I've used all of the things you've mentioned, and each of them has helped
for some of my problems. Acupuncture helped with some of the pain,
particularly reducing the girdle pain around my rib cage, but not totally
eliminating it, just making it a little easier to move in that area without
setting off spasms.
A combination of acupuncture and Chinese herbal teas used for a full year
helped improve my bowel function to the point I could go off the stool
softeners and laxatives. It's not like it was before--I eat so many
vegetable and fruit servings that I had bowel movements once or twice a
day. Now I usually manage to do something 5 or 6 days a week, ranging from
pitifully small to a large catchup. With just the laxatives, etc., I had a
small amount of rabbit pellets most days after a lot of effort. The nurse
at the rehab hospital was amazed at how much I had improved and that I had
gotten off the drugs.
Recently, I've discovered that acupuncture is fabulous for bladder
problems. I wish I'd known earlier--now anytime I have a leak, I tell my
doctor, and then I don't have another one for a very long time. I already
knew it helps with frequency and urgency problems and in nipping bladder
infections in the bud. Anytime there's a slight change in my bladder
habits, I tell my doctor and drink cranberry juice. I haven't had any
bladder infections that I had to take antibiotics for since I was first
hospitalized (6 1/2 years). My psychotherapist recommended a book called
"Staying Dry", which I just got. It has exercises to strengthen the
bladder and bladder control. I figure I have a head start on getting the
bladder problems associated with aging, so I need all the help I can get.
The forerunner of tai-chi (and karate and kung fu) is chi gong, which I do
with a tape. It's great in helping balance problems. It doesn't matter if
you can't do the positions perfectly. You gradually improve, and are able
to do the balancing stances a little better. It took a couple of years for
me to do the balance positions like the tape, and even now, if I let my
mind wander, I lose my balance, but that's so much better than before.
Before TM, I took tai-chi for one semester--during that time my ice
skating improved dramatically and my spins became centered all of a sudden.
Chi gong is what they always show the Chinese people doing in large groups
in the morning, and I think they're doing studies on using chi gong with
cancer patients.
About three years ago, I started getting chiropractic treatments, and
that's helped my back and neck problems to a certain extent. It seems like
the juncture between my "normal" spinal cord and my TM spinal cord causes a
lot of stiffness and pain, and the chiropractic helps. It also helps for
pain in my hips and lower back.
A year ago, I started getting massage therapy after surgery, because the
time I had to spend lying down made my walking so much worse again. The
massage therapy seemed to free up my joints so I'm not so stiff. A friend
I hadn't seen in a while was amazed at how much my walking had improved
(compared to my pre-surgery ability) after several months of massage
therapy. I'm about to switch massage therapists to a Chinese woman who
does acupressure/meridian work--it's called tui-nar. All of the massage
therapy I've had hurts--sometimes a lot. At first, it hurts for a couple
of days after a treatment, but after you get loosened up, it only hurts
during the treatment. The Chinese woman has helped a couple of painful
spots on one of my legs. I've only had two treatments so far, so it will
be interesting to see how it goes. She does my entire body, head to toe,
front and back. You only take your shoes off, and she works through your
clothes with no oil. There's also a gentle massage of the abdomen, but I
don't know yet if I'll notice any effect on my intestines. The full
treatment lasts about 45-60 minutes, and she's cheaper than the other guy I
was seeing, whose treatments lasted 25 minutes.
Acupuncture also hurts more since the TM, in the areas below T5. Even so,
most of the needles just hurt a lot for a few seconds. The next needle
distracts me, and the pain eases. My feet, though, are so sensitive that
the needles sometimes cause a few spasms, but they don't last long. Before
TM, I had acupuncture for asthma, and now I really don't have asthma,
although I also follow a special diet and make sure I monitor my lungs for
any congestion and immediately do herbs and extra vitamins if needed.
I also meditate and do self-hypnosis, and my psychotherapist hypnotizes me
as well and has worked with me on pain problems.
I guess you can tell I like alternative therapies. I think part of the
reason is that I've always had drug allergies and lots of side effects from
medications, whether they worked or not.
Sorry this is so long.
Aurore