I’d be interested in hearing any first hand experiences you have had with acupuncture. Did it make you worse? Better? No change? Would you recommend it to your mother?
I went to the Toronto School of Traditional Chinese Medicine for cheap acupuncture to deal with my hay fever.
I went three times. They stuck pins in my hands, feet, legs (below the knees), and face, and then left me to lie there for a half hour or so.
It was really relaxing in kind of an active way (if you know what I mean - kind of like a massage, or yoga). I had one tense moment with a student who didn’t know what she was doing, but even that didn’t hurt, it was just a bit odd.
In particular I appreciated the whole exam, they asked me questions that no doctor ever has before, and looked at my tongue, and gave me some interesting insights into my health far beyond the original complaint.
My hay fever did get a whole lot better, but at around the same time I made a few other lifestyle changes (diet, geographical location) so I can’t attribute it with any certainty to the acupuncture alone. But I’d absolutely recommend it to my mother (and, in fact, have).
I’ll second the recommendation to my mother. Acupuncture is a process of realigning your meridians in a way congruent with your own personal needs. I’ve been for anxiety and for muscle tension and both times I loved it and both times I felt much better. I would think one has to find an accupuncturist who is good and comes highly recommended…Not everyone can be good at it.
Where exactly are my meridians, and what causes them to become misaligned?
Gosh, will it align my chakras in addition to my meridians? I’d hate to have lopsided meridians and chakras. The other kids at school would make fun of me.
Heh, heh…see here lol 
I would not recommend acupuncture to anyone (even my mother) because it doesn’t work and it’s a waste of money.
Sorry.
I got acupuncture from a student at an acupuncture school in Berkeley; $15 for a 90-minute visit. I think I went for about 3 months. I went for a variety of reasons, including chronic colds/congestion, depression, and stress-related issues (I was a college student). My first visit was a little weird but after that I really enjoyed it and definitely felt a difference after the very first visit. I was told I wouldn’t feel anything from the needles. Maybe I’m one of the weird ones, but I felt something from each of the needles (it wasn’t pain, just more of a buzzing or stimulation feeling from each needle site). Even if the needles/heated cups/herbs didn’t actually do anything, it was really nice to have a one-on-one caregiver for 90 minutes a week who was actually interested in any and all symptoms I had and wanted to know about how my life was going. For that reason, if no other, it was definitely worth it.
When the 3 months was over, I hadn’t gotten sick again, was feeling much better, and aced all of my classes that semester. I think it was worth the little bit of money. I would definitely recommend it to anyone, including my mother.
Interesting. If the energy is so subtle that it can’t be “seen, felt, or found with the senses,” I wonder how the ancient Chinese managed to discover it.
Anyway. I have no acupuncture experiences to contribute; I just hadn’t heard that term before.
Can you elaborate on your personal experience? What were you being treated for? Did you feel nothing at all? Did it make it worse?
Does Acupuncture Work or Not?.
There is no such thing as chi energy or meridians, and nothing of the sort in your body needs aligning. You are paying for a placebo effect (at best). I went to the local School for Traditional Chinese Medicine here in town for a cheap treatment just for hell of it, for lower back pain. It didn’t work. Of course, I wasn’t expecting it to work so perhaps that diminished the placebo effect. The interesting thing about scientific medical treatments is that they will work whether or not you expect them to.
Not trying to derail your thread, so I won’t press it further. But the bottom line is that acupuncture does not work. Claims otherwise may simply be wishful thinking if not outright fraud.
I’ll relate the experience of two women, one my ex-wife, the other my current girlfriend.
Ex-wife, after the birth of our first child, had a lot of post-op pain in her abdomen. Three traditional doctors couldn’t’ find anything wrong so the last suggested a sports-medicine chiropractor he knew. The chiro prodded and poked and declared it was a problem with the illio-something valve between the large and small intestine. He gave her acupuncture treatments for it.
After one treatment, my wife report less pain. After 10 she said it was all gone.
I asked the Dr. why this seemed to work. He said that it depended on who you asked. A Chinese medicine doctor might talk about releasing energy paths. A western doctor might talk about releasing endorphins. It might be the placebo effect, too. It wasn’t my pain.
My girlfriend has a bad knee (same knee as me, awwww) and she twisted it in a fall. It was noticeably swollen and she went to an acupuncture-trained friend of hers and had her look at it. FWIW, after one visit, right after the needles were pulled, there was an obvious reduction in the swelling. My GF said there was much less pain and a lot of the stiffness was gone. Over the next couple days, some of the pain returned but not as severe.
I saw the knee before and after and I can vouch that there was less swelling after the treatment. After that, it’s all hearsay.
$.02
The current statement of the National Institute for Health is that acupuncture has proven effectiveness for certain conditions (pain, chemotherapy-related nausea and osteoarthritis).
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/#work
I had Bells Palsy a few years ago (http://www.bellspalsy.ws/ )
My physician put me on an anti-viral and steroids. I also chose to clean up my diet (since I had to work from home rather than go into the office).
I also tried accupuncture. They pounded needles into me, and hooked me up to the electric shock system attached to the needles. For an hour or so everyday I was poked and shocked, my facial muscles twitching to the current.
My physician said that I had the quickest recovery she had ever seen.
end anecdote.
Sorry, but since that citation comes from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which also lists “treatments” such as Gingko, St John’s Wort, Homeopathy, etc., makes it entirely unreliable. In fact, NCCAM and its predecessor, the Office of Alternative Medicine, have spent more than $800 million on such research since 1991 but have not succeeded in scientifically demonstrating the efficacy of a single alternative method.
This site is about fighting ignorance, right?
I just had a session yesterday. I like to go every month or so, especially a few days before a horse show. I think it relieves my anxiety and helps me focus. I already recommend it to friends; if my mother were alive, I would have no problem with her trying it.
I also have had the horses treated with acupuncture, for a variety of ailments. It’s my money and I’ll spend it as I choose.
I’m sorry, but my post stated nothing but facts. That IS the official position of the NIH, of which NCCAM is a division.
Feel free to disagree with their position.
Fair enough.
She had ten treatments? I’m assuming probably not more than once per day? Often, conditions and pain can be intermittent or resolve on their own - how do you know her pain wouldn’t have gone away by itself after ten days?
Also, googling “intestine” and “valve”, one of my first hits was About.com on Ileocecal Valve Syndrome. It lists many vague symptoms and causes, and the only listed treatments are “chiropractic adjustments, applied kinesiology, homeopathy, and alternative diet.”
My inner skeptic tells me that any “condition” that lists absolutely no scientific medical treatment as even an option is dubious, and I tend to doubt that the condition can even be verified to exist.
Looking on Wikipedia, under Ileocecal valve, the only medical condition it lists (as a rare pathology) is tumors. More googling brought up Intussusception (prolapse of one part of the intestine into another part) which can sometimes involve the Ileocecal valve. However, this condition is extremely rare in adults, and requires medical treatment (reduction with a barium or air-contrast enema, or surgical reduction).
Didn’t want a cortisone shot so I had it done on my shoulder. Twice a week for a month. First 30 mins was just the pins, then the next 15 mins was the pins hooked up to an EMS type machine. Don’t care if it’s placebo, it worked.