TO WELCOME
TO CONTENTS
 ACUPUNCTURE
Silver, an a.s.m. poster reports on her ongoing experience
Authors retain copyright and responsibility for content
treatment descriptions
responses and commentary
links
Anon1 said: I would be very interested to hear about people's experience with chiropractic and other things I have not tried
Sent: 16 June 1999 16:42

 Like you I have found benefit from *rolling with it*, increasing water intake, reviving meditation and hypnosis techniques, and 1001 small coping mechanisms that I've picked up from hanging around a.s.m. I do breathing and relaxation exercises and I also see a psychotherapist to help with issues that have been made worse by, but not caused by, peri.

 More out of curiosity than belief I have (just) started with acupuncture. I have only had one session and am not surprised to find no change so far. My understanding is that most acupuncturists also prescribe herbs, which I do not want, but I've been lucky to find one who (albeit reluctantly) is prepared to stick the pins without handing out the potions. My second session is this week.

 For anyone who is curious - and speaking as a total pain wimp - it''s not really painful. You feel *some* of the needles going in, and one or two of them were definitely more *ouch* than others - but it's ok. Apparently the more relaxed I am, the less I will notice. Yeah sure, we'll see about that ;-}



Sent: 21 June 1999 15:00

 For all those eagerly awaiting the next chapter on my visits to the acupuncturist (you *were* all eagerly waiting weren't you ?), read on ...

 My second visit was slightly easier than the first - now knowing what to expect, the *ouch* factor was lower. This was A Good Thing. Once about a dozen pins had been stuck in me (feet, hands and head), I was left for 30 minutes to contemplate Life, The Universe and Everything. Must say I felt pretty damn silly - rather like Gulliver after a Lilliputian spear attack :-)

 My reactions since the session have been interesting. Had a *really* good nights sleep (nine hours!). This is so unusual that it has qualifies as a potential *significant improvement*. Sadly only one night though - but if this has anything to do with acupuncture I'd almost consider paying, just for this, once per week. Other pluses are that my vascular problems seem slightly easier (less hot, less red, less itchy), my IBS-style symptoms are improved, and my semi-permanent boil is receding fairly rapidly.

 As we all know, peri plays merry havoc with any form of short-term, measurable observations - not to mention the potential for placebbo effects here. And just one good nights sleep works wonders. So, you guessed it, I'm not saying any of this is the result of my acupuncture session. BUT I am feeling a little better generally - enough to make me plan two more sessions to see if things continue to improve. I guess you're now all eagerly awaiting visit three, later on this week ;-))



Sent: 26 June 1999 12:09

 This acupuncture stuff is going to severely restrict my internet life ..... here in the UK phone charges are *much* cheaper at night, so logging on during insomnia has always been one of my 33 Good Things.  I've been sleeping so well since my second session that I seem to have lost a few hours a day ;-(  there's just no pleasing some people ;-)

 I shan't bore everyone every week with updates on my sessions (my third visit was this week), but if anything strange and/or interesting occurs I'll let you know. Suffice to say that this seems to be doing me some good (acupuncture, without herbs) - sleeping better :-)  IBS-style stuuff has *really* settled down :-)  my vascular problems are very slightly easier :-)  but best of all is I feel *real good* :-))  The plan with my acupuncturist is not to do this forever, but to get my body/energies in better balance and then stop ..... some way to go then ;-)

 Whilst lying on the (uncomfortable) bed, looking and feeling like an over-sized pin cushion, my mind went back to my only other encounter with "acupuncture" over 20 years ago (a very feeble and unsuccessful attempt to stop smoking). Well I *thought* it was acupuncture but I'm not sure I was really paying attention.  It was a strange event as it was nothing to do with pins and needles but some guy sticking a probe on my ear and zapping a small electric charge. Have I gone completely insane? did this ever really happen? was I ripped off? what the hell was I thinking? <!?! This, obviously wasn't acupuncture as I now know it to be - has anyone else ever heard of it?

Sent: 06 July 1999 16:27

 Well folks, I had my fifth acupuncture session today and I now admit to being something of a convert.  This really seems to be helping me - certainly the sleeping .... haven't slept this well in years; and my bowels (you *do* want to hear about my bowels don't you <g) ok, suffice to say I'm now a "regular as clockwork" sort of person (having uselessly spent much of last year on IBS meds).  Might not be everyone's cup of tea, but this seems to be doing me the world of good.  Not having much to report other than more of the same, I thought I'd tell you about the experience and also about my acupuncturist - I'll call her Mai.

