TCM Yu Guo and Physician Hong Mui Choo - Acupuncture to heal infertiity

On the day I received the terrible news that I had a chemical pregnancy, I headed straight to Yu Guo, a TCM clinic in Kembangan. Yu Guo is not a fertility clinic. I did not know that TCM fertility clinics existed. Helpless and devastated, I remembered my friend, who had suffered from Bell Palsy at 14 with half her face paralysed, visited Yu Guo. After a few sessions of acupuncture, she was completely healed. I was amazed with what TCM could do what western medicine could not. Since then, I was convinced of the healing abilities of TCM. 

My husband drove us there. We took a queue number and waited for our turn. I really needed an answer which Dr Adrian Tan could not give. I needed some advice which he too, could not give. I needed a shred of hope to keep my body functioning. When we entered the room, Physician Tan was exactly the way I remembered he was. When I told him my story, he looked so empathetic that it touched my heart. His voice was so soothing and caring. 

He comforted me in Mandarin, "Conception within the first trimester belongs to God. If it goes away, it is not meant to be. Let it go. The first thing you need to do is to heal your emotions." 

He took my pulse and commented that my Qi (some energy) was not good. He told me that I should focus on building my body to be stronger before conceiving. He said, "Concentrate on making your womb to be in a better condition. Once it is fertile, no wind and storm could uproot the seed. Have hope."

Physician Tan also told me that the most important we needed to now was for me to consume some herbs to purge all the "bad blood" from my body. I assumed he referred to any remains of the dead embryo.  He also told me honestly that he was not a fertility specialist and he could refer me to Physician Hong Mui Choo or Ang Mui Choo, who was a visiting physician every Friday at his clinic, just to deal with women's problems. I told him I was more comfortable with him and whether I could continue seeing him. He said I could do so but he highly recommended Dr Hong because he felt that she was very accurate in helping patients to time the conception during ovulation.

So, every Friday evening, my husband and I went to Yu Guo faithfully to see Dr Hong Mui Choo. The waiting time was around an hour at a cramped waiting area in the basement. The first time she heard my story, she asked me whether I had lifted any heavy objects. Images of me carrying my 6.5 kg poodle flashed across my mind. I told her I carried my small dog and downplayed the fact that he was 6.5kg. She told me that it was unlikely that a small dog could cause any impact but she did caution me not to lift any heavy things if I were to fall pregnant again. She prescribed some herbs that I needed to brew.

Since I was using TCM, I started extensive research online on this ancient healing technique. I discovered that there are many online articles that support the usage of acupuncture for infertility issues. During one of the visit to Dr Hong, I asked her whether I should go for acupuncture. She said it would be the most efficient if I could combine consumption of herbs with acupuncture. But, she said that there was a catch. Acupuncture requires regular sessions and commitment. She said that I needed to visit her three times a week instead. I also discovered online that she has her own clinic in Queensway.

That was how I began my rigorous commitment of driving to her Queensway clinic - 健民医药中心. Although Dr Hong is a stern and confident physician, she is also very genuine and caring. Seeing her is like a weekly therapy in healing my physical and emotional wounds. Unlike western gynae, TCM provides an answer and solution. It is a "never say die" spirit. I underwent frequent sessions of acupuncture and daily disgusting tasting Chinese medicine. As Dr Hong used manual stimulation for acupuncture, the sessions were not enjoyable. The point of contact with the needles were not painful. The discomfort came when she twisted and turned the needles in the body. I hated the sensations to the core. It was not exactly pain. It was a sore pulling ache. Sometimes it felt like electricity shock. Other times, it felt like a heavy numbing sensation. The sensations lasted for only seconds while she twisted the needles. After a while, I would feel nothing for the entire one hour session with a heat  lamp over the affected part which was my womb.

She was a firm believer in BBT and I too became so acquainted with BBT. I took body basal temperature everyday the first thing I woke up. I would then compute the reading into my mobile phone. BBT managed to indicate whether I had ovulated or the ovulation period as my menses were not regular. When I switched to her clinic in Queensway, she also started prescribing medicine in the form of powdered sachets which were instant herbal brew. They resembled 3 in 1 coffee but the taste was far from coffee. The acupuncture sessions were $30 to $40 per session and the medicine were not expensive.
I am a christian. My pastor and church leader called me and prayed for me. My pastor heard that I was visiting TCM clinics so she cautioned against it and to be careful in case it involved spiritual elements. I assured her that there were no spiritual elements involved. I also wondered why no one called my husband. Sometimes, the husband might feel just as affected but often neglected. He needed to pack up his emotions quickly and started looking after me and the dog for a while while I recovered.

I also started to pray to God even before conception for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy body. I asked for forgiveness for not taking care of my body, mind and spirit. I decided to pray whenever I felt stressed at work. I read the bible more often. I was determined to overcome stress. I did feel much better after praying to God. 

Other than praying and eating TCM, I also ensured that I ate more healthily. I ensured that I ate more dark green leafy vegetables and fruits. I avoided processed food and tea. I also replaced my daily bee hoon breakfast with Oats and Cereals. I disliked oats but ate it since it is healthy. I replaced the white rice at home with brown rice. I tried to source for whole meal carbo instead of refined ones. I drank vitamin drink every now and then.

Soon my visits to TCM were faced with disappointment. We would get so excited over the possibility of ovulation and got disappointed when the temperature fell. If u ovulated, the temperature would be sustained at a higher level. Every time I went, my pulse reading was just as weak. There was also no change in my long cycles. I did not feel that I had become healthier. As Dr Hong got more determined to get me pregnant, she resorted to strange methods. She would swap a sample of my cervical mucus and put it on the microscope. I saw amazing patterns. She explained that the mucus would look differently at every phase of my cycle. I hated this method and would find excuses to escape it but there were times when she was rather firm. 

Although there was not much change in my cycles, Dr Hong managed to heal my knee. I had been suffering from chronic knee pain every time I walked. There would be a dull irritating pain in my right knee. I did electro acupuncture on my knee which was extremely uncomfortable. When I did not get better, she decided to help me massage my knee. It was excruciating pain. 

But when she was done with the massaging, she said confidently,"Walk and show me. You won't have any pain now."

Amazing the dull ache was gone. I thanked God for the healing because I had been praying for it for a long time. Dr Hong said that my knees were degenerating and I could not do any high impact sports anymore. She was right. The pain would come back if I tried to run or do high impact sports. As my right knee was not good, I could not keep up with my jogging. I turned to swimming instead. Swimming was very relaxing. It was so still and quiet in the waters. My husband also enjoyed swimming.

During one of my swimming sessions, I heard an inner voice telling me to pray more often and I could ease up on the frequency of my visits to the TCM clinic. I used to see TCM around two to three times a week. I decided to ease off for a while. I didn't see Dr Hong for about a week or so but I continued to use her method for conception using BBT. My husband worked very hard even after a long day of work. We were both so united in chasing after our shared dream once again.

I fell pregnant again three months later. The first time was late ovulation on day 30. This time was also late ovulation.