Acupuncture?

I have been considering acupuncture for migraine relief and was wondering if anyone has tried it or had any experiences with it.

I have heard it is quite expensive, which is one of the reasons I have not tried it. I have tried numerous preventative medications with not much success, I still get at least 1 migraine per week, sometimes more. It is just so frustrating, I know there is no magical cure but if there is something, such as acupuncture, that may provide some relief I would be willing to try it if I could afford it.

The place I had quoted said it would be $65 for the first appointment and $55 for every appointment thereafter. The receptionist said she was going for migraines and found relief by getting treatments every two weeks. She said some bad cases go every week. Way too much money for me, my family would be in the poor house! Some insurances cover it though, so if you have a policy ask!

Please keep in mind that I did speak to the receptionist of the business who may have wanted me to go more often then actually needed in order to get more money for the firm. I don't know. Every week or two seems excessive to me. Even still, with my health care costs coming close to 50% of my monthly income as it is, an extra $55 a month is still pushing my limits right now. Maybe in the summer when my husbands job is a bit busier

Good luck, and if you do try it out please keep us informed. I am very interested in alternative treatments. I'm sick of the drugs!!

My 16 yr old son is just about to start acupuncture on Thursday. We tried it a couple years ago, and we liked it, but it was very expensive, and at that time he was having a migraine that would never go away. He ended up having intravenous treatments to stop that migraine, but since then he still has daily migraines. So, we are going back to a medical dr. who does acupuncture because that is the only way our insurance will cover it. I hope it helps....we are desperate!

I did acupuncture twice over the past ten years. Each time going for about 15-20 sessions.

They did not help my migraines, but they were very relaxing. The relaxation and relief of stress was the benefit I got out of them.

It's always worth a try. I hope you have good luck with it.

Becky

This was something I had been considering as well but hadn't done anything due to the cost. The cheapest I saw in my area was $65 per session - not terribly expensive but it was how often they wanted you to come back. That could add up in a hurry. I am theorizing that how well they treat the migraine depends on how stress driven they are. If that's all that drive them I can see a large benefit but if stress isn't a major factor they may not work so well. Same sort of theory with massage and chiropractors. If you are in pain often, it might be worth your while to do this for yourself every so often just to release and relax.

Just my 2 cents.

Becky

It's a great mean to fight migraine, but - yes - it's expensive and needs to be made regularly.
I did a cycle of 10 years ago and my head was doing MUCH better in that period. Also, it helped me a lot to relax and fight stress.
I wish I could do it again....

Bye

i have to say i tried it and my heads got worse, it was not a good experenice for me, but i later found out that the person i saw had only just quailified, so i would say check out the acupuncturist first, (sorry spelling rotten but in a rush off to work in a bit)

I too had acupuncture several years ago. I was told, and have heard elsewhere, that if you don't get any relief after 6 sessions then it probably isn't going to help you. I had 7 and I'm afraid it didn't make any difference to the migraines. If it wasn't for the expense, I may have gone on further. But . . . it has certainly helped others and you may be one of the lucky ones, so it's worth a try.

Good luck.

Liz

I have had it for the last few months for neck pain because of a car accident. My insurance is paying for it and time off work so I have nothing to lose. If I was paying, forget it. Although I'm not going for migraines, I asked them about that and they said "some" people get relief but not many. My neck is better but it may be better from time gone by, not the actual procedure. No change in migraines. If you can spend that kind of money, I would suggest massage, yoga, tai chi, etc. over acupuncture.

Had it several times. Fixed my knee. Head, No. One time even gave me a migraine. Made me miss a concert (those were the days!!)
Opinion here in UK is now that it doesn't work for migraine.
Can work for any co morbids, like neck problems etc, but not actually for migraine itself.

No longer recommended I think.
But the say if you want to try it, should help from very first session.
Dont go past 6, waste of money

P

Becky in WI:

We had amazing success with an acupuncturist in Chicago. But I suppose that is waaaayyyy too far away for you.

I think it is one in a million to find one that is good enough to abort a migraine. This guy could do that for my daughter--every time.

