Acupuncture for Depression
by John McManamy
Karen had been taking Zoloft for three years,
but was having trouble with its side effects. Serzone didn't help,
and Paxil (40 mg) only seemed to get her right back where she started
- grateful to feel human again, but not at all happy with her excess
sleep, weight gain, and loss of sexuality. Karen had originally
turned to acupuncture for her flu and bronchitis,
and found it worked wonders. Now she wondered if acupuncture could
help her depression.
What We Know About Acupuncture
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Acupuncture originated in China at least 2,000 years ago, and
moved to the west in the 1970s as part of a greater awakening that
included yoga, meditation, new diets, and other so-called alternative
fare. At first, its availability was limited by the scarcity of
practitioners, but now there are an estimated 20,000 certified
acupuncturists in the US.
According to FDA figures from 1993, Americans are making 9 to 12
million visits a year and spending as much as $500 million to have
needles strategically placed along the invisible latitude and longitude
lines of their skins.
To paraphrase from the National
Institutes of Health:
There are more than 2,000 acupuncture
points on the body connecting with 12 main and eight secondary
pathways called meridians, which conduct energy - chi or qi - between
the surface of the body and the internal organs.
According to the
NIH:
"Qi regulates spiritual, emotional,
mental, and physical balance. Qi is influenced by the opposing
forces of yin and yang. According to traditional Chinese medicine,
when yin and yang are balanced, they work together with the natural
flow of qi to help the body achieve and maintain health. Acupuncture
is believed to balance yin and yang, keep the normal flow of energy unblocked,
and restore health to the body and mind."
A western interpretation would
be that the acupuncture points stimulate the central nervous system,
releasing chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord, and brain, promoting
the body's natural healing abilities. In the words of the NIH: "Studies
have shown that acupuncture may alter brain chemistry by changing
the release of neurotransmitters and neurohormones in a good way."
An
NIH consensus panel of scientists, researchers, and practitioners
in 1997 determined that acupuncture has been clinically proven
to be effective against nausea from surgery and chemotherapy, addiction,
headaches, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial
pain, osteoarthritis, lower back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome,
and asthma, and to assist in stroke rehabilitation. Since then,
other studies have looked at pain, ADHD, pregnancy complications,
and other diseases and conditions.
Acupuncture for Depression
Fine, but does acupuncture work for depression?
In 1998, the NIH's
Office of Alternative Medicine funded a study at the University
of Arizona. Working with acupuncturist Rosa Schnyer, John Allen
PhD devised a 16-week trial on 34 seriously depressed women. First
the two worked up a standard treatment plan that targeted certain "depression
points" on the
body. Then they devised a dummy treatment calling for needles
in nonspecific places. The acupuncturists administering the treatment
had no idea whether they were using the real plan or the dummy
plan.
Then the subjects were divided into three groups. The first
group received the depression-specific acupuncture, the second
group got the dummy treatment, and the third group was put on a
wait list before being placed on eight weeks of the real thing.
Following the treatment, the depression-specific groups experienced
a 43 percent reduction in their symptoms compared with a 22 percent
reduction for the dummy group. More than half no longer met the
criteria for clinical depression. Only five people dropped out
of the study - two who moved away, one who became pregnant, and
two who didn't like the needles. The dropout rate was much lower
than for studies using medications.
Two advantages of acupuncture,
Dr Allen told a seminar at the National Depressive and Manic Depressive
Association Conference in Boston, include no language barrier (a
factor for patients who have difficulty speaking English), and
its low cost compared to conventional treatment.
Something better
than low cost was an inducement for Karen. She was able to swap
free sessions by giving piano lessons to the acupuncturist's son.
On the advice of Dr Chen, her acupuncturist, she did not quit her
medication. She began the treatment in May - never going more than
once a week - and gradually, she says, she began to recover. "For
a few days I felt a little better," she recounts, "then
after that I felt bad days. But the better days got better oh so
gradually and the bad days less bad."
Karen would lie on a
table as Dr Chen put some needles into her ear, arm, and leg -
always on the right side (except for a few needles in the other
leg). One time he put the needles in similar areas on the left
side. He would also point a heat lamp where he left needles in
the leg. The needles prick, according to Karen, "just
the littlest bit." Then she would remain on the table while
Dr Chen left the room for 20 minutes. Finally, Dr Chen would take
out the needles and rub some areas of the back and neck.
Karen
thinks the first few visits were critical, but her follow-up visits
were important, too.
In July, Karen switched to St John's wort
before slowly reducing her Paxil in August (she is now down to
10 mg). According to Karen: "I
believe both acupuncture and St John's wort have helped me. I think
the acupuncture enabled the Saint John's wort to work more effectively.
I like the idea of making the body work its best with acupuncture."
