Acupuncture for migraines

Hey Pen
I'm not sure where you are north of London, but one of the GPs at my surgery is also a practising medical acupuncturist (if that's the word) - she won't "do" me because she is concerned about her treatment exacerbating my visual aura. As far as I recall you don't suffer from visual ridiculousness with your migraines, so it might be worth getting in touch. She may also practise privately, and is based in Stanmore - try this link:

http://www.thebodyguide.co.uk/Listing.aspx?ac=16811

LHx

Also Pen, sorry - no brain to gather things together! I also recommend the CHAIM Centre in Willesden Green. I've not been for acupuncture, but their osteopath worked wonders. They do all sorts of different complementary therapies. Funny little clinic above a fried chicken place, but don't let that put you off!

http://www.chaimcentre.com/

LHx

Thanks Liz, I am actually in Bedfordshire, so its a bit of a hike, but not out of the question. Will take a look.
Thanks for thinking of me....And no, I dont get visuals...

P

Update, as I mentioned in my last post, I was going to look for an acupuncturist in my area, after having such a success with one in San Jose CA. The pain relief lasted two weeks after treatment.

I've had three sessions with a local acupuncturist and unfortunately, while I leave her office feeling OK, by that afternoon or that night, the headaches are severe. I am back on taking Tylenol to take the edge of the pain. Next step is to take the Midrin, since the tylenol does not work well at these levels of headache pain.

About three years ago, I tried a local acupuncturist and I also had the same results: increased HA pain levels. Next month, I may have to try another acupuncturist.

My sister, who lives in San Jose, has had migraines for about 45 years also tried the San Jose acupuncturist and also found that her HA pain was great reduced and vertigo like symptoms eliminated. When she went, she had been suffering a week of constant pain and dizziness.

Martin

I have tried it at 2 different points, and had some success each time. The problem was that like with a lot of other treatments I have tried, it's effectiveness seemed to reduce at about the year mark. Or the benefits seemed to 'wear off'. This happens with a lot of treatments I have had success with though. I almost have to 'cycle' treatments.

I am planning on trying it again at some point, but I have to start the research into good acupuncturists in the area. I wasn't able to find one local the previous times I tried it, and had to drive out of town.

I have been getting acupuncture treatments now for about 4 weeks. It is really hard to say if it is the acupuncture or the supplements I am taking that are helping with my headaches, but something is working. I still have headaches, but they are like a 1 or 2 compared to the 7-10 migraines I was getting before. And they don't last as long.

The acupuncturist I go to tries different points each week to see if they will help with my headaches along with chinese herbs. I must say that I thoroughly enjoy my sessions each week and look forward to them. I am so relaxed after each session. It is a great break from the daily grind.

Martin,

I've had a similar experience. One acupuncturist that I visited helped me immensely with my headaches - I'd have 3-4 week stretches of no migraines! A different acupuncturist might as well have been doing nothing at all, because I noticed no difference with his treatments.

-J

The local acupuncturist is trying different meridian points to see which points will work on me. However, the San Jose acupuncturist hit the right points right off the bat.

I guess it's like going to a neuro, they will start you with one pill and keep on going until they find one that helps you.

One or two more visits and I will start looking for another acupuncturist.

Martin

Martin,

The acupuncturist I saw that helped me was an old Chinese man with an actual MD. He didn't bother with the meridian points at all, but rather just stuck the needles into me wherever I had pain. There's a lot of scientific evidence that the needles cause a local release of various anti-inflammatory chemicals, so I think his method makes sense.

I wasted 10 appointments and a lot of money on an acupuncturist that tried every meridian he could think of. Frankly, I don't buy it.

-J

Jwar, the San Jose acupuncturist did pretty much the same thing. He had needles all over my head, stomach, and my feet (some of those points I recognized as meridians for headaches).

I told him about the headaches, stomach problems (Lamotrigine side effect, I think), lower back pain (Lamotrigine effect, I think), some dizziness, and sensitivity to loud noises (again Lamotrigine effect, I think).

I stopped taking the Lamotrigine, except when the headaches don't let up. The med. really works for me, even with half a 25 mg dosage.

Martin

Martin,

I'm on 100mg of lamotrigine - just titered up from 50mg today in fact. I think the med works well for me, too. I've had the same side effects as you (dizziness, stomach, lower back) with the exception of increased sensitivity to noises. I think it makes me somewhat drowsy, too. I find the side effects very much worth it, though.

-J

In the last two weeks, I've had three eye pressure tests performed, that indicate that the eye pressure is higher than normal. The previous eye pressure test performed about two years ago were OK. i do not know if that was caused by the Lamotrigine or not. I looked up side effects and the web sites say that there is a possibility of of vision problems. I did not think of asking the ophthalmologist when I was in his office. I will have to send him an email and ask the if lamotrigine could be the cause of the problem.

I wonder if Lamotrigine extended release is easier on the side effects? If the glaucoma is normal wear and tear, I would not mind trying the XR Lamotrigine to see if the side effects are easier on my system.

Martin

I am actually on the XR tablets. The way it has worked for me is that I spent two weeks at 25mg, two weeks at 50mg, and now I am at 100mg for a while to see if it's a good dose for me. I only noticed the side effects during the first few days of switching to higher doses. By the end of the first week at each new dose they went away.

That's messed up about your eye pressure. I knew Topamax could do that but didn't know Lamictal could. You could always lower your eye pressure by smoking some pot...

The ophthalmologist said the corneas were thick enough so they can withstand the added pressure and there was no damage to the optic nerve.

