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Pins and Needles

She’s a god of fertility, a miracle worker when it comes to treating barren women. I’ve gone to a handful of acupuncturists, but decided this time, to take it to the mother lode.

Located in none other than the 26-story 450 Sutter Medical Building, Dr. Lifang Liang’s office is wall-papered with birth announcements and holiday cards. I’m not exaggerating. Plastered with baby pictures and hand-written notes from women thanking the doctor for making their motherhood dreams come true. She’s an ob-gyn doctor who integrates chinese and western medicine to treat infertility.

She sat at a desk scribbling into a new file for me. “You want baby?” I nodded, walking her through my menstrual history.

“How long you on pill?”

“20 years.”

“Aye!” She shook her head and continued writing. “Too long.”

She sketched a picture of fallopian tubes, walked me through the menstrual cycle and the hormone spikes. “You still young. I do my best. No guarantee, but we work hard.”

She pulled out a binder-like photo album stuffed with letters and pictures. She scanned the pages, then pointed to an Asian woman. “She have same problem. No period. Now, see. She have baby. Happy baby. She 41, much older. You still young. No stress. You – no stress!”

She told me to have Dean come in to see her as well. That’s the first I’ve heard from any acupuncturist which makes total sense. Why would I be the only one to get acupuncture? It takes two to make a baby, right?!

Before she started the acupuncture, she showed me a doll with all the meridian lines, then pointed to where she’d prick me and why. Again, no acupuncturist had demonstrated what they were doing before. They just go straight to inserting the needles. She pricked me on my hands, legs, feet, head, and all around my tummy. I’ve never had needles inserted in my tummy before, but that would make sense, right? To my surprise, her acupuncture did not hurt at all. No uncomfortable sensation like I’ve experienced with all my acupuncture treatments. There’s always been a slight bit of pain, but not with her.

Here’s what’s painful—her price. But then again, you get what you pay for, right? She charges $150/visit which does not include the additional $4 per day of herbs. I am to see her twice a week for the foreseeable future.

Dean gasped, “That’s over $1,000 a month, are you serious?”

The poor guy. If he thinks that’s expensive, wait until we’re a 3-person household.

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03.13.12

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Welcome to my site, derived from an advice column I wrote while getting my MBA. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I give helpful, opinionated advice based on my own experience and from the expertise of my extensive network. For more, click here.

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