Acupuncture for my mum

[A_son_unique]

Hi

My Mum is 69 and has suffered from arthritis now since she was younger but it seems that now with age it is starting to get the better of her including affecting her lower back and her hip which is another problem all together. I've been trying to convince her that Acupuncture could be a good treatment for her to try but she is like many mums a tough nut to crack and she just cannot see how some needles being inserted to various point in her body is going to do anything more then just sting.

Has anyone here over 65 had acupuncture for this condition and did it help If so for how long and does it interfere with any tablet prescriptions? Anyone else who can speak up please do as I'm going to let her read comments left by people to help try and persuade her more.

Many thanks

Alex

[David- Maldon]

Hi Alex

I regularly treat people with backpain, both chronic and acute, with what seems like a good deal of success, especially when considering that acupuncture is often last on somebody's list of things to try, meaning that by the time they get to me most of the other therapies that they've tried have failed to give lasting results.

There are many reasons why acupuncture works well, and the healing processes are now well understood from a western scientific perspective, leading to acupuncture now being delivered by GP's and physiotherapists, although I'd recommend seeking out someone with a full training, as western medical acupuncture is learned in only four days.

Many folk get a full resolution from their pain; others may need occasional top up treatments. Personally I'd explore every avenue available before I let a surgeon near my spine, as I've seen to many people with "failed back syndrome".

David

[gillypompom]

Hi Alex

I am 61 and have had acupuncture for a variety of things over my lifetime, from stopping smoking to arthritis and it has worked every time for me. I did have an arthroscopy a couple of years back on my knee which is where the arthritis has taken hold (due to me falling down stairs and fracturing my kneecap, about 10 years ago, without even knowing it!).

About a year ago the pain returned and the consultant started me on drugs. They made me feel so bad he changed them but they were just as bad so I stopped them.

As well as acupuncture I walk a fair bit about 4 times a week - that helps counter sitting at a desk all day at work - but I also visited my local health food shop where the very knowledgable owner recommended serrapeptase. I started at maximum dose 3 tabs 3 times a day and am now down to 1 tab once a day. I have been pain free for a few months now. That could perhaps help your mum? I would definitely recommend acupuncture though. As for it interfering with prescription drugs I don't know for sure as I don't take any but I would like to think that it wouldn't.

Hope this helps in some way

Gill

[David- Maldon]

Acupuncture is unlikely to interfere with medication, however it can sometimes temporarily lower blood sugar levels making folk feel woozy, so diabetics may need a snack before treatments.

People on blood thinning medication may bruise more easily, so practitioners must be made aware prior to treatment, as internal bleeding can be problematic in certain regions.

Apart from that, acupuncture is safe to use with medication

It's nice to hear Gilly's postitive responses from her acupuncture treatment.

[A_son_unique]

Hi guys

I spoke with my mum yesterday and on advce from her doctor who said that it will unlikely have any effect because it is in her joints, is that a fair assessment or is it a brush off do you thnk?

I know a great Chinese doctor in Plymouth where I live and am confident he could treat my mum properly, i've had acupuncture with him a few times for various things and I can say for the physical ailments it has worked 100% and theres no reason why it cant be the same for hers but according to her doctor the arthritis is kind of 'hardwired' into her system making any potential treatment seem pointless?

What is your opinion on his prognosis David are there different forms of arthritis, are some less treatable then others?

Gill do you mind me asking did your arthritis come from your fall or is it something you've lived with and how effective and long lasting was the acupuncture in treating you and also how did it help for smoking because when I was treated for the same apart from feeling a bit nautious when I smoked it didn't really feel like it worked. How did it work for you?

[gillypompom]

Hi Alex

It's a brush off, trust me. I have worked in the NHS for 26 years (alongside doing my therapies) and there are GP's who will refer patients to me and others that want me and my ilk burned at the stake for witchcraft! Any potential treatment is not pointless - does the doctor include surgical/medical intervention in that blanket statement?

My arthritis started, apparently, when I damaged my knee and didn't go to A&E because there was no pain or swelling (and it was a Friday evening) but as my mother has it I may have developed it anyway, although I don't necessarily believe that line of thought. Some years later I was experiencing a locking of the knee after sitting for hours in lectures. I was doing a uni course as a mature student and my anatomy and biomechanics tutor noticed I was limping. On x-raying it my GP noticed I had an old fracture that had healed badly. It was my GP who suggested acupuncture which I had every month for a few months. It worked for years even though the knee was wearing away. That's when I tried the arthroscopy.

I had the acupuncture for smoking probably about 20 years ago, again recommended by my then GP and he actually carried it out. A small needle was inserted in my ear and all I had to do was wiggle it (the needle, not my ear) when I felt the need for a cigarette. It was probably for about 6 weeks.

I have also remembered I had acupuncture for migraine as well. That was about 30 years ago so I can't really remember much about that except that it worked.

Gill

[A_son_unique]

Maybe I just need to buy her a session sometime and let her see what its all about, its just difficult with my mum because she has lived with it for so long she feels that its normal to put up with discomfort and get on with life plus its really difficult to convince her that it'll help.

Would you say the acupuncture you had for smoking worked then? Did it take the craving away all togerther every time you twiddled the needle? I would be interested to see how it helped because i've relied on will power which is something that takes time to build up and until the moment arrives when i'm ready its a futile attempt that doesn't go anywhere, i could do with a different approach to this as I know i dont want to smoke anymore and have given up 3 times in the last 2 years for periods of about 3 months each time but again each time when i have finished the course of patches the addiction finds a way back in to my system and then its game over lol

[gillypompom]

That's probably the best solution for your mum. She may change her mind in her own time or she may not - that's her choice and I say that in the nicest possible way. As one gets older discomfort in one way or another does seems to be part of the ageing process. Or so we are led to believe by popular media.

Yes, I would say it worked for me regarding smoking by taking the craving away although a couple of years ago I started smoking again (bad time in my life). I tried the patches last year but I too didn't have success with them for longer than about 3 or 4 months. I was going to see the practice nurse at my GP surgery and found all the stupid talk about the nicotine receptors running around my brain a little silly and imagining them sitting around waiting for me to start smoking a cigarette just too freaky. I did it this time by going cold turkey. No visons of little nicotine receptors lazing around this time. Tough, but worth it. Try the acupuncture for stopping smoking, you have nothing to lose and perhaps everything to gain.