Acupuncture

[RubyTuesday]

I am very fortunate to qualify for a women's treatment program that offers me free acupuncture up to 5 days a week.I started it in November of 2012. (They also offer Reiki, therapy, group therapy, yoga, & art therapy.) I honestly do
not think I would even attempt withdrawal without this acupuncture. it is specifically Detox Acupuncture designed for women wd-ing from street drugs. I know it is making my wd more bearable, and also has made it possible for me to
begin to discern the fact that the ADs are making me worse, not better, and that a good percentage of my problem is the ADs, not the "original problem".
I am not fortunate in that I have no husband or other source of income, and I have a son in college. I live on public benefits. I am 55. I would rather work. I would like this nightmare to be over.

[Luc]

Very interesting info, RubyTuesday. Please, tell us more about the ways acupuncture has helped you (what symptoms it relieves, etc.) It may help many people now and in the future.

[PAROX2010]

Just to sharing my experience

About 3 years ago, shortly after CT/valiun and take Seroxat / Paxil, I went to a few sessions of acupuncture. I did not feel great improvement. Maybe a little more energy (because while taking Seroxat my energy level was minimal). And yes, one day I went with a terrible headache, I did massage and the headache went away.

The acupuncturist was a Chinese woman (in Beijing), and she suggested that I abandon all "medication psi" I was taking, to return when the medication would stop. She said that her parents and grandparents also did acupuncture (family tradition) and also told me that some members of his family had been "addicted to opium", and recovered with acupuncture helps.

Hugs

[Luc]

Allergies and pseudo-allergies can get pretty bad in WD. There's a chance acupuncure will alleviate them;


Natural News May 13, 2013

Banish allergies with acupuncture: Here's how

Allergic rhinitis, internal nasal mucous membrane inflammation, plagues many during seasons that vary according to location. Hay fever can kick in almost any time in some areas.

It often exceeds the parameters of nasal inflammation and intense sneezing by irritating the eyes and sometimes the entire nervous system while creating a feverish feeling. It can be quite severe.

The commonly prescribed and over-the-counter (OTC) allergy pharmaceuticals only make one feel dull and groggy or worse with the effort at simply masking symptoms. The underlying dynamic of the immune system's rejecting a normally benign pollen with chronic inflammation remains a mystery to mainstream medicine.

Austin, TX, is considered by some as "allergy central". Since hay fever, known as "Cedar fever" here in Austin, is so prevalent, there's no problem finding several natural herbal and homeopathy-based medicinal solutions for your first bout of Cedar fever.

However, these safer solutions are temporary and have to be repeated often. Apparently, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers seasonal and permanent allergy solutions with acupuncture.

Looking through a list of TCM clinics and acupuncture schools in Austin, one finds reviews of how their allergies were cured completely to never return after a few acupuncture sessions.

One woman spoke of how she had reactions so bad she felt like "ripping her eyes out," until she tried acupuncture. Now after a few sessions, no more intense allergic attacks.

Of course, this is all anecdotal. So along comes medical science to cautiously confirm what real life people report.

The 2008 Berlin allergic rhinitis acupuncture study

Keep in mind that several European countries still openly use herbal remedies such as butterbur and others for allergies.

Nevertheless, the Berlin study "Acupuncture in patients with allergic rhinitis: a pragmatic randomized trial," was conducted among 981 allergic rhinitis sufferers. Of the 981, 487 were randomly assigned to acupuncture and 494 to control.

They could all avail themselves to established medical treatments during the three month period when the 487 allergy sufferers received 15 acupuncture treatments. After those three months, their Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ) was three times higher than the control group.

Quality of life scoring was also higher among the acupuncture group than the control group, although the scores were slightly less with the six month follow-up testing.

Another much larger group of people receiving acupuncture for allergies on their own without being specifically assigned as part of this randomized trial was surveyed as part of an overall epidemiological study with similar results.

Conclusion: "The results of this trial suggests that treating patients with allergic rhinitis in routine care with additional acupuncture leads to clinically relevant and persistent benefits."

How acupuncture helps overcome allergic rhinitis

TCM doesn't consider allergic reactions to normally benign elements as mysterious. They pursue the underlying causes with diet, herbs, and acupuncture. Since TCM's foundational premises involve chi or Qi energies, they look at dealing with esoteric properties such as wind and dampness.

