Acupuncture: helpful, harmful, or depends?

[hlat]

I am asking for advice and input. I welcome all your thoughts.

I had my first acupuncture treatment last week and second treatment yesterday. I didn't really notice any differences or changes, except maybe my tooth hurt a little less. My diagnostic biological dentist had recommended that I do acupuncture, and I went with the acupuncture doctor he recommended. I had mercury fillings removed from one quarter of my mouth, but as the associate dentist who did the work mentioned, I felt worse after removal. One tooth has had diminishing pain since the removal, so it is getting better. It was after removal that I saw the acupuncture doctor. The acupuncture doctor has been focusing on detoxifying me in the two sessions.

The first session, I didn't experience any pain until towards the end when the weight of my gown was tugging on a chest needle, causing pain. When I moved my arm to ring the bell to signal for help, my arm hurt because of the muscles flexing against the arm needles. Then no one came after pushing the bell, so that was alarming.

The second session, there was pain when some needles were inserted, and then pain when the acupuncture doctor twisted some needles halfway through the session. I was quite surprised at the pain, since it didn't hurt when the needles went in the first time and there was no twisting the first time.

The drive to and back from the acupuncture doctor is in heavy traffic and takes over an hour. Insurance does not cover so it is not cheap. Considering everything, I'm wondering if I should stop now. In the Cassiopaean transcripts, some sessions warn against acupuncture and some support it.

I am thinking the far infrared sauna bag and DMSO thread treatment would be a better method of detoxing. But I would continue acupuncture if it is beneficial for me. Any thoughts?

 

[Rich]

I am thinking the far infrared sauna bag and DMSO thread treatment would be a better method of detoxing. But I would continue acupuncture if it is beneficial for me. Any thoughts?

From my understanding and limited experience of acupuncture there should not be any pain. In the past I've found it beneficial for quick relief from muscle pain but for that I would now opt for deep tissue massage or osteopathy. It doesn't sound like the practitioner is paying you sufficient care and attention. So based on your description of your experience it doesn't sound like it is beneficial to you and I think you would be best advised to try the alternatives you suggest. Do bare in mind I've just had a negative experience regarding needles so am not entirely objective :)

 

[hlat]

The doctor said the meridians were blocked as the reason for the pain. She noticed it was pain was mostly on my left side, which is the same side of my tooth condition.

I don't know what to think. That's why I'm asking for help.

 

[Mrs.Tigersoap]

Hi Hlat,

I'm not sure I understood one thing: did you biological dentist recommend an acupuncturist in order to detox or because you are still experiencing pain after your tooth removal? Or because he thinks the two are linked?

If it is for detox purposes, well, he did not know that you have a wealth of info on that particular subject right at your fingertips :). I would personally first try to see what I can do on my own and if I don't get any results, find a professional to help out. There are many threads on the forum about detox, and this only one of them:

Detoxification: Heavy metals, Mercury and how to get rid of them

Because, as we have seen, there are indeed other ways to detox that are less painful (I mean in this particular case, as I have never heard of acupuncture needles inserted being painful before so I'm not sure what happened there), less costly and closer to home.

Now, if you biological dentist recommended an acupuncturist because you are still experiencing pain despite the removal, maybe seeing a regular dentist is also an option? You know, to have a second professional opinion?

Like in all professions, acupuncturists differ widely in their expertise, that's why it's difficult to say 'yes it works' or 'no, it doesn't'. It depends. It might just be that you were unlucky with this particular practitioner. The fact that you were not attended to when you rang the bell is alarming indeed.

The drive to and back from the acupuncture doctor is in heavy traffic and takes over an hour. Insurance does not cover so it is not cheap. Considering everything, I'm wondering if I should stop now. In the Cassiopaean transcripts, some sessions warn against acupuncture and some support it.

So far, you seem to have listed more cons than pros, so I think you might have made up your mind already. The bottom line is: what benefits are you feeling from the session? If there aren't any and the sessions are costly and far from your place, then you got your answer. :)

 

[Ellipse]

Yes, the problem is the skill of the practitioner. Did the acupuncturist you saw used the Chinese pulse to evaluate the state of your body ?

About the pain when moving yourself it's normal, you can't move muscles with needles in. About the pain when twisting needles, I have mixed feelings but if I remember well, yes it cause a little pain but I believe it's used to have an heavy effect.

