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Acupuncture and lightning bolts

Jody

Senior Member
Messages
4,636
Location
Canada
I saw my naturopath Dr. Kelly Upcott today and had acupuncture as I do once a month.

There is an area on the inside of my left ankle that usually hurts when she sticks the needle in it. Most of the needles don't hurt but this one usually does. And she sticks it in there and leaves it for like half an hour anyway.:D

Today, when Dr. Kelly put in the needle I just about jumped off the cot. I felt instantaneously a mini-lightning bolt run from the needle to the sole of my foot. Felt like electricity cutting a path through the inside of my foot. And the sole of my foot burned for a few minutes afterward.

She will periodically lightly brush the needles with her fingers after insertion, and when she did so to that needle, I got another shot of lightning, this time to the ball of my foot and it burned mightily afterward as well.

She said this was very good. I said, "Oh yeah? Okay."

She says this point is connected to the kidneys which in Chinese medicine is considered very important in terms of chi, or life force. The kidneys also are the base for the adrenals (and I know mine are weak).

So if I'm having this kind of action, Dr. Kelly believes we are breaking through some kind of blockage. And the fact that it has taken over 2 yrs for this to happen suggests it's SOME blockage.

By the time the half hour was up I went from being fairly clear-headed to being fogged up and disoriented. She smiles and says that's good too. :D
 

Cort

Phoenix Rising Founder
congratulations on your 'progress'. I hope you have many more 'progressive' sessions ;). I know somebody with fibromyalgia who swears by acupuncture - she just can't afford to do it very often. She feels like it really saved her at one point; she's going downhill fast - filled with pain - acupuncture really helped pull her out of that.
 

Jody

Senior Member
Messages
4,636
Location
Canada
Yeah, thanks alot Cort.:D

That's too bad about your friend. It is all too common a situation I'm afraid. So many people can benefit from this type of treatment, and it is out of the price range for so many.

I can only do this because my mother helps me with my naturopath expenses. Otherwise, I would never have even been able to go for an initial visit. I hate to think what kind of shape I'd be in now if I couldn't have gotten to see Dr. Kelly.
 
R

ree4tu

Guest
Acupuncture

I think acupuncture is what is keeping me alive right now. I don't use it for pain, although I have pain, I use it to stimulate all my vital organs and glands (liver, thyroid, adrenals, etc). Before acupuncture, I couldn't even digest food and it helps a lot. I did it every week for two months, then I stopped (shouldn't have). I went downhill very quickly and started again recently. I believe you must see someone who really knows what they are doing for it to work. It is a shame that this treatment is not covered by insurance companies.
 

Jody

Senior Member
Messages
4,636
Location
Canada
Amen to that!

Acupuncture should be covered by insurance, it's such a versatile healing tool.

It has made a difference for me and my husband.

More people would be using it if it were more affordable.
 

Stuart

Senior Member
Messages
154
Accupuncture - Traditional Chinese Medicine

I found accupunture useful, I had some real muscle skeletonal issues, heat, procaine neural therapy injections, chiropractic, massage, nothing could get a thorasic vertibrae to move to its normal position.

In one session with needles in the area I lifted my face out of the cradle after awhile to relieve pressure in my sinuses and I heard and felt a pop, my vertibrae had shifted into place! I was absolutely amazed.

It also drew much heat out of my spine, especially in the neck region and my neck was remarkable loosened. My FM and reactivated ME/CFS was due to positional cervical mylopathy due to a whiplash auto accident.

In TCM terms my tongue and other subjective diagnosis showed me 'windy and damp,' my chi was low, and very poor adrenal/kidney energy (TCM treats them as one organ). Adrenal cortisol tests showed this to be true.

I also had some zaps, mostly in areas of the feet and in the ears. Supposedly the most powerful points are in the ear and the right point was hit if it hurts going in!
 

Jody

Senior Member
Messages
4,636
Location
Canada
Hi Stuart,

Welcome to the forums.

That is remarkable about your vertebra. Astonishing!

Most important points are in the ear, huh? Well I must be lucky then because though most of Dr. Kelly's needles don't hurt me, there are a few that usually do, and the ones that go just in front of my ears very often do.

I guess that means something is happening.
 
S

SDD1244

Guest
I've had acupuncture done several times and can testify that it has helped me with some of my breathing problems (due to chemical sensitivities and environmental allergens).

Cort,

You may want to ask your friend (who can't afford acupuncture), if there is an acupuncture school in her city. They have such a school where I live and students do acupuncture there on clients at a discounted rate.
 
Messages
6
Location
Los Angeles
Ah, yes! The lightning bolts. I had one of those up and down my right leg during my very first session. I was pretty scared about it, especially since she told me it wouldn't hurt. It was a long time before I let her put a needle in that point again. I felt the lightning there one other time, I think it's ok now though. The funny thing is though, Dr. Lee never said that this was good. She just said, "sometimes that happens". That's interesting about the blocked energy.

