF arrived two days after my last post. No surprise since we weren't really trying this month. Today was my 11th session. It was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable sessions. Since she is still trying to build up my qi and immunity, she did some cupping massage and applied warm towels to my back afterward which was very relaxing.
I asked her why I usually feel surges when she targets points on the left side of my body and she explained that I could have a blockage of qi or I am more active on the left side. Right after that, she inserted a needle on my right side and I felt a sudden surge of qi. To help further boost my qi, I am continuing with the ginseng formula and at a larger dose. Hopefully it will produce better results this week. I told her that I had been feeling sluggish this week with headaches which I thought were connected to the ginseng, but she said it is due to my low immunity and the way my body is reacting to the poor air quality.
I've started using the Clearblue Easy digital monitor this cycle with the hope that we will begin trying again. I'm looking forward to our romantic weekend getaway. It'll be nice to have some relaxing alone time together.

It's Electric!

So now that I'm finally on break from school, I've been feeling sort of lost. It's scary to think how much of my life is spent at school or working on things pertaining to school. Not a good sign. I've been having withdrawals and trying to find things to do at home. I bought Randine Lewis' book The Infertility Cure almost a year ago, and although I started reading it when I first got it, it was hard for me to relate to, so I had stopped. Now that I'm actually seeing an acupuncturist and taking Chinese herbs, I understand the things that she writes about. So I've started reading it from the beginning.

As I waited for my acupuncturist this morning, I read a section in the book about the spleen, digestion and immunological systems. It was as if I was reading about myself. When she called me in for my session, I asked her if my problems are associated with my spleen and she said they were. It seems that I have a malfunctioning spleen system judging by my autoimmune problems (IgA nephropathy), allergies, digestive disturbances, and scanty menstruation. This is getting more and more interesting. I need to read more.

This was my 10th acupuncture session and day 29 of this cycle. I've been experiencing mild cramping, but no sign of AF yet. She didn't do any work on my back this time, but put a lot of needles in different points on my left ear, GB 26, Sp 10, St 36, SJ 5 (on the right arm), and Pc 6 (on the left arm). In addition, she did moxa on the lower points and my abdominal area. The most interesting thing happened when she inserted the needle at the Pc 6 location. I felt this intense "electrical" sensation shooting from that point to my middle finger on my left hand. I also felt a strong sensation when she inserted the needle at the St 36 location on my left leg. It seems like the most intense sensations occur on the left side. Interesting...

I am continuing to take my new vitamin regime and she has now added in Ren Shen Yang Ying Wan in addition to the Dang Gui Shao Yao San.

Home Stretch...

Wow, it's been quite awhile since I last posted. I've had 3 more sessions since I last posted two of which included cupping. I know after the first time I experienced cupping I was hesitant to ever have it done again because of the pain I was in. However, it ended up helping me have the best week ever. So having shared that with my acupuncturist, she did cupping massage again but not as intensely as the first time. I did have some purplish bruising, but it went away much quicker than the first time. I notice with each time she does it, I don't have as many marks. I read on-line the more you do it, the less bruising because there's less toxicity. I wonder if that's really true. Hmmm...
My BBT temperatures have been really weird this month which she noticed as well. In the beginning of my cycle, my temperatures were above 98.0 and then a week into the cycle they went down to below 98.0 which is unusual for me. Then just before she was going to do the abdominal massage therapy she asked if there was any way I could be pregnant. Hmmm...again. I told her that I didn't think so since we tried to avoid intercourse during the middle of my cycle, which of course doesn't guarantee anything. I'm now about a week away from my next AF and my temps have been hovering in the low 98 degree temps which isn't normal for me either. Looking at this cycle's chart, it doesn't look like I ovulated at all. I'm hoping that my body is gearing up for an amazing cycle so we can get pregnant. We're celebrating our 19th year anniversary a little earlier by going to a beautiful resort for a few days at the end of this month. Hopefully a nice, relaxing semi-getaway will help do the trick. Keeping our fingers crossed. :)