Tell me about acupuncture

[bigteamug]

I'm going to exhaust every last natural remedy before I use meds, and so I'm here to learn about acupuncture for depression, stress, anxiety, insomnia, mood swings, and all those lovely things that find you when life is hard.

I know people use it for all that stuff, but I'm just wondering if there are mamas who would tell me a little about what to expect, how long it takes to work, how effective it is (or if it didn't work for you), how often you go, and if it is something you do now and again, all the time, etc..

Thanks, mamas - I really need life to get a little easier and hope this can help.

The person I'm going to see also does a lot of work on nutrition, etc. so that angle will be covered as well.

[Caneel]

I did acupuncture for pain several years ago.

It didn't really work for the pain as the pain was caused by poor posture/bad habits. It worked the day of the visit and a little bit after but not longer term.

BUT, I loved the sessions. It made me feel so relaxed and grounded. At times I would fall asleep, which is telling as I never, never, never nap and it is impossible for me to fall asleep during the day - it was that relaxing.

So I have no doubt it could help with the type of issues you describe. Now you are making me think I should look into it again for my anxiety issue.

[vocalise]

I'm using acupuncture to treat bipolar right now, though I have also started on a low dose of meds as well (not high enough to be "therapeutic"). I found that, when I went sporadically, the positive effects started for me the day afterward, and lasted for about 24 hours. My acupuncturist assured me that going frequently for about six weeks, and then going less often as maintenance, would be the most effective route. So, now I'm going three times a week until the end of the month, and plan to go at least once a week after that point. It REALLY seems to be helping.

I'm lucky because where I live there is a group acupuncture facility (up to eight clients all in a circle lying in big lay-z-boy chairs receiving treatment at the same time), and the sessions are on a sliding scale and really affordable. So three times a week isn't breaking the bank.

In terms of what to expect... expect a bit of discomfort when the needles first go in sometimes, but otherwise it should be painless. Expect that it may be difficult to "sit with yourself" for that long when you're feeling anxious/depressed. Try to breathe deeply and meditate as you receive your treatment (or sleep, if you can). I find a good visualization for me is to put any thoughts that come to me into little lanterns and send them down an imaginary river. But, honestly, I've had a few sessions where I just sat there and cried. No harm done.

Good luck with it! I'm a bit of a skeptic sometimes, so it helps me to know that there is empirical evidence for acupuncture relieving depression, even if I don't understand exactly how it works.

[duchessM]

I'm really interested in taking acupuncture for my back pains.And this makes me more interested that it's possible for depressions, insomnias, and all because it's also been months that I haven't slept normally. Please tell us the good news after.

[mom0810]

I would love to know how this goes, also, and will be coming back here to check in.

I went to see an acupuncturist a while back for a consultation, and was kind of scared off because she said the type of acupuncture that she uses is kind of hard core, and that I may have nausea and vomiting after, because of all the detoxing of my liver. She did offer a liver tonic in her office to help with that, but she said some of it would just be something I would have to go through, and that her type of ap worked faster than most and that was why it could make me really sick...? Anyone here know anything about that? It kind of worries me, which is why I didn't end up going in for treatment.

[bigteamug]

Update!

Ok, so I've had, I think 3 visits so far. I do feel relaxed after a session, but that night i usually have insomnia. Hard to peg down whether the insomnia is from the acupuncture or life issues. So she is going to tweak the treatments and see if that helps, and I know I need to do more nutrition-wise, but just haven't got to it yet.

I did talk to another friend who is very knowledgeable about acupuncture, and she said it would take about 6 weeks to start to take affect (which seems to be the same time many meds take to work as well....)so I'll keep waiting and see.

[paakbaak]

i ve been going twice a week to acupuncture for the same reasons and i do feel al ittle better. ive done acupuncture for almost everything in my life so i´m used to i, the discomfort and the waiting...remember that the needles unleash the energy in that energy canal, but it takes a while for the energy to travel freely.
pacience and a lot of vitB! can´t afford the tryptophan now, so i hope this works!

my adivce is don´t stop the treatment, keep going, give it a few months.