Adverse reaction to acupuncture

[Boule de feu]

Hi Boule, i am sorry you had such a bad experience at the Accupuncturists. I am diagnosed with M.E and am in a very bad relapse after a roughly ten year remmission. I cannot currently tolerate many treatments that do help others. I tried massage therapy with a very good trustworthy therapist who was very gentle and it left me in aghony for weeks with all mysymptoms flaring. Now i dont try anything new, just in case. I think for me my body is not strong enough to take the massage, or it released too many toxins as i was very brain dead for a long while after.

The same lady gives me reflexology -which is lovely and helps in a very gentle way. It uses pressure points -like accupuncture but just on your feet, and no needles. The same therapist though told me she had another M.E patient who could'nt handle the reflexology either.
When i am feeling a bit better i hope to progress on to accupuncture, as it helped wityh my recovery l;ast time.

I'm sorry to read that you have relapsed. It must be awful to see that your health is declining again.

There are days where I can't stand anyone touching me. The pain is too much to handle. But other days, I'm okay. So, I wonder if I could tolerate a massage. I guess it would be fine if it is very gentle. The reflexology I could handle, for sure.

 

[Boule de feu]

Sorry to hear it went so badly. I believe in acupuncture but I don't know a lot about it. But I believe a lot of natural therapies don't work properly for CFS/ME. I had one accupuncture needle once and it hurt and so I didn't proceed with the therapy. I was told I would hardly feel the needle.

That's what I thought, too. I thought it would not hurt. She had already put 2 or 3 needles without problems, when I told her where it was really hurting. It's that next needle that caused the excruciating pain. What a mistake! But now, looking back, I think it did the trick. I can move my head. It's wonderful.

 

[IntuneJune]

I tried acupuncture, and did receive some help. From what I am understanding from your posts, your neck is now better.... I must preface my next statement with.....for what it is worth....my memory is not the best.....but it could have been the painful needle was breaking up the stuck energy....causing the pain initially.

During my sessions, I had needles from head to toe, and there was always one that hurt.....and am I remembering correctly??? that was the area of the greatest energy block.

I have also had myofascial release and this has helped me the most. When I first started, I could not tolerate anyone touching me. The two physical therapists took extra time, first lightly resting their hands on whatever body part and then applying the pressure needed. My MFR sessions were not like a massage, and it was a program the three of us developed over a period of time, directed by the feedback I gave. No pain pill I ever took gave me as much pain relief.

Geezzz, just keeping ourselves marginally operating is a full time job.

June

 

[Boule de feu]

I tried acupuncture, and did receive some help. From what I am understanding from your posts, your neck is now better.... I must preface my next statement with.....for what it is worth....my memory is not the best.....but it could have been the painful needle was breaking up the stuck energy....causing the pain initially.

During my sessions, I had needles from head to toe, and there was always one that hurt.....and am I remembering correctly??? that was the area of the greatest energy block.

I have also had myofascial release and this has helped me the most. When I first started, I could not tolerate anyone touching me. The two physical therapists took extra time, first lightly resting their hands on whatever body part and then applying the pressure needed. My MFR sessions were not like a massage, and it was a program the three of us developed over a period of time, directed by the feedback I gave. No pain pill I ever took gave me as much pain relief.

Geezzz, just keeping ourselves marginally operating is a full time job.

June

I have just received a book from the library. It's on myofascial pain. I will read it carefully and see what I can do - they show where to touch and how to massage the area that is painful.
My GP used the word "spasm". I wonder if it is the same.

 

[Hope123]

My family and many family friends have used acupuncture for various conditions over the years. In terms of pain, the general thought is that if you experience a lot of pain from your acupuncturist (other than a little when the needle is inserted), the acupuncturist is not a skilled one.

 

[Boule de feu]

My family and many family friends have used acupuncture for various conditions over the years. In terms of pain, the general thought is that if you experience a lot of pain from your acupuncturist (other than a little when the needle is inserted), the acupuncturist is not a skilled one.

That's really good to know. I thought it was because I had a real bad energy blockage...

 

[carolwxyz99]

I have been having accupuncture on and off for years and chinese herbs too. Fortunately for me I have a wonderful chinese TCM doctor who qualified as a doctor and TCM practitioner at the Beijing TCM hospital (which is the best place in the world for TCM) - she practices only a mile from my house. She is also involved with proper TCM research in the UK, and has also had involvement in an NHS clinic in London which gives out chinese herbs.

Occasionally the needles hurt slightly when she puts them in but then they stop hurting - they should never continue to hurt. If they hurt as they go in its because that particular meridian is worse than usual. Once, recently, one needle continued to hurt and she removed it immediately. No way would she ever leave me in pain. From reading some of your reports it sounds like some of you have had bad practitioners. The practitioner should be making their patients as comfortable as possible, not causing pain or ignoring music sensitivity.

She is also very willing to take into consideration any other treatments I am doing, whether western or integrative. ANd will read stuff I give to her. In fact after I got a borreliosis diagnosis, I told her about the Zhang chinese herb protocol that a New York doctor does. And she was willing to put me on some herbs containing the important herbs from the Zhang protocol (such as HH) and a few others to help my ME and other health problems I have (I am now negative for borrelia by blood microscopy as a result by the way). She did not mind me taking Samento, but I was very stable on that before I started the herbs and she hasn't objected to me taking other nutritional supplements. However there was once a time when I wanted to take a Western medical drug and she did not want me to be taking chinese herbs at that time (I can't remember what - it was either diflucan or antiparasite treatment). She is also careful to give me a lower dosage of some herbs as I can get an exaggerated response to a few.

Interestingly, she has always told me that accupuncture often only really lasts for about 3 days and that herbs are needed for a more prolonged effect. If I had been in China then she would have put me in a chinese hospital, where they give accupuncture and herbs twice a day every day. Or if you attended a clinic in China you would usually go every day for accupuncture. She doesn't like the UK system as much when accupuncture is given only once a week.

 

[carolwxyz99]

Just to add to that. Back in the mid 90s I had a horrendous relapse and became bedridden and very severely affected. I was also very nauseous so was having trouble eating. My chinese doc came to see me at my house and was very concerned about my health and was absolutely horrified that I was not in hospital. My GP didn't help at all. So she popped round to my house twice a week in her lunch hour and gave me accupuncture and put these little things in my ears so I could press them and give myself accupressure twice a day. That treatment really did help then. She would not put me on herbs then as I was to ill to tolerate anything like that.

 

[Boule de feu]

You are very lucky. My practitioner is not skilled at all and I don't believe she understands the complexity of CFS. However, she told me she would call me back, and she never did. I'm not too sure I will go see her again.

Thank you for sharing your story.

 

[carolwxyz99]

You are very lucky. My practitioner is not skilled at all and I don't believe she understands the complexity of CFS. However, she told me she would call me back, and she never did. I'm not too sure I will go see her again.

Thank you for sharing your story.

Yup, I am very lucky. I think its just as well yours didn't call back. If you ever feel you may need accupuncture then it is worth researching out a good practitioner. One thing that may be useful for the neck is to use a chinese infrared lamp on the neck. She puts one on when I got to see her and they do help. I have one at home now which I use for emergencies.

 

[Boule de feu]

Yup, I am very lucky. I think its just as well yours didn't call back. If you ever feel you may need accupuncture then it is worth researching out a good practitioner. One thing that may be useful for the neck is to use a chinese infrared lamp on the neck. She puts one on when I got to see her and they do help. I have one at home now which I use for emergencies.

Thanks for the tip. So far so good. The pain in almost gone in this area... until next time... =-)