Posted by ~Alii~ on March 21, 2003, at 10:19:25
In reply to Re: Acupuncture for depression » ~Alii~, posted by michael on March 20, 2003, at 23:15:22
Hi Alii -
Thanks for your feedback and for taking the time to relpy. I'm going to take you up on your offer to ask some more specific questions (hope you don't regret it). If you have the time, energy, patience, etc. for them, here they are:
>>How long have you been getting Acupuncture?
Since 1992. Not regularly but that is when I began getting treated with acu for different ailments.>>When you originally sought out Acupuncture, was it specifically to treat depression [as opposed to headaches, etc.]?
I originally went for endometrial pain and excessive menstral bleeding that ob/gyns just wanted to keep throwing estrogen birth control pills on me to control that. The acu quickly stopped the pain within a matter of weeks and the nasty herb teas I boiled up and drank seemed to help (nourish/support as in the philosophy of Traditional Chinese Medicine TCM). Over the years I’ve gone during allergy season for me, for a back injury….not to fix it but just to support it while I was doing physical therapy, for colds they can help, lots of different reasons to go but I don’t run to acu for every little thing…..this is just a list of the top of my head t rying to think back to why I’ve gone in the past.>>Regarding the frequency of treatments/visits - it sounds like you're currently shooting for twice weekly.
>>Were the visits more frequent in the beginning?
No, just as I can afford and schedule them. If I could go three times a week right now I would. Sometimes it becomes just another thing I have to do to ‘stay well’ and I resent it just like going to the pdoc and pharmacy. Even though acu is the one thing that is almost guaranteed to bring me relief within minutes and last anywhere from a few hours to a couple days.>>Do you expect that you'll need to maintain that frequency in order to continue to benefit?
Only currently due to therapy and my recent ending of a six year relationship and some serious health issues suddenly I am needing/wanting acu at least twice a week just to function.>>Or do you anticipate that you might be able to scale back the frequency in the future?
[Do the benefits seem to fade/wear off between visits?]
I don’t believe I will always need/want such frequent visits. Weekly or every other week as maintenence would be nice.
The benefits aren’t lasting as long as they sometimes do and that is probably because of the issues I listed above. For me the cognitive clarity that acu returns to me is reason enough to want as much as possible so I can act like a semi normal human out there in the world and deal.>> How long did it take for you to notice any benefits from Acupuncture, when you first tried it?
[Do you know if one typically needs to give it "X" amount of time (e.g.: typically 6 - 8 weeks w/meds) before determining that it is, or is not helping?]
The very first acupuncture treatment I had years back for endometrial pain worked within weeks…….along with the herbs. So it wasn’t immediate. But there are spots now I know to acupressure when I have a headache or am nauseous and can stop those things just by pressing a couple of points on my body. Cool, eh?>>I gather from what you said above, that Acupuncture doesn't relieve all of your symptoms, (since you're using meds too) but that Acupuncture does seem to help you, or provide some additional benefits.
>>Am I correct in inferring that Acupuncture by itself, (i.e.: w/o taking meds) is not enough to allow you to, as you put it "… feel like 'me' again (the undepressed unfogged me)...”
[Have you ever had a chance to try it w/o the meds?]
For my diagnosis acupuncture alone would NOT cut it as far as keeping me balanced and alive. Wish but not realistic.>>Can I ask what your current cocktail is, & what symptoms (?diagnosis?) it's trying to address?
Current cocktail: Wellbutrin 100sr 2x/day, Buproprion 75 mg p.m., Buspirone 30 mg 2x/day, Clonazepam 1 mg 4x/day or as needed. Plus a variety of Chinese Patent formulas. Major depression and ptsd.>>Does Acupuncture address/help specific aspects or symptoms of your depression?
[e.g.: mood, fatigue, energy, motivation, concentration, etc.]
Acupuncture absolutely helps sleep and energy. I think of it as an energy metabolizer. I go into a treatment with my energy/moods/emotions all over the fucking place and they figure out how to help harness/release/move/support that energy that is stuck or flying around my body. Does that make sense? Acu can definitely target specific symptoms of the depression and I go most frequently for helping to tolerate my western pills which do a number on my g.i. tract. The sleep and anxiety things are helped by the needling as well.>> Does Acupuncture target/help certain elements more successfully than meds do for you?
[Or would you say that the relaxation that you mentioned experiencing, is the primary benefit that you get?]
Acupuncture would be my only treatment if I lived in a perfect world. I find it so amazingly helpful that I wish I never had to swallow another expensive pharm.company pill and just use needles to control my depression. Sigh. The benefits I receive differ from treatment to treatment depending on my moods and who is treating me. Each person has their own style and some mesh well with me and I have great treatments with them and others are just interns who aren’t very high on the personality scale nor good with their technique. But I go knowing this as it it a teaching clinic at the local college and due to my financial situation I have little choice but to be a guinnea pig.>>How does Acupuncture help you w/ side effects from the meds, & what side effects does it help?
Mostly the nausea from the meds and with helping lower anxiety or even helping to stop the cycling thoughts when my brain is like a snoglobe. They help quiet things back down.>>Any side effects from Acupuncture itself (positive or negative)?
Sure. Sometimes I leave spacey and wacked out worse than any benzo has made me. I attribute this to the energy stagnation being moved around similar to sometimes being ill after a good deep massage and hot tub and sauna. Detoxing. Sometimes the treatments can have a detox effect and I’ll have hot/cold sweats all night long after a treatment.Plus sides? Sometimes I walk out of there a new woman. Feeling like me again without the negativity or deep sadness or the other crap that depression tosses in my path daily for me to contend with. I get mental clarity and think like a normal person and don’t have such distortion to my thought process as I usually do.
>>Thanks again. Sorry for the length – I haven't found much to read on this topic yet. Hope it’s not too disorganized, redundant, long, etc.
>>michaelHope you gain some info from the novella I’ve written back atcha.
Namaste,
Alii
poster:~Alii~
thread:210603
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030319/msgs/211150.html