I have been having pain in my hands and feet for some time now. It is getting worse and pain pills are not working as well. My neurologist has tried everything and the latest is epidurals in my neck, possible problem from the neck. He suggested trying acupuncture. He sent me to a neurologist that does acupuncture. I went for my consultation and he seems to think that he can help with the pain. Like he says, he can not cure my disease, but he can give me a better quality of life. I now have very severe pain and I am at my end of the rope with the pain. The only problem is that he is booked till October, so I will go along with pills till then. Try to find one that is also a medical doctor if you can and read up on it and about Qi (Chee).
Clare in Michigan

Hi, i tried acupuncture for 20 mins each session for 2 weeks . No improvement but it might work for someone else.

I think acupuncture has helped my recovery in my quest to run. I have been given cold laser at the same time. I was willing to try anything because the doctors know very little.

Jaymes

[FONT=”Comic Sans MS”][SIZE=”2″]Hi Udaman,
I did a little search and came across an article on Medscape regarding managing neuropathic pain and it’s a really long article with just a short mention of Alternative or Holistic treatments by Chas. Argoff, MD;

Nonpharmacologic Options

There are certainly many nonmedical options. This presentation is not long enough to go through each of these in enough detail, but never discount the use of biofeedback or relaxation therapy. Certainly physical and occupational therapies are key in providing people with the ability to improve from a functional point of view. Cognitive/behavioral strategies, of which biofeedback and relaxation therapy may be considered a type, but also including meditation and guided imagery can all be incorporated. It’s in some ways up to us to utilize these and incorporate them early on.

As an aside, it’s been my experience that sometimes these nonmedical approaches are only utilized when patients have failed interventional or other medical strategies. That’s probably, in my opinion and I think others, not the best way of incorporating these type of strategies into our treatment.

Acupuncture and the use of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) are other options. Certainly acupuncture is well established as a treatment of pain. However studies linking regular treatment with acupuncture with long-lasting pain relief in chronic neuropathic pain are lacking. Unfortunately acupuncture, while helpful, is only likely to provide a person with temporary relief. I’m not saying it’s not helpful, but the treatment limitations need to be considered as well.

The use of TENS units can also be utilized using the patient’s own nervous system to facilitate release of endorphins that are natural, opiate-type substances which reducepain . These units also help to facilitate nonpainful nerve stimulation, which is experienced by the individual in place of the painful input.

Now, although we generally try to utilize the least invasive to most invasive approach to pain management, there are times when using an interventional approach first or concurrent with medical therapy would be appropriate.For example, when someone presents with such severe pain in the setting of acute herpetic neuralgia, acute shingles, that isn’t responding to initial oral or transdermal or topical attempts of treatment, it may be appropriate to perform nerve blocks and other interventional approaches early on to prevent or reduce the risk of developing long-termpain. That’s an important point.

It’s not much, but if you search the forums for acupuncture, you’ll find several threads in which it’s discussed, hope this is helpful,
Best wishes
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I have never tried it myself, but there have been many posts on this same topic the past 5 years. The general concensus is that it might feel good that same day, but the results do not last, Personally, I would save my money. Here is just one link I called up from our members on this subject…

[url]http://www.gbs-cidp.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2221&highlight=acupuncture[/url]

I tried a six-week course of acupuncture two years ago. After each session the result was the same: I walked out of the room feeling much better, but unfortunately the following morning I was back where I was the day before. I have no reason to believe that acupuncture is not helpful for certain problems (after all the Chinese have been using it for thousands of years), but my experience is that it is of no use with GBS. I am not a medical person, but what I think may have happened is that the use of the needles temporarily energised the nerves and muscles, giving me a brief, but transitory feeling of improvement.

Hi,

I tried it for a while and it made me very relaxed after quite a number of needles were used on my body. The second time, I went to a clinic that specialized in neurological problems in Portland, Oregon. Again, I could not tell if I experienced any improvement but I had to move after only two sessions. They recommended taking Coenzyme Q10 and lots of supplements.

We are complicated and unique individuals and I was willing to try anything.:o