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[Richie London]

Accupuncture is not readily available on the NHS although you do find the odd GP who dabbles and I have had some excellent results from 3 small sessions a week apart, a typical from hardly walking to running recovery.

I am now a bit of an accupuncture junkie, and not once has it failed to at least aleiviate symptoms or sort out the problem.

Make sure you get one who is properly registered

i had it done for smoking years ago, the first week i lost interest in smoking completely, after the 2nd session i went home chain smoking 

[Lazydocker]

Accupuncture is not readily available on the NHS although you do find the odd GP who dabbles and I have had some excellent results from 3 small sessions a week apart, a typical from hardly walking to running recovery.

I am now a bit of an accupuncture junkie, and not once has it failed to at least aleiviate symptoms or sort out the problem.

Make sure you get one who is properly registered

i had it done for smoking years ago, the first week i lost interest in smoking completely, after the 2nd session i went home chain smoking 

Although I had excellent results with acupuncture for my back (albeit short lived) I'm still sceptical WRT using it to stop smoking :-/

I can understand it working when there is a physical problem, but can't understand how it would work for a "mental" issue

[Richie London]

Accupuncture is not readily available on the NHS although you do find the odd GP who dabbles and I have had some excellent results from 3 small sessions a week apart, a typical from hardly walking to running recovery.

I am now a bit of an accupuncture junkie, and not once has it failed to at least aleiviate symptoms or sort out the problem.

Make sure you get one who is properly registered

i had it done for smoking years ago, the first week i lost interest in smoking completely, after the 2nd session i went home chain smoking 

Although I had excellent results with acupuncture for my back (albeit short lived) I'm still sceptical WRT using it to stop smoking :-/

I can understand it working when there is a physical problem, but can't understand how it would work for a "mental" issue

i think a lot of it is pyschological to be honest. and your willpower. friends wife had hypnotherapy for smoking for £200 and she hasnt had one since, but shes a horrible reformed smoker now. gives you grief when you light up

[LJay]

Sorry to hear of all this backpain.

Gutted your treatment hasnt worked Paul, such a shame, been going on so long...hope it all works out in the end.
On Acupuncture....anyone tried it for Migraines?

as it happens jim 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-148897/Acupuncture-cure-migraine.html

Thanks for that link Richie.
It's been recommended to me by my GP but the cost implications of something that may or may not work have made me a bit wary.

OP - I'd look at chiroprcator/osteopath rather than physio.  Physio has a tendancy to treat the symptoms where as the others will look to find the route of the problem and address that.
Good luck with it.

can you not get the acupuncture done on the NHS? if i am having 6 weeks of it for my back surely it is available to migraine sufferers

My GP has recommended it, but hastened to add that it wasn't available on the NHS.   She even recommended a clinic.
I believe it is becoming available on the NHS for back pain but not migraine.

[Jimbob]

Sorry to hear of all this backpain.

Gutted your treatment hasnt worked Paul, such a shame, been going on so long...hope it all works out in the end.
On Acupuncture....anyone tried it for Migraines?

as it happens jim 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-148897/Acupuncture-cure-migraine.html

Thanks for that link Richie.
It's been recommended to me by my GP but the cost implications of something that may or may not work have made me a bit wary.

OP - I'd look at chiroprcator/osteopath rather than physio.  Physio has a tendancy to treat the symptoms where as the others will look to find the route of the problem and address that.
Good luck with it.

can you not get the acupuncture done on the NHS? if i am having 6 weeks of it for my back surely it is available to migraine sufferers

My GP has recommended it, but hastened to add that it wasn't available on the NHS.   She even recommended a clinic.
I believe it is becoming available on the NHS for back pain but not migraine.

Probably be cheaper than the drugs you get off em!
(private presciption price is £124.80 a batch!)

[jerry]

have suffered from sciatica for years now, but thankfully only maybe a couple of times a year (usually november time so maybe the onset of cold weather is a factor too). I think it started many moons ago when lifting something too heavy and incorrectly and then continuing to try and "man" it out and continuing to work without resting it. I was laid up for a bit and there was talk of traction and stuff but it never happened. Anyhow, I now lift correctly and all that stuff but , like Lazydocker says, its now silly things like picking up something off the floor or lifting a cup of tea when you just twist the wrong way that sets it off. Like they say, once youve got a bad back youve got it for life. Very thankfully its nowhere near as bad as Lazydockers but it still gives me gip. TBH painkillers and anti-infamatory tablets dont really touch it when its bad . In the past Ive stupidly just tried to work through it but over the past couple of years Ive tried to be a bit more pro-active and have found that gentle tai chi exercises have helped and also some simple "core" muscle exercises. Certainly any "attacks" are now nowhere near as severe as I used to have. Ive been to a sports physio in the past and thats been quite good but ,of course, thats only treating the symptom not the cause. Years ago they used to recommend just periods of bed rest but its long been proven that, whilst a degree of rest is important,appropriate gentle exercises are far more effective for back pain. Anyhow, sorry to have rambled on, just my twopenneth on the subject.

