Hello,

At our last head and neck support group meeting, we heard from one of the participants that he had not been able to eat for about six months due to the radiation to head and neck.

He then decided to have acupuncture and if I recall correctly he said that after the third session he went home and was ble to eat a taco.

I would like to hear from others who may have tried acupucture and what their experience has been in improving or facilitating swallowing.

Thank you.

This subject has been up before and I believe that the consensus was that it was ineffective and a waste of money. One acupuncturist himself stated that it wasn't effective for dry mouth issues.

If you do a search on "acupuncture" you should be able to find the previous discsussions on it.

But who knows placebos work for a lot of people as well!

Gary,

Thank you for the reply. I appreciate the past feedback. I was kind of incredulous when the person at our head and neck cancer support group shared their experience with swallowing and acupuncture. Perhaps this indeed is a placebo effect.

We saw our dentist yesterday and he was not keen on acupuncture either.

Again, thank you.

I just want to point out that the placebo effect is about something really changing for the better--just not for the reasons we may think it is changing. The power positive expectations can have on our actual physical being is pretty amazing and we can see that by the fact that placebo effects are so ubiquitous.

I guess what I'm saying is ultimately it doesn't matter what caused this guy to go home and be able to eat a taco-he had an amazing change for the better! It's not proof that acupuncture caused it, but hey. whatever. do you think he really cares?

Hey Vin, if you do that search could you come back ehre and say what you found? I am too busy to read a lot her in the next few days, but I've been thinking of trying acupuncture too so I guess I'm asking is if you'll do my homework for me since you're doing it for you anyway ....

Nelie

Once a saliva gland is killed, it's dead, I have had funeral services for my saliva glands. If my saliva were to come back it would be from the higher power from above.
Darrell

Hi Folks, it's been a while I kmow but finally checked in for a bit.

A few months ago back I read in some blog someplace about this particular patient having gone to one of the medical centers in Guangzhou here in China for Gamma Knife therapy. She discussed with the doctor there about adjunctive therapy such as acupuncture. His response was absolutely not, that it was possible the acupuncture treatment would possibly stimulate any reamaining cancer cells and make them more active.

Not sure of how much truth to that there is, but somehow it makes sense.

Someplace in China
Bob

Nice to see you back Bob, I've missed your postings.

Acupuncture to improve salivary function is done at Johns Hopkins's Kimmel Cancer Center's acupuncture clinic (they also perform acupuncture for pain and nausea associated with cancer treatment) It has proved especially useful for cases where the usual pain and nausea medications do not work well. It does not "stimulate the cancer" -- a lot of study went into this before the acupuncture ceter was approved. The use of acupuncture for xerostomia was initiated (at least in this area) at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore -- I have a link to this somewhere and will post more when I find it. There is also some evidence that acupuncture can improve immune response but this is very early.

Acupuncture does work -- that is, it is not just a placebo effect -- possibly by stimulating (in the brain) production of endorphins which also affect near-by brain regions. Which may be why needles applied to say, the hand, can reduce pain in the neck.

We use acupuncture on our dogs if they have an injury which leaves them with lingering pain or soreness and it definitely works -- not sure if dogs understand the "placebo effect" <gr>

Gail

Hi --

Back again -- I found one of the links to acupuncture for dry mouth --

http://www.dentalplans.com/Dental-Health-Articles/Acupuncture-treats-dry-mouth.asp

The doctor referred to is at the University of Maryland Dental School (part of the medical college in Baltimore).

Gail