acupuncture

[heiwalove]

i'll ask this here.
has anyone had experience with acupuncture/chinese herbs for their IC?

[MeganAnne]

Hello! I have. Let's see, after seeing two conventional doctors who didn't know what was wrong with me (including one urologist), I decided to see an acupuncturist. I saw her once a week for about 6 weeks and now I go once a month. I truly did notice an improvement since I started going, but there may be other factors. She also had me on the eight righteous tea pill blend of herbs. I thought that was part of what was helping me, but I ran out a few weeks ago and haven't bought any more and haven't noticed much difference. She also told me to do a castor oil pack treatment, which is actually mentioned in the IC handbook. I still do that every night I can, and it feels great.

The first time I went to acupuncture, I was really nervous. I don't like needles. I guess not many people do. :) In fact, when the needles first went in, everything was kind of spinning for me. But the next few times I was able to relax more and more. The needles are so small and go in so lightly, once they are in (and it feels like a pin prick going in) you barely notice they are there. I nap during most sessions now.

I say if you decide to go for it, keep with it for a few weeks. It took me a while to see results. Good luck!

[blue]

What is the castor oil pack treatment?

[MeganAnne]

Hi! I found the link again on the ICN site http://ic-network.com/handbook/herbs.html

It reads:

Castor Oil Packs: "Castor Oil (cold pressed) and four pieces of wool or cotton flannel, cut large enough to fit over the bladder/pelvic area. Layer the flannel and pour castor oil into the center until well saturated. Lay this directly onto the skin so that it covers the bladder area. Cover the cloth with a plastic bag and than with a heat source, such as a heating pad. Leave on as long as desired but at least 30 minutes. These compresses should not be used during menses. After removing the pack, wash the skin with a solution of 1 tsp. baking soda to 1 pt. water to wash off the oil. The flannel pack can be stored in refrigerator and reused up to 20 to 30 times."(1)


This is exactly what I do, except I don't really wash the skin afterwards. My acupuncturist also says you can rub the castor oil right in, but it doesn't absorb as well (hence the heating pad). Make sure you wrap yourself in a towel. All my sheets are stained with castor oil! But it's worth it. Let me know if you try it, and if you do, stick with it for a few weeks. It takes time. :) GOOD LUCK!!!!!!! Oh, one more thing. You can get the castor oil at any natural food stores and for flannel, I just cut up an old sheet but I just checked out our fabric store and it's pretty cheap by the yard.

[blue]

Wow, thanks for all the information!

[Katrina]

I gave a link of info on self accupuncture here in one of the posts. There is also info on herbs.

[blue]

I wasn't able to open the information you provided us. Do you have it in another format?

[PikkuMyy]

I had my first remission for many many months due to acupuncture (Thank God for Dr. Tsao!) But since I moved here to CA, I haven't been able to see him (Duh - he's in NYC) and had gotten much worse. If you find the right doctor, it can really help. My Dr. put the needles right at the base of my tailbone, where the nerves go from the bladder to the brain - with the current going just like a TENS unit. I also got very spinny some of the times - that's the adrenaline kicking in and all of the pain relief going on. The only other time I'v had that feeling was from taking morphine tablets on an empty stomach. (WHEW!)

[Ginny]

I tried Accupressure with Chinese herbs. It was the only thing that ever helped me.
Accupunture did nothing.

Ginny