 

[hlat]

I intended to keep my third appointment next week when I started this post. I've considered the input and decided to not do any more acupuncture, at least for now. I will focus on researching which far infra red sauna to get, and the precise dosages of pills so I can start detoxing even before all my mercury fillings are removed.

Hearing that acupuncture is not supposed to be painful was a big factor in my decision.

I don't know what Chinese pulse is, so I don't think it was used to evaluate.

The dentist recommended acupuncture because of one tooth that he said is causing blockage in my meridian system, blocking my creativity, and radiating stress outward. His recommendation had nothing to do with detoxifying and was before removal of the mercury filling. No tooth removal, thank goodness!

 

[Ellipse]

The Chinese pulse is a method of reading the pulse on your wrist which make possible the scan of the body so the practitioner know what points to activate with the needles.

What is sure is that the placing of the needles is not painful if on the right spot but perhaps you was overstressed by the first seance. I think the problem is that it was your first ever acupuncture treatment and the practitioner didn't take that in account, doing the treatment in a harsh way from what you describe. Especially that you was already a bit on nerves due to tooth problem I guess.

 

[mada85]

I intended to keep my third appointment next week when I started this post. I've considered the input and decided to not do any more acupuncture, at least for now. I will focus on researching which far infra red sauna to get, and the precise dosages of pills so I can start detoxing even before all my mercury fillings are removed.

Detoxing before having amalgam fillings replaced is a losing battle. You may have seen this video which shows just how much mercury vapour is released from just one amalgam filling. Every little bit of mercury that is removed from your system is immediately replaced - at least until the amalgam fillings are removed.

I would suggest researching your detox protocol and preparing everything so you can start the process once your amalgams have been replaced.

 

[lilyalic]

There are a few psychological studies on the health and well being of individuals undergoing acupuncture... However I believe it entirely depends on the individual!
You should research on the internet the 'pros' and 'cons'
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/acupuncture-doesnt-work/

 

[Laura]

I've had a lot of very beneficial acupuncture done. Sometimes it takes a few treatments and a period of time before the benefits manifest. Sometimes they are subtle and other times, quite dramatic, depending on what is the pre-existing condition and the skill of the acupuncturist. The guy who worked on me came to my house. You might want to look for someone like that, who travels to the patients.

 

[hlat]

Well, taking in the additional input, I am confused whether to continue. So I think the wise course for now is to do further research before continuing. After all, I really didn't know why I was starting acupuncture besides the dentist saying it would help with my tooth meridian blockage, which I didn't understand.

It seems like sound logic to wait until all the mercury is removed before starting the pill detox method. I will need the time anyway to research and buy the exact protocol recommended by Psyche, and also to figure out the exact FIR sauna device to buy.

 

[Gaby]

It seems like sound logic to wait until all the mercury is removed before starting the pill detox method. I will need the time anyway to research and buy the exact protocol recommended by Psyche, and also to figure out the exact FIR sauna device to buy.

Hello hlat,

The protocol was extracted from Sidney Baker's Detoxification and Healing. He himself got it from the Autism Research Institute. I went through their files and it was very encouraging to see the reports and testimonials.

It is a protocol meant for children who have done gut healing which is important as a preparation to detox mercury. Supplements like taurine and melatonin help with anxiety side effects and the like. The rest are antioxidants, vitamins and sulfur containing nutrients for the detox: Alpha lipoic acid, selenium, zinc, NAC, vitamin E, B6. It is the DMSA the essential one to detox mercury, the rest are "helpers". I would choose at least the most important ones if I were unable to get them all: DMSA, ALA, NAC and perhaps get a multivitamin which contains the selenium, zinc, vitamins E and B6. Just an idea.

There is a thread in the forum on FIR where some members discussed where they got their FIR blanket.

Safe detox :)

 

[Mrs.Tigersoap]

After all, I really didn't know why I was starting acupuncture besides the dentist saying it would help with my tooth meridian blockage, which I didn't understand.

A blockage in a meridian is a symptom, not a cause. Chances are that by having the right diet, by detoxing, doing the EE and taking good care of your health, the blockage will dissolve by itself. You don't need to be working on the meridian to do that. If you still encounter problems after a while despite everything, then maybe it's time to see a dentist, an acupuncturist (or other professional of your choice).