Acupuncture - Money hungry doctor or genuine concern

LegacyUser

Hi,

Mods, just to clarify i'm not looking for medical advice. Been getting acupuncture done for a while now to help with pain for a medical condition.I go to a chinese doctor who's been practicing for over 20 years. I'm trying to save to go away and it is so expensive. I phoned the doctor a couple of weeks back to say I wouldn't be able to make my appointment and would like to take break for a few weeks. He said to me it's not good to stop and even to come every 2nd week. So I made an appt for the following week. I arrived at my appt and he asked me to wait in his office he wanted to have a chat with me. He then proceeded to tell me how it's not good to stop, it's very important to go every week for at least 12 weeks, so I got roped in to making an appt for the following week. He also said how this (the treatment) is much more important than Thailand(i'm going travelling there) that it's my health and my life. In a way I fully agree with him, but at the same time, I think he should have given me the option to attend or not and explained why it would be so terrible to only go every 2nd week. I am really torn, I genuinely can't afford to go this week and feel I have to. I can't decide whether he is just really passionate about what he does and really wants to help, or is he just money hungry. I'm afraid to stop now in case I don't find anyone as good, and can't go back to him. Again i'm not looking for medical advice, simply peoples opinions on whether they think i'm being roped in to given over a load of money or is it genuine?

Neyite

OP, what does your GP say?

I'd go with what your GP says first and foremost. They might be able to offer an alternative to acupuncture that is more affordable for you.

Meauldsegosha

You say you have being getting acupuncture for a while now. Have you gone for 12 weeks like the acupuncturist suggested? If yes and there has been no improvement then he has been proved wrong and I wouldn't go again.

Taltos

Let me put it this way OP - if my GP told me such a thing I think I would immediately be onto reporting them to the medical board.
No doubt, no hesitation - would make an immediate complaint.

So what you should do? Think Neyite hit it on the head - seek a second opinion from your GP.

MagicMarker

OP, stop pissing your money away and go to a real doctor.

LegacyUser

Neyite wrote: »

OP, what does your GP say?

I'd go with what your GP says first and foremost. They might be able to offer an alternative to acupuncture that is more affordable for you.

The alternative is to dose myself with 1500mg of painkillers for 5 days every month, which is not treating the cause at all.

LegacyUser

Meauldsegosha wrote: »

You say you have being getting acupuncture for a while now. Have you gone for 12 weeks like the acupuncturist suggested? If yes and there has been no improvement then he has been proved wrong and I wouldn't go again.

No he's only mentioned the 12 weeks after I said I wanted to stop for a while. There has been improvement, but I had an Operation a few months ago to help my symptoms, so can't say if it is a bit of both or just the acupuncture. I haven't taken any pain killers in the last 2 months, where as before I would have to.

LegacyUser

MagicMarker wrote: »

OP, stop pissing your money away and go to a real doctor.

He is a qualified doctor, with over 20 years treating my condition. The only think stopping me cancelling my appt at this stage is the fear of my symptoms getting worse, or if i'm not able to find a doctor as good, which I will need in the future.

Raminahobbin

That's ridiculous. Obviously, with the way the treatment works, it's better to have it uninterrupted, but there's no way you can expect anyone to put their life on hold for a course of treatments. I've never been chastised by my own acupuncturist for needing to take a few weeks off, and I've never chastised my own patients for doing the same.

The problem here is possibly cultural- when I was studying in China, people came to the hospital and committed to daily treatments for the prescribed period of time. They take it very seriously over there. Here though, as a complementary therapist, he needs to work with what he has or he'll find himself loosing patients very quickly. It won't make *that* much difference to take a week or two off (nothing that can't be caught up on when you resume treatments), and if he was really concerned I'm sure there is a herbal remedy/tablets he could give you to tide you over.

He certainly should not be making you feel like you're doing something wrong, because you're not. Go, have fun, enjoy your holiday; don't give it a second thought- and when you come back, either resume treatments with this man if you find him effective, or seek out a recommendation from someone.

Don't let it put you off acupuncture if you find it beneficial; sometimes you just need to find a personality you gel with.

EDITED to add, I didn't see the bit about your problem being 5 days out of the month, perhaps not a long shot to assume you are female. Ask him about using a moxa stick on yourself and some herbs to tide you over, this should definitely help you. Acupuncture doesn't need to be the only thing he uses, he should be somewhat familiar with the other items.

