Search Results for 'acupuncture'

[Martin Reed]

You might find this discussion helpful:

http://www.insomnialand.com/topic/413-accupuncture-is-it-a-valid-remedy/

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If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.

The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

[ycipressi]

I have tried so many Tx with questionably results. As I have posted before I am now using Marijuana for sleep. I use a tincture that I take when I am in bed and fall asleep in about 15 minutes. I get up once to take the trip to the little room. I go right back to sleep. I wake feeling refreshed and not the stiff soreness that I once had. I don't notice the restless legs that once plagued me. The neck and arm pain is better; I use a topical on my arm and leg for pain relief. I do not know if you can obtain it where you live or if it something that you would want to do. I finaly got fed up with everything else and wanted relief. I got it!

Yvonne

[PattyPod]

Has anyone tried anything that really works! I quests if they did they would not be on this forum!!

[ycipressi]

To fellow insomniacs, yes I tried accupunture. It worked well for pain but not for the insomnia. My accupuncturist said it took time. I was drinking a vile tasting tea that almost made me nauseous. But after a few months I gave up on the treatment.

Yvonne

[PattyPod]

Has anyone tried acupuncture for insomnia??

[lisajane.7]

Hi,

I've never tried acupuncture or hypnosis, but I had a course of massage and reflexology and it did take away some of the stresses and calm me down, but obviously that wasn't a help cuz It was durinb the day and i needed the therepy at bedtime! Lol

I also tried Http and My sleep and anxiety did not improve. So that just made a big hole in my purse!

Sorry not much help from me:(

But karting is doing a lot if research and they are really interesting!! Have a read. And try the training programme too. It's very enlightening and getting an email every night makes you feel less alone!!

Lisa 🙂

[wonderhussy]

I tried acupuncture for about 6 weeks once…and it did absolutely nothing for me but drain my wallet. Not recommended. I found it suspiciously hokey and unscientific…maybe it's one of those things where if you WANT it to work, and believe it will work….it works. But it didn't work for me.

I had moderate success with SleepTracks…when used religiously as part of a cognitive behavioral therapy regime. I still use the tracks on occasion for afternoon “naps” (they don't really help me fall asleep…just sort of mellow me out). But when I was using them religiously, along with all the other CBT crap, I experienced moderate success.

[mlight]

so far im not having good results with anything…

im ready to try alternatives solutions. im thinking about trying hypnosis, anyone has any experience with that?

i am also thinking about acupuncture, if anyone has something to share about that, it would be great.

thank you everyone

[stillawake]

I have been an insomniac since the birth of my son 23 years ago, those sleepless nights with a new baby was the trigger. I have tried herbal remedies, acupuncture, homeopathy, aromatherapy, hot baths, hot milk etc but nothing seems to work for long. I am currently on a really bad phase feeling really rough and unable to go to work as I am not safe to drive and can't get public transport. As I have only recently started my job I am worried about losing it. Now the sleeping tablets are not working making me feel even worse. Always looking for new things to try and really glad to find people who understand, as I don't bother telling people who can sleep as they don't have a clue about what we insomniacs go through. Hoping to share tips, not that anything seems to work, but everyone is different!

[dutchsailor]

'Martin' wrote:

Welcome to the forums, Fred – it's always encouraging when 'insomnia veterans' join us to share their experience and expertise! I briefly covered the Sleepwave on the Insomnia Land blog in July 2010:

http://www.insomnial…ep-like-a-baby/

That being said, I am glad you mentioned it as it prompted Bob to share his experience with the product – I think unbiased, real reviews are extremely hard to come by these days, so now I think we at least have a taste of how it worked for at least one genuine insomniac.

Are you still actively sailing? What kind of medical advice or non-pharma techniques have you tried to combat your insomnia? Has anything proved to be effective, even minimally?

Hi Martin,

Yes, I am still actively sailing, except that my boat has been in maintenance for quite a while now (osmosis). I plan to have it back in the water by May.

