posted
I am thinking about trying acupuncture to restore nerve function in my stomach. (Gastroparesis)
I had a friend that had surgery and he could not use his vocal chords or talk afterwords. Nothing would help until he did acupuncture and he now talks just fine.
Has anyone else done acupuncture for nerve pain or nerve function???
Also, are there any articles out there talking about lyme neurotoxins affecting nerve function?
Posts: 458 | From Miss | Registered: Mar 2009
| IP: Logged |
Leelee
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 19112
posted
I did acupuncture several years ago for severe breast pain which I now believe is related to Lyme and cos.
From what I understand most people have tremendous success with it. Unfortunately, after several months of sessions nothing improved. I can only assume it was because neither the practitioner nor I really knew what was wrong with me.
-------------------- The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Martin Luther King,Jr Posts: 1573 | From Maryland | Registered: Feb 2009
| IP: Logged |
posted
I tried a few months of it, felt no better in the end
Posts: 727 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2006
| IP: Logged |
cottonbrain
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13769
posted
i only did one session -- i got really anxious because the practitioner kept grotesquely hacking--and not a hand-washing facility in the site -- and no protective gloves or mask --
i broke out into a cold sweat and developed a massive headache which i just knew any second
would develop into an explosive aneurism which would splatter my brains all over his unhygienic torture chamber,
and indeed, i detected on the wall beside me some curious spatter marks left by previous victims no doubt--
he came in to spin my needles, asked me why i was so nervous and i couldn't even tell him, Its because you are a flippin germ incubator, dr frankenstein!
i just grunted and rolled my eyes until he released me from his dastardly clutches.
a true story
Posts: 1173 | From USA | Registered: Nov 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Cottonbrain--you're too funny! My daughter had a similar experience as yours with one of her acupuncturists. He came highly recommended, but he did nothing for her in terms of her pain. But she feels the same way as you do regarding the unhygienic environment and Dr. Frankenstein feel to the place.
Fortunately her other acupuncturist experience wasn't as horrific-but it did nothing to help her either.
Buster, We have heard from many friends though that have had great success with acupuncture so I'm not quite sure why it didn't work for her.
I would suggest you give it a try. If it is going to help you, there is supposed to be a noticeable difference rather quickly. Although we were told that you should go for at least 5 visits before making the decision to continue or stop.
Good luck. I hope it works for you!
Posts: 648 | From northeast | Registered: Feb 2009
| IP: Logged |
Ocean
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3496
posted
I haven't done it yet, but I want to try it. Those stories do scare me though...eeek!!!
Fortunately there is an MD about an hour from us who does it (my grandma goes to her), she does it in her home and also the hosptial she works at has a whole accupunture wing! Which is very inventive for a small Ohio town!
posted
Just like any other medical professional, there are good acupuncturists and there are quacks. I'm so sorry so many who have replied here have had such bad experiences. I have found acupuncture very helpful. It doesn't heal lyme, but it helps your body fight lyme.
Shop around. Ask, network, find out who is well known and recommended and particularly if they have worked with lyme patients.
Interview them ahead of time. I ask for acupuncturists to stay with me in the room so they can put needles in and out as needed. With neuro lyme I'm much more sensitive and take fewer needles for less time than most patients. I also work with acupuncturists who will chose points with me instead of them deciding.
Buster, I think restoring nerve function could be done with acupuncture, worth giving it a shot.
Posts: 62 | From U.S. | Registered: Apr 2009
| IP: Logged |
posted
Acupuncture was the first thing to offer any relief. This was before I knew I had Lyme and pals and was suffering awful neuro syx. I'd go in the evenings, and the relief lasted until midday the next day. Nothing else touched it.
Posts: 845 | From Eastern USA | Registered: Jul 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
I tried acupuncture for musculuskeletal pain. I did not respond well.
My LLMD does it. He's hygienic, skilled, and lyme literate.
I agree with painted turtle -- timing is important.
It was too early in my treatment(about 3 mos.) It stirred up too much trouble.
I believe I will try again if needed, after I've cleared out some of the active infections (lyme & co).
Posts: 797 | From New York | Registered: Feb 2008
| IP: Logged |
MariaA
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9128
posted
I had/sometimes still have, this phantom pain that feels like a burning on my skin.
Acupuncture did a great job of making that go away. I was getting needled every couple of weeks and the pain would disappear for about 10 days. Your results will no doubt be different than mine. I hate getting acupuncture so I haven't kept up with it, though.
Everyone I've talked to about it (which is quite a few people involved in Traditional Chinese Medicine) says that you need to go for several months to really see the effects.
Also, the cost will vary drastically from one city to another. In some places it's $25 for a treatment, in others, over $100. It isn't necessarily a reflection on the practitioner.
PM me if you'd like to know of one in Chapel Hill NC who's good, or one in San Francisco who's familiar with Lyme.
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
My SIL is a massage therapist who sees alot of patients who have acupuncture also, for various reasons.
She has told me that you need to go for at least 10 sessions. I've heard a similar timeframe from others as well.
My neice was treated (acupuncture being the only treatment she received) for stomach/intestinal troubles (otherwise healthy)and was very happy with the results.
I think she'll need maintenance, but hasn't gone yet. It's been over a year.
Good luck.
Posts: 797 | From New York | Registered: Feb 2008
| IP: Logged |
nenet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13174
posted
My husband had a terrible headache that lasted for 6 months, non-stop, without abatement. That was the first time I started learning about Lyme, because it came up in searches for unusual, long-lasting headaches. We are still not sure if he might have Lyme, but he is functional and relatively healthy, so he is not currently pursuing treatment for it.
Anyway, all the Doctors and Specialists he saw could not determine what was wrong, and were on the edge of labeling it as "all in his head", as they do when their knowledge is taxed and they are getting nowhere with a patient because of it.
I started researching alternatives, and found out about acupuncture. He figured there was nothing to lose at this point, and went (I did sessions along with him). The practitioner was/is the son of the founder of a very large Traditional Chinese Medicine University in China. He is very good, and his wife helps him.
He told my husband that he had a blocked meridian (I forget the exact one at the moment), and that he should experience some relief in a couple of sessions, and that if he could not remove the headache completely in 12 sessions, then he could do nothing more for his headache.
Sure enough, with each successive session, the headache would decrease by about half during the session, and a portion of that relief would linger for longer and longer afterwards. By the 10th session, the headache was gone.
I went for sessions too, because I was experiencing worsening of "Fibromyalgia" symptoms at the time (Lyme and co-infections), and they did their best. It would help me relax quite a bit, and relieved some pain, but they told me that whatever was wrong would need more than acupuncture, and that my condition was beyond their abilities to remove completely with acupuncture.
They helped me with some Herbal medicines, but I didn't stick with them due to the foul taste, and not being familiar with all the ingredients. I would go back for acupuncture and moxabustion treatment in a heartbeat, every day if I could only afford it, and was well enough to leave the house regularly. It was heavenly, very very relaxing, and I would always leave the place very calm and contented, for a long while.
Another long story, just to say that after all the medicines and tests from the usual route that did nothing, acupuncture cured my husband's debilitating headache, and it has never returned. We will never forget that.
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic