Patient Testimonials
Kathryn – IVF (ICSI)
“I was initially diagnosed as unexplained infertility by a consultant at St Mary's Hospital Manchester after trying to conceive naturally for over a year. I tried IVF privately and failed to respond to the stimulating drugs, which was a huge blow. I was then given an IVF cycle treatment on the NHS but again failed to respond to the drugs. It was at this point that I met Dr Nardo at his acupuncture clinic in Manchester and started discussing what could be done. I was insistent that I have a further round of IVF treatment whether it be private or NHS funded, where I could at least get to the stage where I had an egg collection. Dr Nardo agreed to treat me privately. He arranged some further tests and then passed us to North West Fertility for further treatment. Dr Nardo was great and I would recommend him to anyone as he is very dedicated to his work and this was felt by me and my husband.
I chose acupuncture as I had read a lot about the effects it can have with fertility and in particular IVF treatment. A family member had previously had treatment at Natural Practices clinic and I met Suzanna through them. The acupuncture and Suzanna's outlook on relaxation and Chinese style theory made sense to me and helped me enormously in adapting my lifestyle to reduce the stress in my life, which I believed may have been a cause of my 'infertility'.
I turned to The Fertility Specialists clinic at Natural Practices again because of books I had read and articles on the internet regarding people who changed their lifestyle in order to maximise the chances of conceiving naturally. I was still ovulating and there were no major problems diagnosed with either myself or my husband and so felt that the biggest stumbling block were my diet and lifestyle. I asked Gabi to help me find out which parts of my body where not working effectively and how I could adjust my diet so that they were in the best condition I could get them. Gabi told me what my deficiencies were and tailor made a plan of things to include in my diet such as iron, good oils and certain vitamins and minerals. She also put together a herbal mixture for me to take to help with my fertility.
I was extremely happy with the level of treatment, care and professionalism from the whole team and felt very relaxed as soon as I arrived at the clinic. Suzanna, Gabi and the other staff I met at the centre were all very friendly and treated me with respect and were personally interested in my issues.
The outcome of all of this is that I am now 27 weeks pregnant with my first child! Within 2 months of starting my new diet and acupuncture I actually fell pregnant naturally, but miscarried at 5 weeks. However, as by this time I still hadn't conceived after 2 years of trying I felt this was a massive positive and that by changing my diet and reducing my stress this had enabled me to conceive naturally. I then went on to have IVF with Dr Nardo and responded much better to the stimulating drugs which has resulted in this pregnancy.
Sarah – IVF
I initially came to the Manchester clinic for acupuncture. I had been trying to conceive for approximately 3 years with no luck and had just embarked on my first IVF cycle and had heard that acupuncture was supposed to help with the success rate. As I had been trying for so long, I was willing to try anything that would help. I also had a stressful job at that time and I was also aware that I needed to reduce my stress levels to assist in the success of the IVF, therefore acupuncture would also help me to relax.
I had read up about what to expect with the treatment, and was obviously fairly nervous initially about having needles put into my skin. However after my first couple of treatments I knew that I had made the right decision. I would go home afterwards feeling relaxed and would more often than not have a great night’s sleep that night! At no time during the treatments did I feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, I always felt that Suzanna was there for me and would listen and encourage me to relax via visualization and breathing exercises. I felt like I was being treated as an individual rather than ‘just another patient,’ I felt totally looked after. Suzanna would always explain the treatment to me so that I knew exactly what was going on.
In addition to the acupuncture I also had reflexology, which was amazing. More often than not I would nod off which to me was a good sign of how relaxed the treatment made me feel! This really helped with my stress levels by encouraging me to relax and forget about what was going on at work!
The outcome of the treatments was really positive for me and I now have a 4 month old son! I was delighted that I had chosen to go to the Natural Practices Clinic to support my IVF, I felt supported every step of the way from the injection stage, to pre-implantation right through to actually becoming pregnant.
Without hesitation I would definitely recommend any other couple going through fertility problems to go and see the team at The Fertility Specialists Clinic, it was worth every penny!! My husband and I will be trying for another baby in the future and I can guarantee that we will be going back to the clinic for treatments.
I would certainly recommend all of the practitioners at The Fertility Specialists as I feel that my treatment was second to none and am convinced that by using all of these treatments it has enabled me to conceive.”
Katy – fertility and miscarriage problems
“I had been trying to conceive for nearly 12 months when I fell pregnant and suffered an early miscarriage. Afterwards I really didn't want to have to try again for another 12 long months or more and I was becoming very depressed and obsessed about conceiving. After reading in a book about acupuncture being effective for fertility, I looked for acupuncture therapists within Manchester and Cheshire and I chose Suzanna because of her experience, specialism in fertility and other testimonials on the Acuforhealth website.
I found the treatments relaxing and although only received treatments for several weeks I found a real improvement in my energy, sleep and general well-being. The advice given really helped me to re-adjust my thinking and helped me to refocus on other things and not just obsess over trying to conceive. Suzanna put things in perspective and was realistic. Not only was Suzanna good for acupuncture but also for advice and someone to talk to with such experience in this area.
After only several treatments I fell pregnant! I carried on for a short time after with Suzanna to help me relax and take time out to rest and the only reason I stopped treatment was due to the distance - it was 45 minutes away from home, otherwise I would still be going now. I would definitely recommend Suzanna and acupuncture to other women in similar situations and I wish I had started earlier. I will also continue to use acupuncture in the future should I need to.”