[rbrueford]

Nowt wrong with rambling Jerry and thanks to all that have offered advice.
My episodes dont seem to always be set off by incorrect lifting or such but just come and then thats it for 2 or 3 weeks. My job does keep me physically on the go but not to the point i overdo it and take shortcuts so thats not a problem. Think i am going to try a chiropractor first and if that dont bring any results then ill try acupuncture methinks. Just a shame i cant take the miggy seats with me everywhere as the pain becomes bearable when im sat in them lol!!

[jerry]

oddly enough, whilst I now find the seats in the omega really comfortable for even long journeys, it seemed to take me ages to get used to them and I initially got backache .Took some playing around with the various adjustments before it felt right. According to my manual that was "normal" as the migs seats are all ergonometry designed but most people arent used to that! The car I had before was a Honda Prelude and the sports style seats in that I always found extremely comfortable and a good driving position too. (Mind you the old girth has increased a little since then )

[rbrueford]

Apart from the Omega, my 300ZX seats were awesomely comfortable as well, and being honest, slightly more than the Miggy. They totally wrapped around and even my 24st mate said he was way too comfortable!!

[bootie]

Bootie, stop having a go at the ex-forces, I am one of them too and comments like that are hard to see the funny side of, well intended or not. Please show some degree of respect for those who did their best for their country!
rbrueford...I fully sympathise with you, welcome to my world of pain. I have suffered like it for over ten years now and even biting the bullet and getting on with life (even walking like a crippled duck at times) is getting harder.
I am on high doses of weekly morhine patches which barely dull it. As for steroid injections, you can only have so many before their benfit turns into making it worse and causing more complications.
My next step is to try what some friends have tried with lots of success and that is traditional chinese remedies. I feel that I have nothing left to lose and if our traditional ones do not work then I will try anything going even though it will have to be at my own expense cos I am not in Wales or Scotland.

I see, well in that case I apologise, but seeing as I am ex forces myself I do know the value of having a bit of a giggle, there was no malice intended at all.
Not sure what branch everyone else was (or is), but I was RM for 15 years and no, not in the band..... Most of the time, servicemen tend to take a slantways look at life and take the P out of everything . Strange sense of humour that civvies could never understand. Mind you that also applied to some of our rear echelon brothers as well!

[Rods2]

I'm sorry to hear about your backache as I know how disabling it is.

Mine bad back started when I lifted a battery into the boot of a jag, you have to lean right over as it is the at the front of the boot and as I swung it in I missed the battery hole and jolted my back. I spent 10 days on my back recovering as soon as I got up my muscle would go into spasms. I have had on-off back problems since then.

If I use my chain saw, chop wood or dig the garden, I'm guaranteed a bad lower back or it can be something stupid like coughing or lifting pan of the stove, my lower back goes bad with it going down my sciatic nerve.

An alternative to sitting in the miggy seat is having a really comfortable high backed office chair. I find sleeping for half the night when I have a bad back and then a few hours in bed is much better than all night in bed. I have also found it very important to have a comfortable sofa.

All back problems are different so the office chair may not help, but for £30-40 it may make a big difference.

I hope this is of help.

[Humpy]

My lower back problems degenerated into sciatica and I had accupunture. The first session cured it for a few days, the second and the third were two or three years ago and so far so good. This was through a private clinic that my company paid for. The consultant asked me if I'd like to give it a try, if it works, why not I thought and as I said, touch wood, it's been ok ever since...

Humpy

[rbrueford]

@Bootie, i was in the Pioneers and as most of any military types will know, we did pretty much anything, commonly known as the gophers of the Army (then again, when i joined, we still had to do basic training and then up to Catterick to do the 15 weeks infantry training so definately no half cut measures lol.
Plus side is im making everyone laugh with my rather unique walk that looks like i have some rather large item stuck in a rather unpleasant place (keeping it clean as im still a newbie lol)