Can Acupuncture be a cause?

Pat let me first say I am so sorry to hear about your sister. Its so difficult to lose a loved one.

GBS and CIDP is supposed to be non hereditary so acupuncture should not be an issue.

Hi Pat, I’m Very Sorry about your Sister.
I know of no known cases from accupuncture. Actually I have heard of gbs/cidp patients using accupuncture to help control pain. I would check with your dr, tell him/her of your concerns. Take Care.

Hi Pat! So sorry to hear about your sister! Accupuncture has been around for hundreds of years. And it is used in so many illness’s and used quite often for pain. I know a few people that get these treatments and they do great getting them. Me! I hate needles and just can’t get the nerve to try it out. But so far what I have heard. Accupuncture really has not caused to many problems in the medical field. But this is an old Chinese medicine that has been practiced a very long time.
It is too making a comeback into the medical field. I don’t think there is any harm to having that. A vaccination on the other hand I would not reccomend. It is scary after loosing a sister that had GBS and it gives you a fear of catching it also. Being alert to it though is a good thing. At least you may be able to protect yourself from getting it!
I wish you my best and give you my deepest sympathy over the loss of your sister! Hugs
Linda H

Pat, I am sorry that you lost your sister. I know that she appreciated all that you did for her.

I have been doing acupuncture regularly for the past 3 years. It has been my saving grace! I am unable to get health insurance so I found this is the way to go – for me. My practitioner is on baby leave so I’ll just do massage therapy for the next several weeks. I only do acupuncture 2 times a month. Remember that there are lots of complimentary practices out there and everything is not for everybody. You’ll just have to give it a few tries.

FYI ~ only go to a practitioner that uses disposable needles. They are very fine, like a hair, and most of the time, you won’t even know that one has been inserted. If you do feel it, most likely it’s a blockage in your system that needs to be released and that will do it! I get a good rest during that time and have even fallen asleep several times. I hope it goes well for you 🙂

Hmm! I wonder if this procedure is covered by insurance. I would be willing to try it out as a pain management procedure. I get terrible migraines. And have pain in one area that always drives me nuts. Wonder if it would help those with Fibro? Happy Thanksgiving Pat!

Hi Pat, I am so sorry to hear about your sister. I have a sister that has been doing acupuncture for 15 yrs and she has had great response from doing this. She has it done 3 days every week and does it faithfully to make her feel better. She was diagnosed with MS about 18 years ago and then told about 10 years ago that she was misdiagnosed. Since then she has not gone back to a western doctor. She only will do Eastern Medicine and Eastern ways with helping her. But no her insurance doesn’t cover her acupuncture. I am scared of needles being stuck in me and having it left there for awhile. But if you can do it and you think that it can help with your ailments I think you should try it.

Pat, I join in in stating condolences for the loss of your sister.

Regarding the acupuncture, I have never tried it, so I cannot address this personally. Also it is important to say that no one truly yet understands what causes GBS/CIDP and that there likely are several causes–differences in different people. Having said this, it may be important to point out differences in surgery and accupuncture. I have heard and read that people are concerned about people having a risk of GBS/CIDP after surgery because in surgery the cutting process cuts through nerves and exposes parts of the myelin sheath that otherwise would be nicely wrapped up around nerves and separated from the blood and immune system. This makes some sense to me–that “susceptible” people might have a strong immune response to these normally protected “antigens” that then leads to further immune damage at other places. Acupuncture uses really tiny needle in (as I understand it) carefully selected places so there are a whole lot less risk of the damaging nerves as the skinny flexible needles tend to push tough nerves out of the way (whereas scapels just cut through). There is a difference. I cannot address whether acupuncture works or even if it is safe, but maybe thinking about this will help emphasize the differences in this and surgery and why acupuncture is likely to be a lot safer than surgery.
WithHope for a cure of these diseases and an understanding as to what causes them so they can be prevented.