They can also determine chi deficiencies connected to different organs. With allergies, lung and spleen chi deficiencies are most common. Herbs are available for these as an adjunct to acupuncture, which alone usually delivers more immediate results.

Complete allergy remissions can be achieved with the latest acupuncture development known as Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique (NAET).

Dr. Devi Nambudripad developed the technique of first determining the specific allergens, then using acupuncture techniques to relieve their effects while exposing the patients to them.

This technique reprograms the body to accept those allergens without the immune system's over reacting to produce hay fever or other allergic reactions. Often the effect is long term, virtually vanishing one's allergy.

http://www.naturalnews.com/040305_al...e_studies.html

[Junior]

I am a big fan of TCM. I was having a LOT of trouble with my bowels recently - from the beginning of 2013 - and a colonoscopy showed nothing. My naturopath said I was low in digestive enzymes and having lost a lot of weight (38kg - I had a gastric band put in - in Nov 2011) in only 10 months, I knew she was right. I was supposed to be taking multivitamins but couldn't because they were overstimulating me. I was having trouble with the very LARGE tablets the naturopath had me on - 3 times per day - so decided to try TCM. Unfortunately I had to stop it as the herbs were overstimulating me but I managed to get in a few weeks of the herbs along with acupuncture. I was going to post about it here but I see I'm not allowed to start a new thread in this sub-forum. That's ok. I don't have a journal here either as I already have one at PP and can't be bothered doing two, but .... The TCM helped a great deal. I had constipation but it was weird. Different to anything I've had in the past. Excess flatulence but without moving things through. And I wasn't responding well to laxatives. It turns out I have sub-clinical hypothyroidism. So it was two-fold - the lack of digestive enzymes (or what is called "spleen chi deficiency" in TCM) and the thryoid problem.

Anyhow, the herbs and acupuncture have helped a great deal and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to others. The good thing is, you don't have to boil up bits of bark, tree, root, etc like you used to. They now have granules that you just pour hot water onto. So easy.

[RubyTuesday]

I have had great luck with acupuncture. It healed me of many physical problems in the 80s, but that is another story.
I started receiving acupuncture--2 to 4 times per week-- this past December specifically tailored for withdrawal from street drugs (although I am not addicted to street drugs, but I was having bad panic attacks). I immediately felt that I would be able to taper off all my psych-meds, but did not start doing so until April. I do feel, though that the acupuncture calmed my system to the point where I could discern I needed to cut off the Remiron in particular, and it has been helping immensely with the w/d as well. Try locating a clinic for drug withdrawal, there are many acupuncturists who work with suchclinics. I got into mine through the domestic violence treatment angle, but there is so much understanding among acupuncture professionals about its efficacy in drug withdrawal that I imagine a focused search could turn up some resources for anybody. Now, mind you, I do not reveal in too much detail that I am using the acupuncture to taper off psych/meds, as everybody and their brother who receives any kind of government money has been well trained to repeatedly tell you to "talk to your doctor". I just say that I have and I do and leave it at that.

[Luc]

specifically tailored for withdrawal from street drugs

Very interesting info, Ruby. In general, what does this concrete approach look like? Great to hear acupuncture has helped you so much.

[Sheila]

Very interesting that the calming from the acupuncture allowed you to get this insight about the Remeron. Great tip about how to find an acupuncturist who knows about drug withdrawal! And for low / no fee. 2-4 times a week is a nice amount.

[RubyTuesday]

She does a specific protocol for calming and detox. It is only in the ears. (She separately does individual sessions tailored to each client.) I do not know the specific explanation, but she gave me some handouts, and I will find them and summarize them here in a few days.

[RubyTuesday]

Briefly, in the 80's I was severely anemic and had an advanced case of systemic candida. Also I had symptoms of a bladder infection for one year, with no bacteria showing up in lab tests. when a doctor offered me an anasthetic for my bladder, I gave up on western allopathic medicine in disgust. I sought out acupuncture, as I had used it previously for sciatica resulting from an old ballet class injury. she told me it would take some time, which it did, but I got better, and had a kid. I do not think I would have been strong enough to carry a baby to full term without the acupuncture. Interestingly, I first tried Paxil after said kid's father drove off the road with him, and got on Prozac after an abortion.