Tell me about acupuncture

[jerzgirl25]

I'm considering acupuncture for a variety of small, but annoying health issues.
Tell me about your experience; did acupuncture help you? How long did you have to go to see results? If you don't mind sharing, what specifically did you go for? Range of cost?

Thanks!

[bliss]

I did it for anxiety and I really liked it. Everything kinda just released. I felt very emotional but also very relieved. I want to do it again.

It didn't hurt either. It was this really weird yoga-zen like experience.

[Brie]

I went for repeat miscarriages. It's impossible to know what did the trick because I also started supplementing progesterone under the supervision of my OB the month I got this BFP.

I went weekly and paid $65/session through first tri.

If nothing else, I found it very relaxing. I felt very Zen-like after treatments and worried a lot less this first tri than I had previously.

[Deleted]

I liked it but I don't know if it helped any because I never got pregnant. But it did help me relax before my fertility treatments. They said if I came once a week I could see my cycles get regular but at $80 a session I figured I was better off trying Western medicine.

[drloretta]

Did it help me? It helped me feel better in general, but it didn't help what I went for.

I saw results after probably my second visit

I went for IF, but she would treat me for anything from anxiety to stomach issues

I paid $60/session. See if it's even partially covered by your insurance.

[badtzmaru22]

I did it after my miscarriage, and I truly believe it helped regulate my cycles almost immediately. I also got pregnant again and it stuck the first cycle we were allowed to try, without using meds. It was SO relaxing- better than a massage. I think it was $70 a pop.

[AAM2012]

I've been going for stress and headaches. I should go once a week but because of my schedule it's usually once every 2 weeks. I feel it helps me. Cost is usually $20-$40, still working on insurance.

Some of the needles hurt but depends on location, feet and hand usually hurts but its only for a second.

[jerzgirl25]

Thanks for the responses!
I found a community acupuncture place (thank you the 224!) and its on a sliding scale, $20-$50. I checked my insurance already and unfortunately they don't cover anything for it.
I'm going to give them a call tomorrow and give it a try.

[sarahsas]

I guess I'm the lone dissenter here.

I hated it, and it didn't help me.

I don't consider myself a wimp when it comes to pain, but it was very painful for me in almost all of the places I got stuck. Sometimes it made me literally numb (once for about a month I fee like it hit a nerve). I stuck with it because I was pretty desperate. I have a foot issue - pinched nerve and plantar fasciitis.

I went to a community acupuncture, and I did like the guys who ran it, and the sliding scale. The room we stayed in was just ok - there were always old men snoring in there though... And I was so bored, I'd take a book because there was no way for me to rest. You have to be there for around an hour doing nothing.

I went for about 6 weeks, 2x per week, before I stopped. You could pay from $20-35.

I paid using my FSA account. If you have one, you probably can too, even though it isn't covered by insurance.

[basilosaurus]

Complete quackery. Look into the studies that use a true placebo. Sure, it may provide a benefit, anecdotally, but so does placebo. There are a few studies that make accupuncture look good, but they're the least controlled. The better the study, the less the benefit. Don't waste your money on a scam artist.

[booyah]

I have gotten it quite a few times for back pain from an MD who is specially trained in acupuncture. Before the acupuncture I did muscle relaxers of different kinds and several different chiropractors. None of it helped. The poster who said acupuncture is quackery is an idiot. It works.