Al Stone, L.Ac.
Beyond Well Being
Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicines
Santa Monica, CA.
(310) 264-6668
Dear sir,
My name is Ari, I live in Israel. I suffer from migraine headaches
for 14 years.
1. Will acupuncture help me?
Yes. I think that acupuncture's greatest strength is in the problems that are neurological in origin. If you've got a migraine, then you'll probably want to just go home and sleep it off. But, if you feel it coming on, and you can get in for a treatment, the acupuncture can prevent the headache from getting worse.
The best idea is to get regular weekly, or biweekly treatments so that the underlying condition that is giving rise to your migraines can be treated. That way you'll avoid the headaches completely.
2. At the end
of this week I'm starting an acupuncture treatment. is
there any information I should know before taking the treatment?
There isn't really too much you have to do. Don't eat one hour before the treatment. Don't eat one hour after the treatment. Its not the end of the world if you do, but its better if you don't. I'm a little unsure as to why that is a common suggestion, I should check up on that. But that's the only real issue that you need to work with.
3. Are there
any different kinds of acupuncture treatments? If there
are, which one should I choose?
There are many schools of thought in regards to acupuncture therapeutics. The Five Element school might use some different points than a practitioner who is schooled in the so-called Zang Fu differentiation paradigm. But they'll both work. We think of that as different doors into the same house.
The only thing that I think you should know is that acupuncture is not something that one can learn in a couple of weekends. Your practitioner is going to pay special attention to your unique situation and seek to understand the underlying cause of your migraine headaches, or for that matter any kind of headache. For instance, lots of people call their headaches migraines but the really aren't. People associate the severity of their headaches with the term "migraine."
And even for people with real migraines, the cause can be different. It could be stress, it could be associated with the menstrual cycle, it could be due to the way in which you hold a telephone between your head and shoulder. The cause really does need to be determined before an effective treatment can be found.
Fortunately, there are some serious acupuncture schools in Israel, so you should have not problem finding a practitioner who can help you.
Best of luck to you in your treatments.
|
|
Al Stone, L.Ac. |