 Mai is the best possible advert for her own therapies.  A small, fit, postmeno woman of indeterminate age (middle 50's?, more?) she has an almost permanent, radiant smile and boundless energy and good humour.  She works shifts (as a nurse) and then comes back to the clinic she runs with her husband and does another days work with the pins and herbs.  She learnt her skills in the orient, where she was born, before coming to the UK in her 30's. She then took all necessary qualifications to practice here, simultaneously training and qualifying as a nurse in western medicine, learning the language, bringing up her children and probably a couple of dozen other things at the same time. She is an impressive woman.

 I have no idea of Mai's beliefs or philosophies and her explanations of the workings of acupuncture sound strange to me.  She talks of energies and pulses and channels, and I *know* that she means them in ways I do not.  She uses the term "heat" a lot, but frowns slightly - it seems that she has not found the appropriate word.  She talks of balance and harmony, yin and yan and of chi.  I am learning that she is a master of the art of understanding body language; she watches how I walk into the room, how I sit, the slightest changes of expression on my face - she is already making notes even before we talk about how I feel.

 At each session she asks a thousand questions constantly writing and drawing diagrams.  There are wall charts and models with complicated body maps of lines and pin points, but I've never seen her refer to them.  The room is decorated with oriental symbols and imagery and has the aroma of freshly burnt incense.  Mai answers all my questions and always tells me what she is doing and why.  Before each needle I must breathe in through my nose and then blow out loudly through my mouth as the skin is pierced. Trying to get the hang of the terminology I ask if this breathing routine has something to do with "balancing the energies" -- she laughs and tells me it is to keep me distracted when the needle goes in.

 I ask her why all my problems are noticeably worse on the left side of my body - she tells me that it is because I have too much heat from stress, that the liver is the centre of stress and that my liver is on my left, QED.  It makes perfect sense to her, I pull a puzzled face - she laughs and says I don't *have* to believe or understand, it will still work.

 Some pins go in easily, with virtually no sensation, others are more, errrr, noticeable. "Ouch", says I .... "sharp - too much heat there", says she.  Hmmmmm, ok. Most of them go in my feet and hands with a few on my face and head - although I was nervous about these latter, they are the least sensitive.  The sequence in which the pins are placed matters, apparently, as does the order of their removal.  There are pins of different lengths for different parts of the body, but none go in very far - their purpose is to connect with the energy channels and either release or increase energy, at the point required.  Total pins somewhere between a dozen and 20.  The final (longish) pin to be placed, and the last one removed, is right on the top of my head -  I imagine it waving about like an antennae and expect to be able to pick up radio signals through it one of these days.

 Mai then leaves me, pinned down and with instructions to relax for 40 minutes.  This has been easier to do since we discussed the music.  In my first two sessions I "tried to relax" to the sound of orientalised muzak Beatles tunes, but we now agree that a little light classical seems to suit me better.  Amazingly I now find myself drifting off to sleep - Mai is very pleased by this as the more relaxed I am the more benefit I will supposedly get.

 After my allotted time Mai returns to remove the pins.  This is painless and there has been no blood and no bruising.  We discuss my next appointment and then my session is over.  Meanwhile, whilst I was relaxing, she has already stuck pins in someone in the next room and, whilst I dress behind a screen, she prepares this room for the next occupant.  She is a hard-working, happy, caring and kind woman - she exudes confidence and contentment.  I sometimes wonder if it is the pins that work so well for me or whether it is spending time in Mai's inspiring company that is the real medicine in my case  ;-)

Sent: 07 July 1999 12:25

 Anon2 wrote:

 It's a description of an imbalance, describing an excess of whatever  it is. I really do think acupuncture makes sense in electrical  terms. If you think of it as adjusting impedances, it all kind of  falls into place.
 Yes, this helps. Interestingly the needles have copper wire tightly wrapped around the "handle end" making up about half the length of the needle - when I asked about this she explained that the copper helped channel the energies.

 If you can imagine the needle, let's say a medium sized one of about two inches, one inch of which will be wrapped in copper wire.  The needle itself only goes in one eighth to one quarter of an inch so, as you can imagine, the needle may lean to one side or another. With some needles she seems to take great care to ensure the direction of lean, possibly also the angle - as if she is lining them up.  I haven't yet asked her about this.

 I have asked her about the sequence of placement of the pins.  Some of them are placed as singles, some doubles and some quartets, etc.  For example, there is one quartet which requires placing four needles in sequence, first in my right foot, then one in my left foot, then my left hand, then one in my right hand (I think that's the right order).  She explained that to place them out of sequence would block the flow of energies.  Your electrical model fits well with all this.

 silver

Commentary and responses from other posters (small font indicates quotes from earlier posts)

Pat Kight <[email protected]> wrote

 Thanks so much for posting this, silver. I haven't tried acupuncture, but my sister has used it for years to help with chronic pain, and I find it quite intriguing.

