IVF 5: What a Prick

After nearly three years, four pregnancy losses and five lost unborn children, I’m willing to try anything to have a child.

Actually, I’ve been willing to try anything. But as Emily and I approach the fifth round of IVF, I am now aggressively looking for whatever I can do to give us the best chance at better results.

Which is why I’ve begun doing acupuncture.

Emily has had great success with this ancient practice in the past, particularly prior to both implantations (which both resulted in pregnancies). But I hadn’t done it before because previous tests on me have thankfully shown my numbers to be within the normal ranges.

That said, in our fourth round of IVF, we had our lowest fertilization rate to date, which the doctor told us was likely due to the sperm.

Could that have been because they just randomly chose the wrong individual swimmers to use? Maybe. Could that have been because I was almost two years older than I’d been the last time we’d done it? Also possible.

As is frustratingly the case with so much of this process, nobody can tell us for certain. Which is why we are determined to be certain that we are doing everything possible to boost our chances of success.

And so it was that on a recent Saturday morning, I found myself outside the acupuncturist’s office, wondering what awaited me inside.

BEFORE

Will acupuncture work? Will it hurt? How many times will I have to do it? What if my nose starts itching and I’m unable to scratch it?

These were just a few of the questions running through my head. But considering the focus of this visit was fertility, there was one question that was more pressing than the rest:

DURING

I typically don’t have the nerve to record videos in public. That’s why almost all these videos are shot somewhere private, like at home or in my car. I’m just not comfortable recording something in front of others, because I don’t want them to judge me, and I don’t want to impose on them.

I’d have loved to have filmed myself walking into the clinic, getting settled in the exam room and even talking with the acupuncturist. But I just couldn’t do it, especially because I didn’t want to risk upsetting the person who was about to stick me with needles from head to toe.

So instead, I quickly took these pictures before she came in:

AFTER

The video below not only answers that previously pressing question, but it gives a quick summary of the visit and touches on what I’ll be doing going forward. (Hint: more acupuncture.)

I kept the video short, so I could upload it to Instagram (@bstoller21). But something I didn’t have time to mention was that the practitioner explained that she’s going to be treating multiple facets of me, from my respiratory issues to my digestive system, along with the fertility stuff. The reason being that the more I can reduce the stress on those other areas, the stronger I’ll be to put my best boys forward. That’s the hope, at least.

I’m not complaining — especially because I’ve gotten off easy to this point. When it comes to needles, Emily has taken far more than her share. So it’s only fair that I finally deal with the prick.