The Survivor Newsletter: Spring 1998

A "RUB" OF ACUPUNCTURE

In an effort to find a way of pain control which did not involve taking more tablets, I was interested in getting a course of acupuncture.

I was lucky to find a General Practitioner with postgraduate diploma in acupuncture and homeopathy, who is based in Galway, but who has a clinic in Sligo once a week. While I am still rather a sceptic as regards alternative medicine, I do believe that we have lines of energy, which can be tapped into.

The doctor took a detailed medical history and pulled no punches about whether or not acupuncture could help my pain relief. In fact, he covered all scenarios. It would probably take up to three sessions before I could decide if this was going to be of benefit to me, and it was not without side effects. The fine stainless steel, copper-tipped needles would be inserted under the skin, and this could cause bleeding and/or bruising. I would feel a pinch and maybe a feeling of fullness at each insertion. I might feel worse before I felt better. I could feel very tired after a session, or the reverse might happen, and I could become elated. The effect could however be quite dramatic, and I could obtain pain relief immediately, though it would have no reversing effect on joint degeneration etc. Statistics showed that acupuncture is successful in about 50% of cases, so did I want to go ahead with it?

Well I had come this far, so I was quite prepared to take the plunge, but what about the price? The first visit (this one) was £35, and a further 2 visits would be £25 each. Then if I felt it to be of benefit to me, he would suggest a session whenever I needed it, and we would come to an arrangement about an on-going price at that stage.

So, I got up on his plinth, and he inserted three needles from my hip joint down along the line of my femur and three more into my lower spine.. I felt a little prick and then nothing. He left the needles in place for a few minutes and then twiddled them a few times and removed them. I don’t think I bled at all. Finally, he inserted a needle into the fleshy area between my thumb and forefinger, saying that this point was used to increase the energy flows in the body.

I left the surgery wondering would I, in an elated state, be climbing lamp-posts looking for leprechauns Paul Golden fashion, or kissing all the tall dark strangers who crossed my path! Or would I collapse behind the steering wheel of my car, and fall into a deep painless sleep right there in the main shopping street of Sligo?

In fact, neither happened, and felt no different at all, with no side effects, except some small bruises at the insertion points. Was I in less pain after this first session? Maybe, yes, maybe no.

Or maybe it was a small bottle of "The Rub" obtained from my local chemist at the exorbitant price of £10 for 100 ml. The label said a mixture of oils and herbs, to be heated and rubbed in. It smelt just terrible, a mixture of burning rubber and Karvol. Did it work? Maybe yes, maybe no. Or maybe it was a combination of the two treatments, at last the Eastern Chinese traditional medicine joined with the Western Irish Folk Remedies to produce the ‘Wonder Pain Reliever’ - A Rub Of Acupuncture?

AFTER the second visit to my acupuncturist I couldn’t believe the difference in myself. I was in much less pain and my consumption of distelgesics had gone down from 8 per day to two in the week! Being the sceptic that I am, I wanted to know what had happened, why had needles inserted under the skin result in such relief of pain? My doctor explained that it worked by activating natures own pain-relieving properties, the endomorphines. Whatever the reason I will continue to follow his treatment with care, and I will rub in the precious Rub morning and evening, just in case. The most important thing is that I am taking much fewer pain-killers and feel the better of it already.

Paula Lahiff

More information from:

The British Medical Acupuncture Society

"The Rub" is available from B. Killeen, at 0905-83616