LymeNet Flash: Acupuncture experiences...like mine?

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Posted by Camelot (Member # 6407) on :

I began trying acupuncture about a month ago.
At first it seemed as though it was a good modality, but the last two appointments have
brought on headaches, instead of reducing them?

I don't know if it is detoxing me in the head area or not? At any rate, I have a headache today after the treatment once again.

Anyone else have experiences with acupuncture
that he or she could share?

Posted by peachsc (Member # 4969) on :

I can't offer an explanation why but I had a similar response.

At first I was very excited about this alternative treatment. It was the only thing that would give me some reprieve from the double vision.

The needle between my eyes and I could see clearly for a couple of hours.

It caused my spine to burn, horrible migraines right after treatment and fatigue that would come on so fast and hard that I was barely able to make it home from the appointment before I crashed for 8 hours.

I would feel ok for about a day then but it wasn't worth it so I stopped. None of my "well" friends could understand it - acupuncture always leaves them feeling on top of the world - they can't get enough of it.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Maybe someone who understands the effects will have some better information.

Posted by Kira (Member # 2676) on :

Hi there,

I have been doing acupuncture for a year now on a on-going basis...mention the headaches to your practitioner...maybe a new needle point might need to be introduced or one taken away to help with the blockage causing a headache??...our body is constantly shifting and changing with this illness and with other treatments we do...so don't give up...

I actually get headache/head pressure relief from my treatments...although sometimes if there is a blockage or detox going on, it can initially get worse(briefly while still on the table), but then gets much better...

Hope you can figure things out and continue!!

All my best,
Kira

Posted by Camelot (Member # 6407) on :

Yes, peachsc, it was really weird. The first
3-4 times, less needles were used and I felt
great afterwards. Today and the last visit,
more needles were used for head and gut, and
by the end of the afternoon, I felt like I
was herxing--chills, headache, although stomach was better.

Kira, I did tell practitioner about the last
session, but it happened again. I don't know
if the acupuncture is stimulating my system to fight the bacteria or what, but it was a
very unpleasant day. No Utopia on the horizon today...ah, perhaps tomorrow.

Posted by lla2 (Member # 2364) on :

YOu will have something similiar to a herx with alternative forms of treatment like acupuncture or reiki or cranialsacral treatment...but they call it a healing crisis...drinks lots of fluids..it should pass quickly. It willl however bring on lyme symtoms again...

Lisa

Posted by henson2 (Member # 463) on :

Hi,

I had a very bad experience with acupuncture. I would proceed with great caution.

I saw an acupuncturist who said he knew about treating Lyme Disease; but in reality he did not, and finally admitted it, as I developed more and more symptoms.

He told me something about someone's "law of cure" about how you feel worse for a while, things get brought to the surface, etc., etc.

But in the end, I got so bad, with increased Lyme symptoms, and symptoms I had not even had before, that he admitted he was too far out of his depth.

The acupuncture put me on a really unpleasant rollercoaster of symptoms. I never felt better on it.

I recognize that it could have been my practitioner, but in fact he was a highly regarded faculty member at an elite acupuncture school; and had a list of credits to his name.

Now I am extremely sceptical of this modality of treatment.

Perhaps it also had something to do with the approach: he used the Classical Five Element school of acupuncture. If I were ever to try it again, I might try Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) first. But please make sure you pin the practitioner down to how much they really understand about Lyme.

(Incidentally, I did not go to get cured of Lyme, but simply to help an area of pain. But now I think the practitioner really does have to understand how a bacterial infection affects the energy and meridians).

I am sorry to be so negative. I know that acupuncture helps some people.

I doubt I will spend my money on it again anytime soon. I am now sorry I spent the money; but I know it was something I had to try.

I stuck with it for close to 3 months, at appointments once or twice each week.

I hope you find the right solution for you.

Warm wishes for feeling better.

[This message has been edited by henson2 (edited 23 November 2004).]

Posted by riversinger (Member # 4851) on :

I had a lot of acupuncture before I was diagnosed with Lyme. I was using it to treat the pain following an automobile accident, though I now know I had Lyme back then.

My experience was very good. I had an hour of acupuncture a week for two years. It slowly but surely caused improvement in pain, exhaustion, sleep problems, and hormonal issues.

If I could afford it, I would still get it every week. Without the car insurance payments, I can't keep it up.

Unfortunately, over time, my symptoms crept back, and I finally found I had Lyme. So obviously, it didn't cure me, but it certainly did me a lot of good.

I did have healing reactions for a day or so after a treatment, always followed by improvement. If you only get the increase in symptoms, with no improvement, something is wrong with what they are doing.

------------------
Sonoma County Lyme Support
[email protected]

Posted by eronvica (Member # 6342) on :

I'm presently getting acupuncture myself and I feel my symptoms get worse before they get better. I've even thought of not doing it anymore. But I'm still going to give it a chance. I've only had about 8 sessions. I recently had a really bad cold when I started antibiotics and after some TCM acupunture I was practically relieved of my cold instantaneously. My knee pain however has not been cured. I'm going on 10 months of daily knee pain.

Definitely give your doctor feedback! He/she can then adjust the points. Keep in mind there areexcellent acupunturists and bad ones. If they practice TCM, then you should also be taking some herbs to balance out the chi. TCM is very different from normal acupunture.

Hope this helps! Glad about reading this thread! Long awaited.

Posted by dal123 (Member # 6313) on :

In chinese medicine, the practitioner does not prescribe the acupuncture via the "disease label". Tongue and Pulse diagnosis is the basis for placement of needles. Lyme disease is a label and has many faces / symptoms. It is important for the acupuncturist to understand detoxification - more so than Lyme disease itself. Many acupuncturists have told me they prefer not to treat Lyme's pts because they are so complicated. I have sent out pts for acupucture - it has been very helpful with other therapies, major breakthroughs in combining acupuncture with LAD's, LBG, remedies, infrared, etc. I have found the order and timing of treatments is a contributor to success. Perhaps those of you not having success with acupuncture - ought to try a different person, you may need chinese herbs to help the treatment, try other therapies and combine w/ acupuncture. Do EAV /EDS testing for underlying issues not uncovered via other testing methods, ART, labs, etc.

Henson2 - 2x a week may have been too much for you - back off to 1x a week or less, do other therapies - ie lymph machine and ionic detoxes, find someone who can put together all this for you and come up with a plan suitable for your own case.