Sunday, April 22, 2007

Allergies ≠ Infertility

When I made the decision to start acupuncture, I did some cursory research about where to go, but in the end decided to go to the woman who helped a friend of mine with her allergies.

Wait, WHAT?

In retrospect, I don't know what the fuck I was thinking. It's great that she soothed my pal's stuffy nose, but shouldn't I have looked for someone who maybe specialized in my particular problem?

Of course, it's hard (and maybe unfair) to judge the effectiveness of her treatments barely 2 months in, but there were a couple red flags raised yesterday that make me think a change is in order. I had told her about last month's IUI and yesterday's appointment was the first time I'd seen her since, although she knew it had failed because I'd told her via email.

Scary exchange #1:

Acu: So, that test didn't work?

Me: Umm...do you mean the IUI, the insemination? Ah...no. (thinking...did we not just talk about how I'm on CD10 therefore not at all pregnant??)

Scary Exchange #2

Me: Have you ever had a patient going through IVF while you treat them?

Acu: (Eyes darting around oddly) I..uh...yes, I treat you just the same, and even if it works, when you are pregnant.

Me: (huh?) Ok...

Acu: Sometimes it can take up to 8 months or a year to work.

So, calling the IUI a "test" is definitely weird, right? Her English is damn good, so I don't think that was the issue. It just seems like a serious misunderstanding of the concepts. Then this last part really sent me over the edge. I know that she's practicing TCM and doesn't need to speak in terms of Western medical practices, but when talking about infertility, isn't almost everything discussed in cycles as opposed to months? Not to mention that she'd first told me that it would take 3-6 months to get my innards working correctly. Why double that now? She didn't even answer my question about other IVF patients she's treated, so I guess I'm done with her.

This is kind of like dropping a hairdresser, though. How do I tell her? "It's not me, it's you?"

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm a complete wimp, so I wouldn't tell her. I'd just stop calling. But that's lame, so don't do that. ;-)

Erin said...

I'm sure I'll just email her to cancel my next appointment and that will be that. I've already found someone else who gets great reviews and focuses on IF. Hopefully I'll hear back from her soon!

Mama Bear said...

I'm with Adrienne...I probably just wouldn't call. And--GREAT analogy about the hairdresser. Isn't it funny how awkward that is...and why should it be? So funny.