Hi,

I’d never heard of GBS until I was diagnosed with it and acupuncture was not suggested as a treatment option.

I considered acupuncture a few years ago, but wasn’t sure if doing so would exacerbate the residual nerve damage.

Take care,

Tina

I did acupuncture a few weeks ago, about 2 months or so after my symptoms started. I am not sure that it helped much, other than being very relaxing. It was the first time my brain slowed down and I stopped thinking about the GBS so much. From a relaxation standpoint, I would recommend it. My coworker swears by it from a pain standpoint.

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

Hi, I tried acupuncture out of desperation once a week for 11 weeks and could not see any improvement. But my insurance did not cover it so I quit.

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]

Hello all,

I tryed acupuncture for 9 months, 2 times a month. At first I believed it worked for a few days with my nerve pain, but it may have been wishful thinking. I believe that you need a GREAT acupuncturist. Some of my sessions were better then others.

Take the rest of the day off,

Rob

I came to this site to see if anyone knew if Accupuncture helped or did nothing. I was unaware of the past discussions on this subject so I read with interest the different letters.

After reading those, I will save my money and ‘just say NO’ to all the people that tried to get me to try it. Their intentions were good, but thanks but no thanks.

Just wanted to say Thank YOU for all your input on this subject. I value YOUR stories and I’ll take our advice! Carol;)

When my health insurance dropped me, I had to find other modalities. I wish that I had chosen to try acupuncture sooner! For me, it has made an amazing difference. My acupuncturist has her degree and intigrates other complimentary practices, as well. (Besides, $130./mo beats the insurance premium of $865/mo plus $30. co-pays ~ it has since increased to over $1000/mo!)

Each of us is different even tho we have a similar disease process happening. What works for one won’t necessarily work for another. Yes, it takes time and $$’s to try other things. But remember, it is called “practicing medicine” for a reason. If at times you feel like a guinea pig ~ you are!!

I have found accupuncture to be very helpful in the past for many things. It’s worth looking into. Sometimes there are accupuncture schools that are looking for patients to work with (under supervision of course) for free. You might look into that as an option for you.
Take care,
Claire

I tried accupuncture for the pain in my back between my shoulders (GBS residual). It seemed to help, but only lasted a couple of days.

I’m all for alternative and complimentary medicine, but it’s not always the answer. Hope you have better luck with this for your pain.

Suzanne

I might give this a go to try and alleviate the pain in my legs.

Thanks
Debbie

I tried acupuncture for my GBS pain. My doctor told me that each person is different; especally when it comes to something like acupuncture. I talked with several neurologists before starting treatment. They all agreed that since my nervous system was damaged by GBS; they were not hopeful of any results I might get from any treatment.

I tried acupuncture as a last ditch effort to get my pain under control. If that is why you are seeking treatment, don’t let what I am about to tell you keep you from trying treatment.

I was pain free for six hours or so. My pain always returned after acupuncture.

I have had much better pain control via oxycodone with the addition of time. It has been a year and a half since the onset of my bout with GBS, and each day my pain gets a fraction better.

Please let me know how your treatments are going. If I can answer any other questions, just let me know.

Good Luck!

I tried it. I was hopeful. But it was so dang expensive and it didnt seem to be improving anything and the insurance didnt cover it. SO I stopped

It’s only temporary. Personally in my very humble opinion, I wouldn’t go off the meds. How familiar is he with CIDP, he might be giving you a line of BS.

Off subject a little, I have worked for Chiropractors and have listened to them give people lines of BS just to get their business. Had 1 tell me he could cure my spinal stenosis, there is no cure for it, only last resort would be surgery. I also had tried acupuncture and it didn’t work for me( my nerves are being compressed badly by the narrowing of my spinal canal.) I also have what the Drs said are the affects of having the Polio vaccine as a child. My symptoms or residauls are similar to GBS/CIDP.

So please be careful and make an informed decision. 🙂

I tried acupuncture once a week for half a year. She went for my immune system. Didn’t help a bit, just cost me a lot of money, so I would not recommend it:( . Didn’t make matters worse either, though.

I’m afraid I would not recommend acupuncture for relief of pain. I found it to be terribly painful. When your nerves are uncovered and a needle is stuck through it…it feels like a bolt of electricity shooting through your body. The pain goes away and slight relief of tightness in the extremeties follows, however, it only lasts about 2 hours. Too painful and expensive. I would suggest taking your meds, resting, and exercising.

Wishing you well….:)