She
goes on to say: "I have always had to take higher doses
of any antidepressant in order to get the best results. Why not
get my immune system working better so that I might not need such
a high dose or, even better, take St John's wort instead with minimal
side effects?"
Dr Chen, says Karen, works on the principle
that it's all about helping the body's immune system function in
an optimal way so that it keeps the disease in check, resulting
in fewer bad symptoms. In Karen's words:
"The body takes time
to heal and the acupuncture guides the body to heal itself. Heal
from what? I don't think our bodies are working optimally. The
body does its best under any circumstances but after years of medications,
ravages of depression and stress, excesses in food and drink - sugar, chemicals,
smog - acupuncture helps the body recover from these assaults. I have more
respect for the working of the body now and the strength of it."
Now,
after four and a half months, Karen feels ready to discontinue
treatment. As well as easing her depression, she also credits acupuncture
for helping her go off sugar. And there is the spiritual side: "I
really believe in meditating on God. It spiritualizes the mind
which in turn uplifts the mood. Regular meditation is important
to me."
Finally, if you are on medication, don't expect to
flush your pills down the toilet after your first visit. This is
a matter you will have to work out between you and your doctor
or psychiatrist. Fortunately, Karen had an acupuncturist who recognized
this. In her words: "I
appreciated Dr. Chen's discretion in advising me about the medication.
He told me that since he's not a medical doctor he couldn't tell
me how much to take or when to quit. He just made me feel comfortable
that the acupuncture would still do its job whether I went off
the medication or not."
J (March 6, 2002): "Karen" is
clearly the "poster child" of the NIH's AZ study, as
she is cited in at least one other (derivative?) article. But what
did/do the other 33 patients think?
Beverly (Oct 1, 2002): I wonder how many with
Bipolar disorder have tried acupuncture. My 10-year-old
daughter was diagnosed by her therapist with depression (the
rages and dissociative episodes and bouts of irrational guilt
have not yet been witness during regular business hours). Thanks
to folks sharing on the Net, I'm putting the pieces together. Anyway,
I swear by acupuncture for everything...it balances body and
mind and facilitates natural healing like nothing else out there
I've experienced...I have it once a month and I had begun to
take my daughter...but I think she might need it more often...DON'T
EXPECT THE MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENT to back me up on this...it would
definitely not be to their benefit...but I have witnessed real
healing and I urge you to try it for yourselves.
Patti (March 12, 2003): I have been receiving
Acupuncture treatments for over six months for my Major Depression
and Agoraphobia. It has undoubtedly saved my life. At
the very worst of my depression I was taken to an Acupuncturist
that treated me every day for over a week. I stopped having
the compulsive thoughts of ending my life, and was thinking much
clearer than I had in nearly a year. Then I went once a week
for several more months, to ensure optimal effect and continue
building up my system that had fallen on its face. Now I
go once a month for maintenance and I recommend it to anyone with
depression.
Jolie (Jan 16, 2005): I too have been
seeing an acupuncturist for the past 2 months. I am finally lowering
my doses of effexor from 300 mg. to 75 a day with my doctors
supervision. I hope with in the year I will be drug free and
using my own body to she treats me as a whole person not just
my symptoms. I've noticed that I sleep better as well! a bonus.
Justyna 6/25: My daughter is 16 and has
had severe depression since she was 10. She has had 3 weeks of
acupuncture and I think it has made a difference (4x week one,
3x week two and 2 times week 3). The problem is she hates it.
She dislikes the needles. I am hoping she keeps it up a little
longer until she can notice differences herself.
Reprinted courtesy
of www.mcmanweb.com, McMan’s
Depression and Bipolar web.
Breakthrough for My Daughter
"I found Steven Sonmore
when searching for alternative mental health, and began bringing
my 23-year-old daughter to him about 2 months ago, after trying
many different antipsychotic medicines to treat her for symptoms
of Schizoaffective Disorder. With the antipsychotic medicines,
she experienced many problems like severe weight gain, interrupted
menstruation, increased blood pressure, fast heart rate, confusion,
extreme tiredness, slowed thinking, and blurred vision. None of
these medications cured the symptoms that had been upsetting her
daily."
"Since she started acupuncture treatment with Steven, she has become
able to focus, remain calm, and tolerate the voices she heard without
becoming upset. With the twice weekly acupuncture treatment and
Chinese herbs she has been able once again to tolerate going out
in public settings like the mall or unfamiliar restaurants for
the first time since becoming ill four years ago. We can't begin
to express our gratitude for her improvement. She is in a recovery
process, and has now gone off all her antipsychotic medication
without any worsening of the voices. In fact, she now considers
the voices not bothersome. We look forward to continued improvement
in her functioning and well-being as she is now no longer experiencing
the side effects of the antipsychotic medications. We just wish
we would have tried the acupuncture before going through four years
of medication trials."
Sharon Fries
Uplift your mood naturally. Call 612-866-4000 today.
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