Accupuncture helps me

Done a few posts this evening and forgot to mention one key thing that has helped me - doh! I've been having accupuncture weekly for the last 5 weeks and i'm now stretching appointments to every 2/3 weeks and then i'll agree with my accupuncturist what my maintenance regime should be. Its not cheap, £38 for initial consultation and then £34 for following appointments (lasting 45 - 60 mins) but for me its been worth every penny as i would say its definitely helped me.

I totally agree, acupuncture really helped me too. I also read an amazing book "A Headache in the Pelvis - 6th edition by David Wise. It talks all about trigger points in the pelvic and vaginal area. A must read for pelvic pain sufferers.

d.penny

hi, i just wondered if you could tell me how it helps? like i don't really understand how it helps the vulval burning (if that is exactly what you have) if the accupuncture isn't actually on the vulva (just guessing there lol but i presumed it was in the legs or something). sorry to sound thick but i know nothing about accupuncture and just wondered why it can help there as it may be something i could try in the future

For me acuptuncture really helped with tight trigger points that I had in my buttocks, front and back of legs, and on my stomach between my belly button and pelvic bone. These trigger points referred pain in side my vagina. I also do daily internal massage of the vagainal muscles that I learnt at pelvic therapy to help. I carry a lot of tension in my pelvic area. I read a great book about trigger points call "A Headache in the Pelvis" by David Wise. A must read all about trigger points. I hope this helps

thank you d.penny I will definitely look into it, sounds interesting aswell as potentially helpful

Re: how does accupuncture help relieve V pain/burning (sorry for delay in reply!)

One of the theories of V (as i understand it) is that the pain receptors in the vulva go haywire (they have an exagerrated response to stimuli, or they become extra sensitive to stimuli). If I can remember correctly what my accupuncurist told me, the accupuncture helps to regulate the pain pathways and 'gates' in the body. The oversensitivity/exagerrated response in vvd can be due to the pain gateways being too 'open' and accupuncture helps regulate the pain gates and triggers the body's natural pain relievers (endorphins). She also talked about energy lines and releasing blocked energy which can cause pain. Must confess I don't fully understand the technical details (so may not have explained this very well or accurately!) I just know and trust that it helped reduce my pain.

The needles are not placed on the vulva (brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it!) - the closest mine got was a few below my belly button and one either side of my pubic mound. The rest were on my feet, legs and lower back. On some of my treatments the needles were connected to an electrical current to enhance the effect (the current is variable to select a comfortable level) - its not as bad as it sounds, honest! The needles didn't hurt going in and were left in place for about 20mins. If I didn't have the electrical current my accupuncturist would twiddle the needles occasionally to get a similar effect.

Apparently its normal for symptoms to worsen slightly initially after treatment tho I don't remember that happening with me. It can also take a couple of sessions to feel the benefits.

thank you for your reply it really helped me understand it a bit more, if i could find the money i will definitely give it a go