Cheryl

Cheryl,

Chicago is about 2 hours away from me...so not too bad. Problem is...driving. I had to go up to Oshkosh (~ 2 hour drive) last week to be chauffeur for my brother who was having a wisdom tooth out. Day started okay but the drive home...eep! Not good - really not with it or able to focus on what I was doing (start of a 4 day bender). Right now, I am refusing to drive more than an hour away if I'm alone...I just can't take the chance on getting sick and something happening. And with being in a chronic state - I'm not sure it would even help at this point (sorry I'm in one of those days where I could walk in front of a bus and not care). If I get a break, I may pursue it then and would ask for the name but right now I don't have a lot of faith that it would help. Thinking a massage might be a good V-day present to myself though. Not to help with the M but just to get rid of the other aches and pains I've been ignoring.

Becky

I totally understand about the drive. And he is right smack in the city. The drive home would probably "un-do" all the good. Talk about stress...I understand.

If I ever win the lottery, we're moving next door to him, LOL. Daily acupuncture wit him could work miracles! If a person could ever afford it.

Hugs and support,

Cheryl

Cheryl - I also thought that if I had my own personal masseuse I could ward off migraines, but he/she would have to be with me all the time because it would have to be caught at the beginning.

Oooh...you just have to fine a friend that does it and could be a roommate. Date someone that is or teach the SO. Men always want to fix the problem, here's a solution.

Heelerlady - Boyfriend won't work. They get half through the massage and get other things on their mind and decide to take care of themself.

Oh...you have a point there. I've been single for a while and forgot about that aspect....

you do have to have regular treatments for acupuncture to work. I did 8 rounds or so (my insurance covered it) and I found it to not be helpful. It cost about $85 per session here.

Hi everyone

reading this thread it seems that a lot of people are put off acupuncture because of the cost - which is a shame as clinical trials have shown that it is at least as effective, if not more effective, than drug treatments in the prevention of migraine attacks.

If you want to have acupuncture, and are put off by the cost of a private session, have a look for 'community clinics' in your area. They are usually a large room with lots of treatment tables, separated with screens. I run one of these clinics in the UK: the Wimbledon Acupuncture Project. Our treatments cost around £20 per session.

If you're in the US and you want to find one of these clinics in your area, the best place to look is probably the Community Acupuncture Network. The UK equivalent is The Association of Community and Multibed Acupuncture Clinics (ACMAC). (click the links for more info.)

Hope this info is useful, let me know if you have any other questions...

Wow, thanks so much! Very useful information. I'll be checking it out for sure

I have found an acupuncturist who is very experienced who charges on a sliding scale - anywhere from $18-$40, you decide what you can afford.

I am starting tomorrow. I have had acupuncture before - about 10 sessions and it didn't help. But, the practitioner was not too experienced and that makes a huge difference. This woman was upfront with me; she has helped some with migraines and others not. So, like the preventatives - its a 50/50 shot.

I figure it's worth the $20 a session. It's less that my co-pay for a Drs visit!

I'll keep you all posted on the results.

Great topic!
Jane

I've had it for neck pain after a car accident. I have to admit I think it worked. At first I thought maybe the neck pain would have healed anyway without the acupuncture but I have noticed that I have less neck pain with migraines than I did before. Too soon to know but if the neck pain continues to be much better, I may opt for acupuncture for the migraines themselves. I have good insurance so money won't be an issue.

Linda, if you find any accupuncturist that can help your HA pain, please let me know.

Do you have insurance coverage for acupuncture? I'm curious where that would be.

We tried a Chinese MD in Uptown, and he couldn't do diddly squat. A chiropractor was a big dud also, although she thought she was Wonder Woman and could fix anything.

Our accupuncturist supreme in Chicago was incredibly skilled. I know it can help, if you find a practitioner who has the gift.

Cheryl

Cheryl,
I'm leary of chiropractors, but that is who did my acupuncture. I just got done with the treatments and it wasn't until I was reading these comments that it dawned on me that I hadn't had any neck pain with
recent migraines. Like I said, it is too soon to tell. If my neck pain is considerably better (I always have neck pain with my migraines), I will consider trying it for my head.

I have Health Partners. My car insurance covered the acupuncture for my neck since it was from a car accident, but a co-worker of mine had acupuncture for cancer and has the same insurance as I have. He highly recommended the guy he went to. When he gets back to work (he had surgery), I will ask him more about it. Remind me later if you don't hear back from me in the next month.

I bet there are rare MD's out there who do acupuncture (MD's covered by insurance).

I hope you do check it out. I'll ask you in April, if I don't hear from you.

Good luck with it!

Cheryl