 I realize some may find this at odds with my stated distrust of "unscientific" healing techniques, but what little reading I've done on the subject tells me that there are scientific principles at play here, just not *Western* science.

 Besides, I am not required to be 100 percent consistent. (-;

It *is* intriguing isn't it.  I had read and heard so many positive reports about acupuncture, but still couldn't get my mind around it.  I have to say that I suspected much of the reported benefits were due to the fact that everyone seemed to also be taking chinese herbs in conjunction with the acupuncture.   So I determined that if I did give it a go, I wouldn't take the herbs as well - I'm difficult like that <g>

In the end, for me, it came down to the two choices game ..... it either doesn't work or it does work; if it doesn't work I shall have thrown some money away and gained a few useless pin holes - not exactly fatal; if it does work then it can either do me harm or do me good; if it does me harm then it must mean that it works, but I've got a crap practitioner so find a better one; if it does me good, well ..... good.  In the end it seemed if not quite win/win then certainly win/not-a-lot-to-lose ... which is a darn sight better than most of life's choices IMO.
silver



Sort of on the same topic, here in British Columbia, Chinese medicine including acupuncture is about to go mainstream. The provincial government has just announced the formation of a new governing body or college to regulate standards and education of practitioners.

Not that I am about to go and try the pins myself <g> Kathryn


 ......my mind went back to my only other encounter with "acupuncture" over 20 years ago (a very feeble and unsuccessful attempt to stop smoking). Well I *thought* it was acupuncture but I'm not sure I was really paying attention.  It was a strange event as it was nothing to do with pins and needles but some guy sticking a probe on my ear and zapping a small electric charge. Have I gone completely insane? did this ever really happen? was I ripped off? what the hell was I thinking? <!?! This, obviously wasn't acupuncture as I now know it to be - has anyone else ever heard of it ?

 There are different ways of stimulating the trigger points in "acupuncture." Needles are but one way. They burn mugwort on the skin to heat these spots (moxibustion) and also tactile pressure can be used as well. After Nixon came back from China in the early 1970's raising our national awareness about acupuncture, I took a course on it put on by the Smithsonian Institute and the NIH in Wash DC. It is a fascinating healing tradition.  I have tried to stay current on it since that time.

       The fellow from NIH  back in the 1970's said they found galvanic differences at the acupuncture sites and theorized that the pathways were some sort of tactile ennervation system. His example was understanding the power of a touch from a loved one, versus the power of the touch from a threatening stranger. Just a touch alone can trigger a major cascade of physiological response.

        It is a system I respect even though I do not understand it myself. I am glad you are sharing your experiences with it on the newsgroup. It ties into my own appreciation for the "mind/body" connections of wellness and disease and the research done presently understanding the "limbic" system.

J


 ......but best of all is I feel *real good* :-))  The plan with my  acupuncturist is not to do this forever, but to get my body/energies in  better balance and then stop ..... some way to go then ;-)

I think this is the trick, and I think that's why it stops working after a while. It gets you within the normal range, but once you're in there, you just move around within it, without progressing to the super-normal range. (Anon2)

Warning: acupuncture is not necesarily harmless - see extract from http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/band68/b68-4.html
Harm from acupuncture
It is rare to find a systematic review devoted to adverse effects. Examining acupuncture for life-threatening adverse reactions [1] shows a number of potential problems, not all of which are recognised commonly. Fifty-six articles were identified, examining two main areas i.e infection and trauma.


Introduction to a comprehensive article with copious linked references at http://news.bmn.com/hmsbeagle/116/reviews/insitu
Acupuncture: Points of Interest
by Cindy Seiwert
 
Considerable mystery surrounds acupuncture. The procedure arose in traditional Chinese medicine, which also involves the use of herbs, massage, meditation, and diet. For two views on the origins of this ancient technique, see Acupuncture: A History and The History of Acupuncture. Despite its longevity, however, the medical use of acupuncture remains controversial, at least in the West.

Devotion and disdain surround acupuncture. 
Once thought to be the province of the counterculture, acupuncture now holds wide public acceptance as a complement to mainstream therapies. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Americans make an estimated 9 million to 12 million visits to acupuncturists each year, spending upward of $50 million on the technique. And the FDA regulates acupuncture needles just as it does other approved medical devices. Yet many in the medical and scientific communities remain skeptical about the value of acupuncture.

TO WELCOME
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1