Meniere’s Disease and Acupuncture
When Western medicine fails to help manage the symptoms of Meniere’s disease, it might be time to look into what Eastern medicine can offer. Acupuncture is one of those activities that is not widely recognized and must be evaluated on its effects. If you can locate a very good acupuncturist, it is a good tool in helping you recover from a variety of ailments. I have discovered it very helpful in controlling the symptoms of Meniere’s disease.
Acupuncture is an element of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and has been in practice for hundreds of years. It’s based on the idea that there is energy, called chi flowing through your body. Chi flows in different channels called meridians. TCM believes that discrepancy or stagnation in this flow is what makes us unwell. Reestablishing balance to this flow or eliminating these blocks is done by the stimulation of specific acupuncture points. Acupuncture employs the insertion of needles to give that stimulation.
Acupuncture is a holistic treatment. Holistic medication treats the patient as a whole–not just as a sum of different body parts. Consequently, using acupuncture to help for one illness may result in the alleviation of other symptoms.
TCM has a more preventative outlook than merely fixing the problem. Western medicine may just remove an offending part when you have a problem; TCM looks more for the root of the issue and removes the cause. Again, the goal is to bring back your body’s natural energy flow so that it can get on curing itself.
The advantages of acupuncture over standard medicine are that it is cheaper and you do not suffer from the side effects of strong medications. Powerful drugs and the strain of surgery can have grave side effects that can take time to recover from. Drugs often make the treatment worse than the original illness. Furthermore, a patient managing symptoms using medications often must stay on those drugs for the rest of their lives, while those going to an acupuncturist may go many weeks and even years between visits.
On the whole, Chinese medicine is best when addressing a health problem in the early stages. However, do not rule out TCM as an alternative or complementary therapy if you have been suffering for a long time.
Relief via acupuncture typically is see in one of three ways. Often relief comes immediately upon the extraction of the needle. Often effects are felt the next morning. It may take longer to experience relief; you may feel the effects progressively over many treatments. I seldom go to my acupuncturist more than twice to address a problem. Some acupuncturists need many visits. You will need to talk with your acupuncturist to find out how long it will require before you feel relief.
Want to find out more about Meniere’s disease and acupuncture, visit the Overcoming Menierese Disease #2 website.