Acupuncture And Shingles

[Mydoggielovesme2]

Just wanted to let everyone know how things are going. I have had the shingles for a couple of weeks now. Been on lots of meds. Anyway I decided to try acupuncture yesterday, and wow, did it make a difference. I have not had to take any pain meds since going. Before starting she asked me what my pain level was, and I said 8. And that was on Vicodin. Today it's maybe a 2. I truly would never have believed acupuncture could work so well. That's the good news. Now the bad. A few hrs after the treatment, I started getting very upset to my stomach, sweaty, chest pain. Thought I was going to pass out. My granddaughter grabbed my BP machine for me. It was 74/42 p38 and irregular. About one min later it was 106/77 p109 and irregular. For the next hr it kept bouncing around like this. Today it's its usual low, but I feel so weak. Not able to eat, still some chest pain. Not sure what to think. Any ideas??

[Guest Alex]

Wow Shona,

sounds like the acupuncture really helped with your pain but I can't help but wonder if it triggered those BP/HR fluctuations you have experienced.

I've only had episodes like that when I tried citalopram (an SSRI) my HR and BP were yo-yo-ing around the clock and the chest pain was pretty nasty as well.

Perhaps you should let your dr know and definitely let the acupuncturist know. One or the other may be able to help.

Hope you feel better soon.

Alex

[Mydoggielovesme2]

Thanks, have a call into both. If I don't get to feeling better soon may go ER

[Guest Hanice]

EDITED

You see thats the thing! Acupuncture is so powerful that it can also hurt us. Did the chinese doctor KNOW you have dysautonomia? Like Alex said you should tell the Chinese doc and your regulare doc. I hope you get back to normal soon. Im starting to think that acupuncture isnt so good for dysautonomia because I used to go and last time I went I had a vibration in my chest that got super intensified with that TCM treatment. I think the chinese docotr would HAVE to know what dysautonomia is.

[Guest Hanice]

Yes maybe if you dont feel better when you lay down, you probably should take the trip to the er. Make sure you know what meds they put in you. Make sure they know you have an ANS problem dysautonomia and pots. Keep in touch too. Be safe and calm.

[Mydoggielovesme2]

Well still no call from Drs. But I've been sleeping last few hrs and BP and hr seem to have settled down. The person that did my acupuncture is also my chiropractor. I have been seeing her for a couple of years now. She was not familiar with dysautonomia, but has been will to learn along the way. My GP is not going to be happy. He does not like chiropractic so I'm sure he won't like acupuncture. But then he is not much help with pots. So it's a wash......

[Guest Hanice]

Good! Awesome! Did your bpm also calm down? Im so happy your better now. What does he have against chiropractic medicine? Acupuncture is great but Im doubting its ability to make dysautonomia better.

[Psalm 23]

Hi Shona,

Wow. I'm sorry you had such a terrible reaction to acupuncture. I had been wondering how you were managing with your shingles. I hope you have recovered by now from whatever strange thing occurred earlier. I have never had acupuncture before but have considered it a number of times for pain reduction. Now I'm not so sure. I hope someone can shed some light on this reaction. Keep us posted on your condition.

Janet

[MarkA]

I get it every two weeks to treat my Acid Reflux\GERD (works great) and for the hip pain and leg pain I have. Yes it helps the pain and it never seems to affect my POTS but I am on the very mild end of the scale.