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Anyone tried acupuncture??

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My sis is totally crippled with arthritic pain. I am so worried about her. She cannot walk more than about 30 yards without collapsing and the docs have said they can do nothing for her. Most of the pain relief drugs upset her and she is now using a mobility scooter. Not good as she is only 55 years.
Has anyone here tried acupuncture and what if any success did they have?.
She has had hypnotherapy with some success but this idea of acupuncture seems a good one but at £48 per session its not cheap.
I would appreciate any help with this-thanks.

12 replies

I go to a doc who is certified in acupuncture. He says it may have some good results for my osteoarthritis. I am planning to try it soon. My insurance is unusual, as I understand, it pays $30/session. Most insurance doesn't cover it. A friend has a lot of facial and sinus trouble after a car accident years ago. He tells me acupuncture does him a lot of good. I think there is a lot our western doctors don't understand about God's creation (the body), even after they start practicing the techniques.

Thanks for writing wjorob. I think my sis has booked her acupuncture session and does not carry insurance so will have to pay for all of it.
I have heard good things about acupuncture and standard medicine cannot offer much for ra or oa except analgesia.
I agree with you that there are many things we do not understand. I will post here any good result my sis gets.

Acupuncture has worked for me. I just retired and am unhappy that I must pay the $30 per session out of my pocket, but it is well worth it. I have edema and couldn't bear to touch my legs and acupuncture helped immensely. Now I have arithritis of the knee, which is very painful and I'm returning to acupuncture next week.

Thanks Aly. I will tell my sis re your success. She will be paying about $75 per session as its all private and out of insurance in the UK.
I will let you know how she gets on and hope its helpful to you with your arthritis of the knee.
Best wishes

My sis went for her first session of acupuncture yesterday and seemed much brighter afterwards. She said it felt easier getting back in the car right away and the pain seemed to have eased. The practitioner put a needle in her ear too to continue the good work. He said she should get easement over the next 2 or 3 days. Unfortunatley she fell over in the garden on Saturday and is very stiff and bruised but it looks like the acupuncture is helpful.

I used acupuncture for pain management several times in the past and it helped me each time. I have osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, lumbar spinal stenosis, and degenerative disk disease that necessitated several spinal surgeries, including a cervical fusion on 3 levels. The acupuncture got me through the before, during and after the surgery and recovery periods of each of those so I didn't have to depend so much on heavy opiate painkillers - in fact, I hardly took any of them at all!

Thanks for the information Dawn Ann.
I shall pass it on to my sis. She seemed so much brighter after the acupuncture and is in much the same state as you with her diagnosis. ie osetoarthritis,fibromyalgia and disc problems. She does not have spinal stenosis as far as I know but is very overweight which is not helping.
Your history of pain relief with acupuncture is very positve and its good to hear such news.

When I was pregnant , the only thing I could do was acupuncture, and it truly helped. There were times when I had to go more often because of increased pressure from the (then) fetus but it was well worth every penny I spent

I use acupunture on a semi-regular basis, and it does help.

Have you checked to see if there is a clinic attached to a teaching school in your area? I no longer have medical coverage, so I go to a local clinic that was started as a program for pre-release at the local jail (helping inmates cope with addiction and anger issues). It was expanded to include the community in general - and it's free.

Many teaching schools/colleges have clinics with sliding scale fees and can be really reasonable. It's worth checking into...

Wishing you and your sister the best!

Cynthia

Thanks Cynthia. I do not know of any schools in the area but its worth checking out.
My sis had her second AP session this week and seems much more positive and says its helped with the pain. She is still having to take arcoxia and tramadol for pain but not so often.
I think that although its expensive the AP is worth the money for her right now.
She has just spent three days with my while my husband was away and we had a great time but just one swim made her ache all over.

I have used accupuncture for stress management which presents in the form of non specific generalized pain and inability to sleep. It was awsome.
I have also modified my diet. I have stopped dairy and process wheat (flour). I am concentrating on eating whole foods that are in season and that grow close to home. I also get my exercise in everyday. Great result.
The goal is to maintain balance mind, body and spirit.
Be positive.

2Anne & savgirl71:

I've also changed my diet/nutritional habits with huge success! I've decreased diary and meat, avoid prepackaged, overly processed and fast foods and concentrate on fresh, whole foods and grains - organic when I can. It really does help!

The above changes not only help me control my pain levels. I was diagnosed a year ago as pre-diabetic with alarmingly high cholesterol and blood pressure and all of my test results now come back totally normal!

I also began using Reiki. I'm certified for both Usui and Kundalini Reiki but hadn't been practicing. The Reiki helps tremendously with the stress levels that play such a huge part in my illnesses.

And I agree - maintaining balance of mind, body & spirit should definitely the goal to reach for. I was lucky enough to find a life coach willing to work with me pro-bono for 3 months with a focus on attaining that balance. It's given me some quality of life back and helped me to be realistic, rather than fatalistic, about my limitations.

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