My husband and I decided to start a family in February 2010. I had assumed having a baby would be easy for us. In August I discovered that I was pregnant but started spotting at 6 weeks. A scan at the EPU showed very little. I had a full miscarriage at 8 weeks. My period remained irregular, having onlyone period before I became pregnant again in December. A scan at 10 weeks showed a heartbeat but at 12 weeks I was told I had a missed miscarriage. I had a D and C the next day. I asked the OB about investigation into why I was miscarrying and I was told that I’d have to have a third before she’d consider any investigations. I felt I wasn’t being taken seriously at all. I made contact with my GP as soon as possible. The doctor and practice nurse recommended Siobhan specifically relating to the irregular periods and conception.
Siobhan was immediately reassuring, completely understanding and put me at ease. I found using my tongue to diagnose me quite strange initially, however, Siobhan was so remarkably accurate indentifying the symptoms I had experienced, stomach pain, headaches, high-blood pressure, PMS and symptoms of IBS. She told me that she could see no particular reason to stop me from having a healthy pregnancy. I had acupuncture the first day I met Siobhan and was quite surprised to find that I ovulated that night. I also took herbs twice a day, every day and had a healthy red period exactly 14 days later.
I continued to attend Siobhan for treatment approx every 3 weeks and also continued to take the herbs. My period became a 28 – 31 day cycle for the first time ever. It was also always a healthy looking period and there was an increase in the cervical mucus produced so I could identify precisely when I was ovulating. The PMS and other symptoms also continued to dissipate. I decided to wait a while before trying again, as I was quite tired and emotional after the first two miscarriages. I wanted to make sure my blood pressure was under control too. I had put up quite a bit of weight since September which my doctor had recommended to loose, especially given the hypertension. I mentioned this to Siobhan and along with the advice she gave me about which foods suited my type and which foods to avoid, she put me in touch with a nutritionist who really helped get my eating and diet back on track. This made a huge difference and I lost the weight my doctor had recommended gradually over the 4 months.
We decided to try again in July and conceived right away. I had some spotting around week 6 and when I rang Siobhan she saw me immediately, I had acupuncture and she gave me herbs to prepare. The spotting stopped. I had treatment with Siobhan and continued with the herbs given the history of miscarriage. Siobhan was again very reassuring and highly professional. I had a 10 week scan with the EPU in Wexford and was quite relieved when the doctor said he could see the heartbeat along with moving hands and legs! Siobhan continued to help toward the end of my pregnancy too as I developed PIH and I needed to get to 38 weeks. She also have me sticks to help baby turn as I really wanted to avoid a section! I had a wonderful, healthy baby boy in March.
I cannot praise Siobhan enough and I have recommended her to family and a number of friends. I would recommend to any woman to visit Siobhan for any health concerns they may have, but particularly for fertility issues. Siobhan is so helpful and caring and very passionate about Chinese medicine. I am so grateful to Siobhan for her support and advice.
Ita Connolly, Enniscorthy, Wexford