You're asking what I have tried so far? Be prepared for a long list …. In terms of therapeutic approaches:

– Hypno-therapy and autogenic training (to relax)

– Acupuncture, Iridology and homeopathy, Total Body Modification

– Transcendental meditation and yoga

– All known home remedies, including CD with calming sea or forest sounds

– Sleeping Training, Sleep deprivation, Phase Shift

– Convential Psy Therapy while improving sleep hygiene

– 3 months strict regularity (Chopra book): 22.30 hours in, 7.00 am out, no evening work, instead after 20.00. only pure relaxing activity, eg evening sauna visit

– Foot massage and chinese herbs

– Very strict diet for five months for supposed Leaking Gut Syndrome: gluten free, lactose free, no caffeine, etc

– EMDR (for re-processing traumatic experience)

Meanwhile, I also had several sleep registrations, which confirmed that there is no physical cause in my case; also that my first 3-4 hours of sleep are of very good quality. .

The above list of tried therapies is long, because I really did not want to give in to medication, that being a very temporarily solution as we all know. However, none of all this has done a thing for my sleeping problem. We have to realise though that that is quite exceptional, since many of these things would surely help other people.

So, I the end I had to fall back on medication. Over time I have been using:

– 5 mg Halcion (long ago)

– Tryptophan & Melatonin (natural substances, short experiments, no effect)

– Flurazepam and Temazapam (these worked for a while)

– Seroxat (during 3 months, no effect at all, also no negative effects when stopped)

– Zolpidem (Stilnoc) 10 mg, taken immediately after waking up around 3.00 / 4.00 am, up to five working days per week (to prevent eroding effectiveness; this did the job quite well; but of course the two weekend days were a nasty contrast)

– Zolpidem 5 mg seven days a week, immediately after awakening, combined with two : ahead of going to sleep a dose of 80mg 5-http and melatonin 5mg (this combi has worked reasonably well for five years or so)

– attempt to replace the Zopidem by the natural Passion Flora, did nothing for me

– attempt to change Zolpidem for Temazepan (10 mg), to see whether this works better after the Zolpidem no longer did the job. No effect on me at all.

[url=””]Undo edits[/url]So, now I am back to square zero and in search for a fresh approach. I might try the Sleepwave, if I can lay my hands on one. Why not? But otherwise, the only sustainable option seems to be to sleep in two shifts (which works very well for me). In this respect, I find the publications telling that this is the traditional, natural sleeping pattern for human beings a great disdcovery. The serious challenge of course being: can one really live so much out of sync with the rest of the world?

Cheers, Fred

[url=””]Undo edits[/url]

[Snookie]

About 8 years ago, following a very stressful time at work I stopped sleeping at night. I just couldn't get off to sleep, as my muscles would jerk me awake again as I drifted off. The doctor wasn't much help. They either prescribed sleeping pills Nitrazepan (mogadon) for one course only because they are addictive. They did give me a few hours sleep, but like I say, I ran out quickly and wasn't allowed to have any more. I was also given anti-depressants after that. One lot made me sick and the second lot were the sort that build up in your system so would start having an effect in about months time, not very helpful when you need to sleep tonight! I was getting very desperate when my brother suggested acupuncture, as his wife had found it helpful for some problem she had been having. I found a practitioner and went to see him. He did a bit of acupunture on me, also something where he put some sort of seeds in my ears! And he also put me under hypnosis for a time. He gave me a cassette to take home with me. That night I slept for a solid three hours. I went back to him for a second session and again slept for three or four hours and so started to feel human again. With the help of the cassette I could listen to at home my sleep gradually increased each night until I was back to normal.