My side effects stayed with me throughout the dosage. I started on half a tablet and then went up to 25 mg. There was not improvement, so I stayed on the half a tablet.

Many years ago, in a previous incarnation, I tried some MJ in Bangkok. What a headache and I had to fly to Tehran the next day.

Martin

I begin acu last monday and will take 10 sessions.
I did 2 cycles in the past (in 2005 and in 2008). In both cases it did wonders.
I should do it more regularly but time and money are 2 things that don't help me to be regular....

Martin

If you are getting increased sensitivity to sound with Lamotigrine you need to really be concerned. It gave me significant hyperaccusis that ended up exacerbating my headaches. I would get a migraine from any somewhat loud noise including speaker phones, radio, TV, any type of talking over a public address system, or even just loud voices. It was very painful, and then the headache would start. It took 6 months and some very expensive audiology treatments to finally get rid of it.

Migrainegirl: The noise sensitivity started when the trigger point massage therapist worked on the SCM muscle (http://www.round-earth.com/SCM.html) and the Lamotrigine added to the problem. It went away when I laid of the med and the therapy. Then it came back when the therapist again worked on that muscle. So, I am going to lay off the therapy again (I have been off the med) and see if again the sensitivity goes away.

However, that muscle is very tight and may be the main source of my headaches.

The good news is that on Thursday, the acupuncturist was able to work on a meridian point, just above the left ankle toward the back of the leg and within 15 minutes the left SCM was looser and it had more range of motion.

I will have to see the neuro to see if there is another med that will work as well as the Lamotrigine.

I have been able to off set the stomach upset with probiotics. As to the lower back pain, either the acupuncturist or 400 mg of Vit E and ginger ale made it much, much less of a problem.

Martin

My continuing acupuncture experience:

I stopped going to the acupuncturist that I previously mentioned. On the positive side, her treatments greatly increased the mobility of my SCM (it goes from the sternum and clavicle to the back of the ear) and slightly reduced the side headache. And her treatments also did stabilize my headaches at a lower level. But, she did little for my back of head headache. After each session, that evening the headaches would increase, like the muscles in the back of the head were again contracting.

Since, acupuncturists have different techniques to treat the same illness, I decided to try an acupuncturist versed in the Toyahari Acupuncture technique. Here is a web site that describes the technique: http://www.toyohari.org.uk/about.htm

Note, that at no time does the acupuncturist insert the needle into the skin, but gently taps the blunt needle on the concerned meridian, while feeling the pulse of that meridian on another part of the body.

As to my treatments, the acupuncturist uses the same ankle and lower arm meridians as the previous acupuncturist. However, she is also directly treating the SCM and the sub-occipital (back of head muscles that connect the skull to the neck) muscles. Those muscles, along with the left SCM, seem to be the source of my headaches. Like the previous acupuncturist, after each session, that evening, the pain level increases, like the muscles in the back of the head are contracting. However, I seem to be ok, by late evening or the next morning. To offset the muscle contraction, I am using a very small dose of Baclofen (a muscle relaxant) after each session.

Overall, my headache pain has again stabilized at a lower level, so that I am not always focusing on the headache. I still do my somatic stretching exercises to keep the muscles stretched, When I doing the exercises, the SCM and sub-occipital muscles no longer seem as tight. However, every so often I still get pillow headaches when I get up or at night. At night, when I get the pillow headaches, I still use an ice pack on the side of the head.

in between sessions, I am using acu-pressure on the headache acu-points, to help me out. To identify the headache meridians, I've used these two books: "Acupuncture Potent Points" by Michael Reed Gach and "The Encyclopedia of Healing Points" by Roger Dalet, MD.

As I have mentioned, I have chronic daily headaches (24/7), which I believe are due to long term use of statins and bad posture. I did have very tight neck and shoulder muscles, before the headaches started. And the tightness got worse after I switched to simvastatin in 2002 or 2003. Therefore, to me, the headaches are due to chronic tight muscles. My neuro will not say what is the cause of the ongoing headaches.

Any way, another chapter in my ongoing search for headache relief.

Martin

An article on the effect, as confirmed by scans, of acupuncture on the brain:

http://healthland.time.com/2010/12/06/how-acupuncture-affects-pain-perception-in-the-brain/?hpt=T2

There is no mention as to how long the pain relief lasts.

Martin

Thanks for the post. Hi guys, Im a newbie. Nice to join this forum.

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An update on my acupuncture experiences. My last sessions with the San Jose acupuncturist, who had given a great deal of relief, did not work for more than the day of the session. I guess something has changed.

Martin

In my never ending search for relief, from my chronic (24/7) headaches, I ran across these web sites that state that the number of acupuncture points needed to treat an illness can be simplified:

This web site, shows the ECIWO acupuncture points, youtube videos, and how to use the points:
http://www.new-holistic-medicine.com/acupuncture-points-ECIWO.html

This website is from Shandong University where Dr Zhang did his work and the biology behind his theory:

http://www.eciwo.sdu.edu.cn/zhang/zh10.html

I pressed the headache spot, shown on the first site, and it was sore. The stomach acupoint was also sore.

I then tried rubbing the headache point, as stated in the first web site, I felt almost immediate relief from my normal morning headache. I've been trying the technique, for the last five days and I have found some relief. Later, I used a heated moxa stick, as near as I could to the headache point, without burning my self, again I felt relief. The moxa stick was only close to the point for a few seconds.

Hopefully, a few members will try the technique and post their results.

A reminder, I do not have migraines, I have chronic headache pain.

Martin