Acupuncture

[yogini]

Have any of you tried acupuncture for sleep? I had the chance to test out acupuncture a couple of weeks ago for really cheap. I only had 20 min, but it left me feeling really relaxed and drowsy. It didn't really help me sleep in the end, but I feel like it would if I could do it longer. My friend who used acu for her back pain said she would sleep for hrs, which sounds heavenly. It didn't seem to worsen my Other Pots symptoms either. I found an acu school near me, and I am going to try 1 hr treatments for a few weeks to see how it goes. Insomnia is probably one of my worst symptoms these days and would love to find anything that helps. I use ambien to break the cycle, but it would be great to have a regular sleep schedule!

[erickamcc0523]

I am having my first session on Thursday... mainly for the chronic pain from the joint hypermobility, but I am hoping that being able to sleep better will be a result. I'll let you all know!

[yogini]

Great, we can compare notes. My appoint is for Fri, but I may have to reschedule for next week...

[MamaTrain]

Hey Yogini,

I hate to post negative things but I had a terrible experience with acupuncture. I called it "accu-torture" after the 3rd visit. I would be so relaxed when I would be there and for about an hour afterwards but then it would throw me into a terrible episode. My nutritionist guy who did a heart rate variability test on me said that after seeing my ANS was out of whack the reason I probably responded that way was because my sympathetic nervous system is having a hard time regulating its self! I dont know but I gave up after 8 visits because I couldnt handle the episodes. I think others have said it has been a good thing for them so please dont take my experience as the norm!

KC

[flop]

Acupuncture is a complex medical treatment that is used to try to restore and re-balance the energy flow through the body. I first received accupuncture treatment from a physiotherapist over 10 years ago for chronic back pain (now we know this was due to EDS). That treatment was very helpful for pain relief and reducing the muscle spasms that I was having.

More recently I have received acupuncture from a Chinese medical practitioner (along with herbs). The treatments have been very different depending on what he was trying to treat in that session. Initially he used a Japanese technique to bring a wave of energy/heat up from my feet to my head then back down again (he described it as a sea wave washing over the uneven chaotic sand and leaving smooth sand behind). Those treatments felt wonderful but left me feeling exhausted and in need of lots of sleep right afterwards.

I also had a session for a sinus infection - that was not plesent and made me quite jittery and dizzy but it did help clear a lot of infected gunk.

What I am trying to say is that one acupuncture treatment can be totally different to another. Find a practitioner (or supervised student) who has a good qualification and is willing to work with you to try to balance and not upset the autonomic nervous system. In the UK some doctors offer acupuncture but I know their training is only 2 weekends which is totally different to the 4 years training that Chinese practitioners undertake - it is just like finding a good doctor, worth spending some time finding a practitioner that will work with you.

Flop

[erickamcc0523]

I had my first treatment this past Thursday. For the most part, it wasn't unpleasant (well, the mugwort she used was a bit difficult for me to tolerate, but I've been very sensitive to smells lately), but there was one particular needle that must have been on a hotspot, as it hurt the whole time. I haven't noticed a decrease in pain yet, but I know that it will take a few treatments to cause a reduction in pain. I have been sleeping alot more lately, but I think that may have more to do with the fact that the last 3 days before my treatment, I slept only 4-5 hours. Unfortunately, I haven't slept early, and I have slept until at least noon the past few days.