A few years later following a stressful house move it started again. Again I tried the doctors, but it was the same as before. I tried to find my acupuncture/hypnosis man, but he had left the area. So I tried another lady hypnotherapist. Again I went to her for hypnosis only. She gave me a cassette tape to take home with me. Again it started to work slowly, building up from a few hours sleep a night to a normal nights sleep. I used to listen to it every night, but reduced it to nighrt before work listening or when something stressful was approaching. Itcertainly helped me.

On the cassette, which is mainly aimed at relaxation and confidence, she starts by telling you to sit comfortably in a chair or on/in bed. Look ahead of you and focus on a spot. Count down from 5 to 1 and close your eyes. Then starting with the top of your head, relax your muscles and making all parts of your body feel easy and tension free. Once you have reached your toes, then think of a staircase with ten steps, covered in a lovely carpet of your favourite colour. Count down from 10 to 0, relaxing even more as you count down. After this she gives you relaxing and confidence building messages sort of saying how things that used to upset you and make you stressed will not upset you any more. 'Today you will feel better than yesterday, but not as good as you will feel tomorrow. And your sleep will also improve. You will fall into a blissful sleep and awake refreshed and more alert that you have in a very long time.' Etc etc.

It certainly works for me. What I like, when I have bad bouts of bad sleeping, is to play the tape and not actually hear all of it because I have drifted off to sleep before the end.

[caz]

Hi,

I don't know about happiness being the cure but I am 100% sure that stress is the cause of my sleep probs! I guess if i'm not stressed then i'm more happy, so that makes sense. Been up since 3am today, so got 4 broken hours last night. Not sure what went wrong. I had a nice day, went for acupuncture, sorted out some wee niggles, bought my hubby's birthday present, took the kids to see Warhorse (a must see film BTW) and then out for dinner afterwards. You'd think that would set me up for a nice night of slumber…but no! Oh well…will take the dog for a long walk today and see if the fresh air doesn't make me sleep better tonight.

But to go back, yes I think happiness / depression / stress interplaying have a lot to do with sleeping well.

Cx

[lowercasebecky1952]

'caz' wrote on '07:

Hi,

I was at my wits end March 2011. I had been to the doctors and was offered antidepressants. I cried all time and felt like I was drowning, and a lot of it was to do with bad sleep patterns / lack of sleep. I felt like I had reached rock bottom, physically and emotionally, then one of my customers who has since become a very good friend) suggested I go and see her acupuncturist, Brian. I was VERY sceptical, but I went along. 9 months later, hand on heart I feel like a different person. Everyones needs are different, but for me it worked. For me it was obvious that I was completely out of alignment with who I really was, but with the help of Brian I have sorted myself out. He gave me reading homework, which I did (and enjoyed) and meditation CDs to listen to. It talked a lot about The Law of Attraction – the more you pay attention to a problem the more the problem seems to get worse. At the time it was not sleep I was bothering about, it was work stresses. At first I thought it was a lot of hocus pocus but now I am convinced 100%. After I have the needle therepy I feel different, light and energised. But it's not all about needles, it's about your head as well. Talking to Brian helps me work out what I want and what I need. Its put me in a good place emotionally to help people around me better too. I have also noticed people around me changing their behaviour because I have changed. Its been quite empowering! I guess I am lucky to have found something that works for me. The last piece of the jigsaw is my sleep pattern. For example Friday night I got 4.5 hours broken but last night i got a whopping 10 hours of deep lovely slumber (right after having acupuncture – coincidence?)

I know all of my issues stem from a huge amount of external stress and medicine side effects. I can't do much about the latter but as for stress I find that acupuncture helps me enormously and there is (for me) a correlation between sleeping better and having acupuncture.

Thats my story, I hope it helps someone out there!

Caz x

Hi, Caz!