JuliusCaesar

Pinholes wrote: »

He is a qualified doctor

Is his medical qualification one that is acceptable to medical bodies here? If not, then he is not the equivalent of a European trained doctor.

Raminahobbin wrote: »

Ask him about using a moxa stick on yourself and some herbs to tide you over, this should definitely help you. Acupuncture doesn't need to be the only thing he uses, he should be somewhat familiar with the other items.

:eek:

zoobizoo

Just a quick one - have you said to him that you just can't afford it? See if he reduces the price for you.

Also, I've suffered back pain and sciatica and found that acupuncture had some affect but Iyengar yoga cleared it up for me.

LegacyUser

zoobizoo wrote: »

Just a quick one - have you said to him that you just can't afford it? See if he reduces the price for you.

Also, I've suffered back pain and sciatica and found that acupuncture had some affect but Iyengar yoga cleared it up for me.

I have and he said maybe every 2nd week, then he talked me round to going every week, said I could save on other things, but not this as its my life and my health

Neyite

Pinholes wrote: »

No he's only mentioned the 12 weeks after I said I wanted to stop for a while. There has been improvement, but I had an Operation a few months ago to help my symptoms, so can't say if it is a bit of both or just the acupuncture. I haven't taken any pain killers in the last 2 months, where as before I would have to.

So, you were on pain medication then had an operation to help with the pain. But you've been having acupuncture so you dont know if you dont need pain medication because of the operation or the acupuncture, have I got that right?

Why not stop the acupuncture for a week or two and see if the operation worked then? Then you'll know one way or the other.

If you are not interested in talking to your GP, then probably your only alternative with regard to a professional opinion of some sort would be another acupuncturist. But if he is a proper medical doctor like you say, he should have no problem with you getting a second opinion. A doctor who is confident that his course of treatment is the best one will be fine with you getting another consult.

In my opinion, he is scaring you into further sessions that you cannot afford, of a treatment that is designed to complement proper medical treatment (hence the term complementary medicine) not replace it. That to me sounds dodgy.

LegacyUser

Neyite wrote: »

So, you were on pain medication then had an operation to help with the pain. But you've been having acupuncture so you dont know if you dont need pain medication because of the operation or the acupuncture, have I got that right?

Why not stop the acupuncture for a week or two and see if the operation worked then? Then you'll know one way or the other.

If you are not interested in talking to your GP, then probably your only alternative with regard to a professional opinion of some sort would be another acupuncturist. But if he is a proper medical doctor like you say, he should have no problem with you getting a second opinion. A doctor who is confident that his course of treatment is the best one will be fine with you getting another consult.

In my opinion, he is scaring you into further sessions that you cannot afford, of a treatment that is designed to complement proper medical treatment (hence the term complementary medicine) not replace it. That to me sounds dodgy.

Not quite, the second month after the operation I was in agony and then I started the painkillers and one month after been on the painkillers for 3 days I still got pain on day 4 as I didn't have pain meds with me, so i'm guessing it hasn't made much difference. But there is a chance it could have settled down, not too hopeful about that though.


I got a relative to phone up and say I couldn't make my appointment and I would contact him. Hopefully he won't start phoning me now.

Susie564

Pinholes wrote: »

The alternative is to dose myself with 1500mg of painkillers for 5 days every month, which is not treating the cause at all.

I would doubt that the acupuncture is treating the cause either and is also just alleviating the symptoms temporarily. I tried acupuncture myself while sufferring from chronic pain and while it did help somewhat with symptoms it was not "curing" me. Like you, I knew I couldn't afford to keep it up indefinitely so I stopped. How many weeks have you to get to 12? If it was only a couple I would say maybe do them otherwise if you really can't afford them, then I would take a break from it for a bit and see where you are with your symptoms. Also, as others have said I think a chat with your doc would be a good idea.

Ickle Magoo

Raminahobbin,

It is against the rules of this forum to offer medical advice. Whether regarding alternative medicine or not please do not make an on-line diagnosis and suggest "cures".

If you haven’t done so already, please take the time to read the [URL=" http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056181484"]forum rules[/URL] in the charter.

Many thanks.

As per site policy, if you have an issue with any moderator instruction or request please contact a relevant moderator via PM - DO NOT drag the thread further off-topic by responding on-thread

Markcheese

Are you actually getting relief from the acupuncture ??
Is your current treatment meant to "cure" your ailment or just relieve the pain you're experiencing?
What will happen when you head to Thailand ? Back on painkillers..?
You're really the only one who can tell,?