Acupuncture & Lymphedema

Cheryl,

I was having terrible hot flashes from my chemo/chemopause and acupuncture totally cured me of them. It had gotten to the point where I was having hot flashes every 15 minutes or so and they were actually steaming up my glasses. During the treatment, I could feel the hot flashes leave my body.... very weird sensation. I have had about three mild hot flashes since then, and it's been about 8 months.

This was before my surgery, and I haven't been to my acupuncturist since then because of not wanting to deal with the LE restrictions. My acupuncturist is a master and he is from China; he is by far the most skilled acupuncturist I've had, though I have had American acupuncturists who are not "careless" by  any means. I still have two sessions that I paid for in advance so I would love to get the courage up to go again. 

I hope you find some relief; hot flashes are no fun.

April in Texas

I am a huge fan of accupuncture--because of it I skipped neck surgery after a riding accident and months of painkillers and physical therapy that just did not work.

It also helped me through months of IV anti-biotics when I had Lyme disease, and helped greatly with the bone and joint pain involved.

We all have to decide just how much "risk" we are willing to take.  It is a personal decision we make from the time of our diagnosis and throught all of our treatments afterwords.

Some of us ER/PR+ ladies refuse tamox or AI's--some of us are unwilling to take that risk and embrace them, even with all of their side effects.

Some of us ER/PR+ ladies decide to take small does of estrogen to help with the side effects, and others of us would not touch additional estrogen with a ten foot pole,

No one knows why accupuncture works, yet we know it does work on most people.  Not on all people, as any accupunturist trained in China as a Medical Doctor also will tell you.

In having done some research years ago I believe accupuncture was first discovered when certain warriors, with certain medical conditions, had "spears" pierce their bodies in certain places, and those who survived had a remission in their prior medical conditions.

Other theories are that the needles make small "injuries" that rev up the immune system to go to battle.

From my own personal experience, the needles go in far enough to bleed when they are taken out,  Indeed, the conditions are totally sanitary.  But this worries me from an LE prespective, since the increase in blood flow would increase the filtration/absorbtion rate which an LE compromised lymphatic system and limb may not be able to handle in increased lymphatic load.

Please do your research, get additional opinions, and by all means if you choose to to do accupuncture on an LE limb, get appropriate intructions from your LE therapist on doing immediate MLD massage afterwards.  And observe your arm arefully for any signs of infection or redness.

Just MHO.  Having LE in my breast and arm, I would not have accupuncture done in that area any more than I would have blood draws or blood pressure done.  It has taken too much time and too much work for me personally to get my LE under control to risk having accupuncture in those areas.

There are many accupunturists who do a wonderful job, who only insert needles into your feet and ears.  If I felt the need for addiional accupuncture, that is the way I would go.

Edited to add that indeed, in Chinese Medicine, hot flashes are considered too much heat in the heart, and there are accupunture points on the ears and feet that can be used to "clear the chi" and relieve the heat.  There are also Chinese herbs that can be recommended, and foods to eat and foods to avoid to "cool" the heat in the heart (I think they call it fire, actually, which is one of the elements Chinese Medicine deals with.)

Well, this is a very old thread, but I found it because I am considering acupuncture for some arthritis issues I have.  Has anyone had any further experience with acupuncture causing an onset of lymphedema?

Thanks for any input...

Thanks, happyhere!

I went to the acupuncturist for the first time yesterday.  I was very pleased that he raised the le risk on his own and said he would put no needles in my upper left quadrant (except down low, at my abdomen).  It was reassuring to me that this was on his mind before I said anything.  And he said that there is some evidence that acupuncture can treat le, but he felt it was contraindicated. 

I don't know how much impact the treatment had, but I am willing to give it some more treatments and see what happens.  I think I notice a slight difference in my arthritis issue.

Thanks again for your post.

Claire