March's Topic of the Month - Pain Management

[Paul_Howard]

Our blog article for March about pain management has now been published.

lupusuk.org.uk/pain-managem...

Thank you so much to everybody who submitted their tips and experiences to help us write it.

[KatieRL]

Thanks so much for sharing this article. I was told by my pain clinic that having acupuncture when you have Lupus can be damaging as it stimulates the immune system. For that reason I cannot get treatment on the NHS. I don't know if they are being over-cautious or is it something I should try for through the private sector.

[bengali in reply to KatieRL]

I was told that anyone who has or has had (and grown out of or etc) epilepsy, cannot have acupuncture. Is this true?

[Paul_Howard Partner LUPUS UK in reply to bengali]

Hi KatieRL and bengali ,

I've had a look at my usual reliable sources for information about contraindications for acupuncture and the only ones I find repeatedly are;

"If you have a bleeding disorder, such as haemophilia, or are taking anticoagulants, talk to your GP before you have acupuncture.

Acupuncture is also not usually advised if you have a metal allergy or an infection in the area where needles may be inserted."

Unfortunately there isn't a lot of high-quality evidence-based information for this therapy at the moment because it is only beginning to be recognised for it's potential clinical benefit. Therefore further studies are required. I would recommend that you follow the advice of your personal medical professionals on this matter.

[bengali in reply to Paul_Howard]

Just curious as that's what he'd said, he was an Asian doc, so.. He'd said the way it work, affects the nerves, has been known to cause an episode, or cause a reccurence (relapse) for someone who had grown out of it. I wonder how severe your allergy to metal needs to be to rule you out? I have about half an hour in general before I break out - to all but titanium, platinum, white gold (not rose or yellow for some reason), and silver. I'd imagine the needles would be stainless steel, so anything longer than a few minutes would rule me out there.

[Paul_Howard Partner LUPUS UK in reply to bengali]

If you were considering it you would need to highlight that to any acupuncture therapist before having any sessions. I imagine it could prevent you from being able to have it.

[bengali in reply to Paul_Howard]

Yeah. Unfortunately as he was quite confident there would have been a difference (had tenosynivitis from work injury). I didn't mean above tovsound racist when I said about him being Asian, he seemed an extremely competent doctor, very knowledgeable, I just mean that sometimes they have access to incredible knowledge, or experience in regards to accupnunctureor similar that it would be hard for people of other nationalities or races to get.)

I never thought about the allergy point of veiw though - and it is a very good,very valid, point. Thank you for your help.