Sometimes it happens in my arms too and other places, I feel shooting electricity or sparks. It scares the hell out of me but I keep going because overall the acupuncture makes me feel better.
 
K

_Kim_

Guest
Hitting a nerve

I'm not an acupuncturist, but I am an anatomist. The shooting lightening bolt pain is most likely the result of the needle hitting a nerve. Not a desirable event.

Acupuncture: Does it Hurt?

A couple other sensations that we don't want are the shooting electric feeling if we hit a nerve, or the sharp feeling of being to close to a vein. Neither does much harm. The worst that happens is you get a small bruise in the area. We never get any residual effect from hitting a nerve. You should tell the acupuncturist if you feel the electric or sharp sensations, and they can change the location or direction of the needle.

Traumatic Complications of Acupuncture: Therapists Need to Know Human Anatomy

The fibular nerve is particularly variable in its course. Figure 5, left, illustrates the back of a left knee, demonstrating the close topographical relationship of bladder points 39 and 40 (B39-B40) to the fibular and tibial nerves. Figure 5, right, shows the lateral view of another knee. A relatively high course of the fibular nerve close to gallbladder point 34 (G34) can be seen. In view of the vulnerability of many peripheral nerves and their proximity to acupuncture points, it is surprising that transient or persistent nerve injuries are not reported more frequently.
 
S

starcycle

Guest
Acupuncture definitely helped me with autonomic function and CFS, before I had this full-blown ME kind of CFS. But does it help with the fatigue at all? I would probably have to find someone to drive me - I seriously doubt I can even drive anymore - wow, sounds strange to say it. (Sorry, but after 2 weeks I'm still somewhat in shock that I even have this. :eek: ) As long as she didn't send me to the upstairs room I guess I would be okay (joke :eek:).

I'm not an acupuncturist, but I am an anatomist. The shooting lightening bolt pain is most likely the result of the needle hitting a nerve. Not a desirable event.

agree!
 

Sunday

Senior Member
Messages
733
Kim may disagree with me, but I'd like to add this: I have had nerve pain, but the experience I've had at the acupuncturist's is different. The acupuncture "lightning" is a current I can feel running down my meridians (on one rare occasion, I felt it run in a straight line OUTSIDE my body; turns out my acupuncturist had decided to try running a wire from a needle further up my body down to my feet).

There are many ways to move energy, or chi. Electricity - both internal and external - is one of them. I always welcome these electric currents because to me, they feel good running down my meridians (you have to kind of breathe into them to get over the shock) and because afterward I feel better. Of course "afterward" may include a few days of detox where I feel like crap.

It may be that sometimes the explanation is what Kim says. But I'd recommend investigating that pain: is it really pain, or is it shock? Maybe with an inexperienced practitioner, or one just having an off day, the needle might hit a nerve. I have had one set of points that was excruciating, but only when the needles were inserted, not because of any running pain after: it was a set of points for bringing people out of stroke so I assume it was pretty drastic! And I needed something drastic, because I was barely able to drag myself to the acupuncturist's and was getting worse and worse. That set of points really, really helped.

I do think often we interpret a shocking (literally!) or new experience as pain. I have also heard that for some PWCs, the length of the time the needle's in can be a problem (it's too much stimulation for some of us). If you think that might be the case, try a Five Elements acupuncturist, where the needles are put in for only a few minutes at a time, then moved elsewhere as the pulse readings change.

I'm in the same boat as many: I would go to the acupuncturist's more often if I had the dough, and I'm pretty sure I'd be in better health if I could. If I can, I always use acupuncture before and after some large-for-me event, such as a trip. And I believe it has often gotten me out of a downward spiral.
 

zoe.a.m.

Senior Member
Messages
368
Location
Olympic Peninsula, Washington
I agree with your take Sunday (and I've had the wire thing too!!). In my experience it's the point that can cause the bolt feeling. Some points are like a hot poker and others have a deep, achy feeling. The hot poker/bolt feeling is supposed to go away within a couple of minutes at most--an acupuncturist should stay there and wait for it to pass or move the needle if it doesn't. Plus, there are certain spots that are just shocking points imo; some have caused me to jump a few inches off of the table or just yell really loud. The toes and the hands certainly have some wicked sensitivity!

I think it's really important to work with someone who will get a sense of your system each time you're there to help determine how many needles/how long a treatment you should have. Sometimes PWCs are just too weak to take a full-blown treatment.

I was just thinking of this b/c I was supposed to get an IM shot of an antibiotic yesterday which could have a 4% chance of a negative reaction, and so they injected a drop under my skin, and that was literally one of the most excruciating pains I've experienced. Turns out I was one of the 4% though, so I wonder if my body was so fast it just freaked as soon as the needle touched the first layer of skin!?

My acupuncturist just started a community clinic where up to 7 people can come into a large room and recline and get a treatment. I just tried it for the first time yesterday and it was pretty cool. It's only 20-40$ and there were a few people there who had fallen asleep and were there for almost a couple of hours! It's very warm and we get blankets and it's a nice space and it's relatively affordable--yay!