Strangely enough, it was not my first time to get acupuncture. For whatever reason, I didn’t consider it even though I knew it helped! I had suffered horrible morning sickness during one pregnancy. Thinking about, looking at, or smelling anything having to do with food word was impossible, I got too nauseous. Pinching my nose, I would close my eyes to pull out the lunch that my husband had prepared for my 3-year old from the fridge, or else I was heading straight for the bathroom. The anti-nausea drugs didn’t work: Reglan gave me a splitting headache that made the nausea even worse! One morning I read an article on how acupuncture helped chemo patients suffering from nausea. I booked my first appointment for the next day. Within 9 treatments, the nausea was tamed. I left treatment and went on to have a successful pregnancy.
So for whatever reason, it took me a while to remember that acupuncture could help with my digestive issues. During the acupuncture treatments, I realized that some of my physical problems stemmed from my stress and unhappiness with choices I was making about my future career path. I ditched the idea of going to law school and enrolled in a graduate program of acupuncture to bring healing to others.
I wish, during my struggle with fertility, that I had known then what I know now about how to naturally improve fertility. That pregnancy when I got my first acupuncture treatment for nausea? It was my fifth pregnancy. I had suffered 2 miscarriages, had my first son, suffered a third miscarriage, and then had my second son. Testing wasn’t as extensive 23 years ago, and the MDs didn’t have any options to offer me to diagnose or fix my fertility issues.
I went home to visit my Dad after the second miscarriage, and as a special treat, he booked dinner at a lovely upscale restaurant known for its excellent food and desserts. The wait staff wore tuxedos, the plates were real china, and the food was beautifully presented. Talking to my Dad about how scared, upset, betrayed by my body, angry at my body and the world I was in was miserable. I broke down in that restaurant, sobbing into my napkin for 2 hours surrounded by white linen tablecloths, real silverware, and the quiet hush of an upscale establishment. What if I couldn’t have children? What then? Fortunately, my third and fifth pregnancies were successful without intervention, but the heartbreak of miscarriage and that feeling of helplessness is nothing I want anyone to experience.
Once I graduated from acupuncture school, I wanted to focus my practice on helping my fertility patients help themselves by creating lives that support their health. I continually get additional training in fertility because I know how hard it is to want children, and not be able to have them, and to feel like there aren’t options to improve the situation. There are LOTS of things that a woman can do to improve her fertility.
Likewise, there are LOTS of things that everyone can do to feel better and thrive. My digestive issues are still something I deal with occasionally: what I have learned is that when I take care of myself, I can eat, and when I don’t take care of myself, I can’t. What are your symptoms telling you?
I know you CAN live a life of joy and make changes that will help you improve your fertility and your chances of getting pregnant.
I have my Master’s in Acupuncture (M.Ac.) and have post-graduate certification in Chinese herbs. I am nationally board certified by NCCAOM in Oriental Medicine, including acupuncture and Chinese herbs. I am licensed by the state of Nevada as an Oriental Medicine Doctor (OMD). I am nationally board certified fellow in Reproductive and Oriental Medicine (FABORM), which required two years of post-graduate work in fertility. I own and work in an Oriental Medicine clinic specializing in fertility.
love my work; my patients are some of my best reminders that I have to listen to my own advice about slowing down, loving life, and creating a life where I thrive. I love to hike, I love to travel, I love new experiences and exploring, and discovering the wonder of the world.
I have two children and two cats. I’ve lived in California, Texas, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Maryland, Japan (Tokyo), Okinawa, Germany (Weisbaden), and England (Newmarket). As a result of living in Japan for 9 years, I am fluent in Japanese.
Let me teach you how you can improve your fertility, feel joy, feel better, and empower you to create health and the family of your dreams.