INFERTILITY, ANXIETY, PMS

My husband and I tried to conceive for a year and a half. I was thirty years old and was a healthy weight, ate wholesome foods, exercised regularly and lived a healthy lifestyle. I started charting my menstrual cycles by taking my basal temperature every day during the months we were trying to get pregnant. After a year of not being able to conceive I scheduled an appointment with a gynecologist who specialized in infertility. They glanced at my ovulation charts, did blood tests to check hormone levels, tested my husband’s sperm sample and determined that everything looked normal.  I also had an HSG, an X-ray to see if my fallopian tubes were blocked, that came out normal as well.

I became increasingly frustrated and became very anxious and emotional. I was still charting my temperatures, and my charts appeared to follow a pattern that indicated ovulation, but I had trouble predicting when I ovulated based on the slow rise in temperatures.  Because I also had a history of emotional PMS symptoms, I suspected that the same hormones that caused my PMS could be affecting my ability to conceive and wondered if alternative medicine may be able to address both. I sought out an acupuncturist that had expertise in infertility and reproductive health.