Hi -
A friend of mine has had huge success being treated for his recurrent and quite bad migraines with acupuncture - literally gone from one a week to one in the last six months.
I also suffer from recurrent migraine but I am also terrified of needles and therefore the thought of acupuncture horrifies me.
I just wondered whether anyone else had had a similar experience or whether my friend is really a one off. I don't want to screw myself up to the torture of being 'needled' only to find that what worked for him may not work for many other people - including me...
Any input much appreciated.

Hi Anne

Randomised clinical trials have indeed demonstrated the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating migraines as well as other types of headache, and you may be able to find a practitioner who uses electro-acupuncture (mild electrical stimulation) or acupressure instead of needles. Or you could just get rid of your needle anxiety, and then you would be able to see a regular acupuncturist!

EFT, the revolutionary technique that psychologists are switching to in their droves, may well do this for you. If you take a look at the result of a 'needle phobia' search on the EFT website, you'll find a couple of dozen accounts of how others have got rid of their needle phobia using EFT.

Elsewhere on the same site you will find everything that you need to know about this technique, including a downloadable free manual. And there's a very good basic introduction to EFT on the main Foods Matter website (here).

Interestingly, it's quite possible that EFT may actually be all that you need, by which I mean that it may also help your migraines, and, coincidentally, EFT works by tapping on the end points of the acupuncture meridians, using just the finger ends, to balance out the subtle energy system. This helps to resolve underlying, often subconscious, negative emotions that may be causing or exacerbating physical pain.

If you're skeptical about all of this, take a look at this report from someone else who had doubts about the possibility of EFT helping pain that was the result of physical causes.

While you're exploring EFT, you might also like to get some CoQ10, as a second string to your migraine-busting campaign.

A study conducted at the Jefferson Headache Center, Thomas Jefferson University, found that CoQ10 was a safe and effective therapy for preventing migraine headaches. Thirty-two patients with a history of episodic migraine, with and without aura, were treated with 150 mg per day of CoQ10, and two thirds of these experienced a greater than 50% reduction in the number of days with migraine headache, all without any side effects.

Another study also found that taking CoQ-10 reduced the frequency of migraine attacks by about a third in chronic migraine sufferers.

Hello John. Thank you for all that information and apologies for not posting again for so long.
I was very interested in your EFT recommendations and, although I have not got too deeply into it, I did read the very good book recommended in the FM article, Emotional Healing in Minutes as I found the main US site rather overwhelming!
Anyhow, I did use the EFT on my needle phobia and it certainly helped. I would not say that I look forward to my acupuncture sessions (yes, I have started them too) but at last I am not totally terrified as I used to be.
And meanwhile…. I have had four acupuncture sessions so far and there is no doubt that my migraine is better, both in terms of intensity and frequency – although, there again they have not disappeared. But the improvement is such that I am definitely prepared to continue with the therapy. Will keep you posted!
Afraid I have not yet tried your CoQ-10 suggestion.......

Hi Anne

I'm so glad that you have had some success with the EFT, and been able to resume the accupuncture. And I'm also pleased that you have found 'Emotional Healing in Minutes' useful. This is especially good news because Gary Craig's EFT site looks set to shut down in the very near future, due to Gary's retirement. (So anyone wanting to download anything had better move quickly!)

But, as you're still not 100% happy with the needles, how about acupuncture without them? And I don't mean acupressure or electro-acupuncture either. I'm thinking of something altogether simpler - