PAIN MANAGEMENT

[Roy902]

Has anyone ever tried Acupunture as a treament;  I have a appt. on the 15th of April - I am just curious if there is anyone how has tried this form for Chiari of pinched nerves.

[Roy902]

Thanks for your reply, I have done the steriod in the back a little over two years ago, turning point.  I had back surgery, steriod injection in the back on the neck - I now
feel very light headed and odd in a way.  No relief in pain what so ever; if anyhting it has made things worse.

I will be cautious of the neck area and talk to the doc prior to the experience it self.  I am game for about anything in treatments - I am at this point in this area; at times it feels like what can be done.  Dr. Oro says things are not all that good, but not bad enough for surgery or further evaluations at his clinic.  IT came from one of the best in the country, so i just have to put on my BIG BOY pant on and work through the day.  

  The best relief is through sketching and drawing things - it puts me into another world.  I used to run 7 to 8 miles a day while in the army; it was a stress relievier and put me in another world of all its own.  I can no longer run, or jog and walking at times can be a challenge, my balance it not all that good sometimes.  I went and bought some acrylic paints and need to but as easel & boards so to speak.  I cannot wait to go out in the spring around some of the area lakes and try some outside stuff.  I love being around the water and jsut watching it.  

  I used to be an avid fishermen - but after the back surgery and the healing process I have been staying away from it.  I think it will be boat fishing from here on perhaps - the next best thing will be3 out  there watching other people fishing and enjoying the water.  WE will see how it all wokrs out.


  Once again thanks for all the replys - they are so much help...


Roy        

[marileew]

I have tried acupuncture for headaches and it really helped to reduce the frequency of headaches... BUT I found that getting needles in my neck REALLY triggered extreme headaches and nausea and a lot of other bad feelings even though this is where a lot of the areas for headache treatment actually are located for acupuncture.

I also get trigger point shots... like nerve block things, with needles full of medication, at my GPs office... and I found that getting them done in my neck really triggered terrible headaches and nausea ... but all the other trigger points (on my back, etc) relieve pain and do not make me feel sick or make me hurt at all. Just like with the Chinese acupuncture.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this has something to do with the Chiari... mainly for the reason that I have chiari and other non-chiari migraine sufferers I've talked to haven't shared the same experience of needles in neck equaling extreme illness and lasting pain. Also... when talking to my headache doctor about botox injections for migraines he said he absolutely would not consider doing them except for a few points on my face because I have chiari... and the reason why was because he did not want to mess with needles and freezing in my neck because he thought it would make the chiari a whole lot worse....

so with all this completely un-scientific evidence of piecing together little bits of unrelated information, I have come to the conclusion that my chiari has something to do with needles in my neck equaling very bad news.

BUT... needles everywhere else... very good news!

Anyway... totally unscientific and only my experience and probably not actually related to the chiari at all... probably just my overly sensitive neck. BUT, just thought I'd throw that out there in case you feel really horrible after the acupuncture... like in a feeling like you can't move and you think you're going to vomit and you think someone maybe just beat you up... well, then, maybe you can try it one more time but tell them that they absolutely can not touch your neck or the back of your head what so ever and you don't care if it's part of the treatment because you have a medical condition that prevents it and they'll just have to work around that.

But... you probably won't experience any weird side effects the first time if you let them touch your neck and back of your head... because one isolated event and a crazy theory pieced together with little bits of unrelated information isn't very good information to rely on... well, unless there are any other chiari people out there who have had the same experience as me?

But yeah... over-all... I would highly recommend acupuncture for chronic pain or to reduce the number of acute pain attacks.... it takes a while for it to work though and can become costly... so check with your health plan first to make sure they cover it!! Some health plans don't!!

[selmaS]

Hi...I have not, but a friend that has chiari and many other related conditions has used it.She claims that u do need  a chinese acupunturist for the best results.I know she tried several ones until she found one in NY and has had great results.

Good luck and please let us know how this works for u.

"selma"