I need your opinions on acupuncture?
I take care of an 89 year old man who recently was told he should see an acupuncturist for his gastrointestinal discomfort. He has a gastrointerologist, and has had every test available to find something wrong. They can’t find anything.
I think acupuncture is a bunch of bunk! I get tired of all the various people in his life play doctor and sending him to various alternative situations. It is a waste of time.
Sometimes depression/stress can cause stomach problems, but the medicines they give you causes you him to feel dopie and tired. He hates it.
Tell me what you think of acupuncture for intestinal discomfort.
Tagged with: Acupuncture • need • opinions
Filed under: Acupuncture Stress
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I’m not sure about acupuncture for this specific problem but I can tell you something. My mother in law and I both have a syndrome called Fibromyaglia. We hurt everywhere almost constantly as a result of overactive nerves. Pain meds either help for short periods, just barely take the pain off, or don’t work at all. She decided to do acupuncture and she loved it. She wasn’t in quite as much pain, and she said you cannot even feel the needles. I have yet to try this but I’m just letting you know our experience with it.
I apologize in advance for those I am about to make angry!
There is no scientific evidence that supports the clinical effectiveness of accupunture for treating any medical condition. Personally, I think it’s a bunch of woo and am depressed by the number of “professionals” who endorse it.
That being said, there is sound clinical evidence that the placebo effect can be effective for treating many conditions, especially those related to stress, anxiety or depression. People are often put off by this notion, feeling that the implication is that whatever is bothering them physically is “all in their head”. Instead, I feel it’s strong support for the connection between our minds and our bodies. The fact that pain has psychogenic factors contributing to it does NOT make the pain less real.
If medical evaluation has failed to find a concrete cause of this man’s discomfort, why not try it? It’s unlikely to cause any harm, and if it brings him relief, that relief is real, even if it is predicated upon the placebo effect.
Unlike zeldaslexicon, I offer no apologies for my opinion on acupuncture. I agree with you that it is bunk. It has been studied to death !! The best that has ever been shown…out of hundreds of trials, thousands of victims…er…patients….is that it MAY have some effect on mild to moderate pain or nausea. These are both highly subjective symptoms very amenable to suggestion, expectation and the placebo response.
Acupuncture has an implausible mechanism, and there is no evidence for the existence of qi or chakra points. There is no anatomical differences found at the traditional meridian points. Acupuncture has never been shown to affect the outcome of any sort on any disease, illness or injury…ever.
What has emerged as acupuncture studies have become more rigorous, is that any evidence of a positive effect diminishes into the background noise.
Science Based Medicine blog has done numerous articles on acupuncture, and well worth a look if you are interested in topic.
Zelda and Skep have both put excellent answers.
If you think he may be susceptible to the placebo effect, then one session may have benefits, especially as he’s (hopefully) under the care of a specialist.
If he’s not responded to other placebo treatments then there’s no real reason why this would work any better though.
Acupuncture is just barely useful for treating back pain.
It won’t do SQUAT for gastrointestinal pain.
Look up an expert in the field and see if they can help him instead of a BS acupuncturist.
It might help.
Just try to find a good acupuncturist. If you can find an old chinese one who is also busy with meditation and taiji, you may have chance to have found a solution.
You might also find good Western ones, but beware if they just studied it to know something more. Like some physiotherapists that study osteopathy. If they are not passionate about the subject, or not talented in feeling and seeing, you’d better not try them, because it’s simply not about mental knowledge, but some of the medicals here simply don’t understand that yet.
You may also listen to the skepps that are very obscure in defining healing and placebo, it’s just your choice. I think there are competent people in both categories, you just need to be lucky to find one.
Good luck with your finding.
funny you should ask- I JUST POSTED MY QUESTION ON YAHOO ABOUT ACUPUNCTURE,
here’s my story
in taiwan i did acupuncture treatment and took herbal medicine for my insomnia. it helped me calm down. it didnt necessarily help me sleep any better, now im back in america and taking a higher dosage of herbal medicine for sleep, the thing about this type of treatment is that its safe, but slow. its not dangerous and quick like taking drugs for sleep. the doctor told me that treatment has to be consistent and that it may take 2-3 months or half a year to show recovery signs and its true, herbs take longer to treat illnesses and conditions. what do you think? have u done acupuncture and found it beneficial for your health? the doctor would insert 10-15 needles each time for helping me with my sleep and there was also a massage therapist. usually you lay there with the needles inside you for 20 minutes but since i have severe insomnia, sometimes i laid there for 30minutes or 35minutes
p.s. i also heard a lady tell me that she also did acupuncture and took herbal medicine to treat her arthritis and it took her a year and a half of consistent treatment for her to get well.