Dear LPG,

As I have got older I have tried everything to help with my hip and back pain over the years, and while I am lucky enough that it has not stopped me from walking or getting around it is debilitating.  Everything I do has to be done more slowly, I need to take a rest between bouts of walking anywhere while I find it frustrating to take so much longer to get to the end of any task.

In spite of all this I know that I am lucky because I have friends who I know are in a lot more pain than me, but I am still always on the lookout for anything that I can do to make life easier.

There is one treatment I have never tried although, it has been tried and tested over generations and is said to be one of the oldest remedies for so many ailments.  Some of my friends have tried and found it to be helpful; I am talking about acupuncture.  I have never been a fan of needles and find that the thought of an injection scares me.  They have always made me reluctant to go to the dentist or for a blood test even though after doing so, I often have a talk with myself about the fact that it really did not hurt.  Nevertheless, there is that moment when they try squirting a little of whatever-it-is to make sure that the needle is working properly when I really want to pass out with fear.

I have had lots of talks with friends who have tried acupuncture and for some, this treatment is really helpful while it is reported to have had no effect on others, but most say that the actual ‘needle in the skin’ aspect was never the real issue.  So I am struggling with my fears and trying to sum up the courage to have a go. 

I am torn between suffering the pain in my back or trying to ignore the thought of loads of needles all in one place; namely in my skin, but I thought I would see what the internet has to say about it.  I would think that other readers would like to know more and ask that anyone who has tried, or is trying this treatment, share their findings.  I for one, would really appreciate hearing more about others experiences.

I would like to share what I have found on the LPG site for the many other readers who I feel must be experiencing life from a rather similarly painful perspective.

OE, Bickley.

OE shares her factual findings…

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OE suggests that visual moving images might help overcome one aspect of the fear of this treatment…

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