I had been diagnosed with PCOS and Endometriosis and suffered incessantly most days with uncomfortable bloating and extremely painful and heavy periods. I was working in a busy corporate role which demanded long hours as well as a commute totalling a 60 hour work week. I constantly felt stressed, anxious and fatigued with little time or energy left for any exercise or self care. After several years of trying naturally for baby, several medical tests and an operation, my partner and I were referred for IVF. I had read that acupuncture increased the success rate of IVF by 33% and not wanting to have to go through unsuccessful round after round I did everything I could to try and ensure that it worked first time, including weekly acupuncture.

I left my first acupuncture treatment feeling very serene and that night I slept soundly, waking up the following morning feeling totally refreshed for the first time in a long time. The extreme bloating that I was experiencing had gone and I was able to fit into a skirt I hadn’t worn for ages! Result! My mood was calmer, my energy levels were elevated, and I felt more optimistic about the future. I decided that there may be something in this acupuncture lark after all!

I had acupuncture treatments weekly for three months prior to egg retrieval to ensure my body was as in balance as it could be for IVF and that my eggs were as healthy and nourished as they could be. During this time my periods got much less painful, the tender bloating subsided completely, my mood was calmer with a much more positive and sunny outlook. I felt more like my old self and I gained a greater clarity about my life and the direction in which I wanted it to go.

My IVF round was successful on the first go even though the odds of it succeeding was only 25% and I have no doubt at all that acupuncture was integral to the IVF working and to helping my body maintain the pregnancy. A subsequent further attempt to have another baby aged 39 this time via frozen embryo transfer was also successful on the first try, again beating similar low odds and this totally cemented my belief that the success rate of assisted reproduction can really be enhanced with acupuncture.

Having forged a successful career in busy retail supply chain roles, I reflected that whilst I was working hard and earning a decent wage, the effort and work I was doing was not making a positive, tangible difference to any one person’s life and so I decided to retrain as an acupuncturist to be able to do for others what acupuncture had done for me  – balance my mind, body and spirit and blessed me with two beautiful and healthy little boys.