I hope I haven't stepped on toes. You are literally the first peson I've spoken to who has given a glowing account of accupuncture helping with anything. Maybe I have just never met a success story. Now I have! And, I think it's wonderful you are having success with it. I may be a bit jealous, too. I am aware that even if twenty doctors were to write twenty prior authorizations for accupuncture, my insurance (which is through the medicaid/disability program in my state)will not pay for it. And that's where I have a real problem. I don't respond well to sleep aides, yet, I can't try any alternative, with the possible exception of psychotherapy (which I will be checking on this week). Insomnia, even though we know what a serious poblem it is, and what it can lead to, isn't given the weight of physical illness, which can be caused by, or is the cause of insomnia.

I'm afraid I've come off sounding negative about many things here, which I'm really not. I've been battling insomnia for nearly 13 years, maybe even longer, if I were to sit and really think about when it began. I'm starting at the point at which it became a problem. I think before that, it was an inconvenience, but nothing I coudn't manage. Then, a short three months ago, I found out how dangerous insomnia can be. I posted my story to the Writer's Corner. Every word of that narrative is the truth as I recall it. None of it is embellished, and is, if anythin, understated.

I should also be very careful about writing when I've not had sleep. I am writing this after having a grand total of four and a half hours of sleep since Friday morning. Other than that, it's been fifteen minutes here, and maybe a half hour to forty-five minutes there. I went through the motions of getting ready to get into bed no fewer than six times last night, but never quite made it. I'd doze off in my chair and wake with a start, look up at the clock, and the big hand had only moved a few minutes. I just never made it to the bed and comfortable sleep. It's times like that that I wish I could try other things. I can't afford to pay for any treatment out of pocket, or I certainly would try accupuncture. I use forms of accupressure for pain. It was taught to me by a physical therapist, after she showed me how to use a tool they have at the wellness center, which is a modified cane. I have canes! I use them to put pressure on the knots I get in my shoulders and back. It's wonderful. Thanks to what she taught me, I haven't had a stress headache in years and no burning shoulders!

So, I'm goin to do as Martin suggests and wait for more evidence that it can work. Then I'm going to trade my husband in for actual accupuncture! Ok, I wouldn't get many sessions for him, but it would be nice to try it for myself just once.

Becky

[caz]

Hi,

I was at my wits end March 2011. I had been to the doctors and was offered antidepressants. I cried all time and felt like I was drowning, and a lot of it was to do with bad sleep patterns / lack of sleep. I felt like I had reached rock bottom, physically and emotionally, then one of my customers who has since become a very good friend) suggested I go and see her acupuncturist, Brian. I was VERY sceptical, but I went along. 9 months later, hand on heart I feel like a different person. Everyones needs are different, but for me it worked. For me it was obvious that I was completely out of alignment with who I really was, but with the help of Brian I have sorted myself out. He gave me reading homework, which I did (and enjoyed) and meditation CDs to listen to. It talked a lot about The Law of Attraction – the more you pay attention to a problem the more the problem seems to get worse. At the time it was not sleep I was bothering about, it was work stresses. At first I thought it was a lot of hocus pocus but now I am convinced 100%. After I have the needle therepy I feel different, light and energised. But it's not all about needles, it's about your head as well. Talking to Brian helps me work out what I want and what I need. Its put me in a good place emotionally to help people around me better too. I have also noticed people around me changing their behaviour because I have changed. Its been quite empowering! I guess I am lucky to have found something that works for me. The last piece of the jigsaw is my sleep pattern. For example Friday night I got 4.5 hours broken but last night i got a whopping 10 hours of deep lovely slumber (right after having acupuncture – coincidence?)

I know all of my issues stem from a huge amount of external stress and medicine side effects. I can't do much about the latter but as for stress I find that acupuncture helps me enormously and there is (for me) a correlation between sleeping better and having acupuncture.

Thats my story, I hope it helps someone out there!

Caz x

[Martin Reed]

Thanks for your input, Becky. Hopefully some other members will chime in, too. I've written about acupuncture and acupressure a couple of times on the blog – I am sure it helps some people, but as with any 'cure' related to insomnia, it will work great for some and do nothing for others. Still, I'd say it's something worth trying.

—

If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.

The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.