Shelly - migraines and fertility problems
“I had suffered with migraines for about 3 years and they had become increasingly debilitating, resulting in a requirement to regularly take medication, which also had side effects. At the same time I had been trying to conceive for about a year, with no success. I had thought about alternative therapy for a while and read that acupuncture had an excellent success rate with both migraine and fertility.
I found the treatment incredibly valuable and actually found myself looking forward to it. The treatment itself only resulted in minimal, short-lived discomfort which I equated in my mind to 'hitting the spot', and once the needles were in, there was an opportunity to relax. The treatment was always explained thoroughly so I understood exactly what we were trying to achieve and why the points were relevant to my specific problems. I also received excellent nutritional and dietary advice which had always been thoroughly researched and was specific to me. I genuinely felt that my well-being was of utmost importance.
I had an almost immediate response to the treatment with my migraines beginning to subside after a couple of treatments. Within 3 months they had completely disappeared! I continued with the treatment more specifically aimed at fertility and now after only 4 full months of treatments I have discovered I am pregnant. The results have completely exceeded my expectations and I feel great!
I considered myself to be a healthy individual with a well-balanced lifestyle and diet, but I really benefitted from the additional boost that acupuncture gave me. I now consider acupuncture to be a genuine alternative therapy, which I would and have recommended to anyone suffering from similar problems.”
Emma - miscarriage
“I came for acupuncture in the first instance because I had suffered a missed miscarriage (where the foetus dies but you have to have a surgical procedure to have it removed), this had caused my menstrual cycle to be irregular and I wanted to do something positive to try and get things back to normal. Suzanna was recommended highly to me by a friend who had also had fertility problems and found acupuncture to be successful.
At my first session Suzanna took a detailed medical and lifestyle history from me and explained the process by which acupuncture works and gave me supplementary dietary advice. This was very helpful as it meant I understood what the acupuncture was designed to do and it also provided an holistic approach, taking into account other lifestyle factors.
I was a little bit anxious about the acupuncture before my first session (the idea of someone sticking pins in you is not something you might normally consider doing!) but I actually found it remarkably relaxing and not painful. It is occasionally slightly uncomfortable when the needles are placed but I took this as an indicator that they were in the right place and any discomfort subsided very quickly. The sessions themselves were very enjoyable, at each visit Suzanna assessed how I was feeling and at which stage of my cycle I was at and tailored the acupuncture accordingly. Suzanna balanced the explanation of the science and traditional Chinese philosophy perfectly for me which really helped with my understanding and acceptance of the technique, she made me feel at ease immediately and I looked forward to my weekly sessions.
After approximately three months I found out that I was pregnant and following this time Suzanna used a miscarriage prevention approach for the acupuncture which helped to reassure me during this stressful period. I have already recommended acupuncture to several friends who have fertility problems or who are having IVF and would continue to recommend it to others for both fertility problems and any other complaints, it is certainly something I believe everyone should consider before taking lots of medications with potentially undesirable side effects.”
Vicky - fertility problems
“I looked into having acupuncture as myself and my husband had been trying to conceive for 6 months unsuccessfully. My cycle was every 6 weeks so I was not sure when I was ovulating, which made it harder to conceive. I had heard acupuncture could help with infertility, so a search on the internet revealed that the Natural Practices Clinic in Manchester was the nearest.
At the first appointment I felt very relaxed with Suzanna. She was very professional yet understanding and reassuring at the same time. A detailed medical history, diet and lifestyle history were taken and also a history of my menstrual cycle. From this Suzanna advised certain foods/ drinks to avoid, supplements to take and general advice on maintaining a healthy balanced lifestyle. Some acupuncture and moxa was performed at this visit. The acupuncture is not painful, but you do feel something when the needles are in the correct position. I felt a "numb" sensation for a few seconds. Moxa is something Suzanna uses that warms up and is held over your abdomen. This is a very soothing feeling. There is relaxing music and it does make you feel most relaxed and rested.
Suzanna saw me each week for an hour. Each visit she spent time talking to me to see if I had been following the things she had recommended and how I was feeling after the previous week’s treatment, etc. I am very pleased to report that my treatment with Suzanna was successful on that very cycle and I became pregnant 3 weeks into treatment. I was absolutely delighted to become pregnant and thoroughly believe it was from Suzanna's treatment. I have since advised a close friend to consider acupuncture for similar infertility problems.
I would definitely recommend Suzanna to anyone who has been trying to conceive for a while. Acupuncture also has many other benefits for women's health. Give it a go!”
Jackie - long term fertility problems
“We were having problems conceiving and I had read that acupuncture could possibly help with fertility problems. I thought this was really good especially the nutrition advice. I always felt tired and Suzanna mentioned maybe replacing my chocolate bar in the day to nuts and fruit as chocolate gives you a high but then brings your energy down, hence the tiredness. She also gave me advice on other healthy foods to eat. The needling was very interesting especially the fact that there are different areas to concentrate on at particular stages in my monthly cycle.
I take medication for arthritis and was advised by my doctors/gynae that this was ok and wouldn't affect fertility. Suzanna asked me if I had tried reducing my painkillers (NSAID's) as she thought that they could have a link to why I wasn't conceiving. Following her advice I went from two tablets to one which left me in a little pain but the acupuncture seem to help. I saw Suzanna for 3 months but for financial reasons I could not continue. I began to think more about what Suzanna had told me and ‘googled’ my medication to see if anything came up. Surprisingly I found there had been a link to NSAID's and infertility and there had been reports of women stopping the drugs and conceiving within months.
I, therefore, decided to stop my medication last month and then found out I was pregnant! Whilst I am over the moon, I am also angry that this was not detected by the doctors/specialists. I am very grateful to Suzanna for making me think about my medication.”