I am an acupuncturist, AMA

[WonkyFeelings]

I will answer this one in advance: I don’t love needles either but I love the results 😊

Not necessarily. The meridians go to/through their respective organ, so the large intestine meridian passes (deeply) through the large intestine, and that is how we can influence the organ by needling the surface.

But sometimes there is just a blockage in the meridian and that’s just that. In your case, it seems to be a quite rare awareness of the energy lines!

Is it recommended for fertility issues? I heard quite a few people using it. How does it work in this case? Thank you in advance for your time

Without knowing which points they did, it is hard for me to have a guess as to why that happened, but I would encourage you to go back and give them feedback! The acupuncturist will then adjust the prescription and use different points.

Most people don’t, because the professions appropriating acupuncture (physiotherapists, osteopaths and even massage therapists) are doing a really good job as trying to present it as superior (eg calling it “medical acupuncture”) or directly calling it acupuncture.

Dry needling is just one of many acupuncture techniques, which just aims to release muscle tension by finding knots in the muscles and needling into them, often with strong manipulation.

That is all it can do, release muscle tension, which is why I’m not too bothered why other folks use it. I just wish some of them were better trained in needle gauge and depth of insertion, as there have been some pneumothorax cases by physios, which then get lumped into the “acupuncture is dangerous” camp. This is why we spend three years learning angle and depth of insertion for every single acupuncture point.

What is your favourite meridian?

I can’t possibly ever be of the idea that an untrained patient would be ok needling themselves. So much that could go wrong, even though I suspect they have chosen some of the safest points you could do. But what if you insert the needle to the hilt and then it breaks? Are you trained in how to safely attempt to remove it and when it is necessary to go to A&E?

Also, we don’t do the same few points on everyone, the point selection is highly dependent on the patient’s diagnosis and there is not one same diagnosis for “pain”, it really depends very much on the underlying issues.

So my professional opinion is that no, I would not be ok with this.

Hi, yes acupuncture works really well for both natural and assisted fertility.

How does it work? Well, it largely depends on what the issue is: are there irregular cycles? Is the patient anovulatory? Are there implantation issues? Are they not building a thick enough uterine lining? We try to get to the bottom of the issue and help the body fix itself.

I’m personally very fond of the Dai Mai, a meridian that wraps like a belt around the lower abdomen and can help clear damp, but also has some more esoteric uses such as helping people stand up for themselves in life 😊

Does it work to induce labour? Any treatments you recommend?

Thankyou for replying.I wasn’t told how to remove just ring them and leave a message on their answer phone if I had any concerns or it got stuck.

Yes it does! But you have to be officially past your due date. Before that we do preparation for labour treatments. Most of my patients have quick easy births 😊

@WonkyFeelings thanks so much . Had no idea about community practices I'll check these out, great info thank-you.

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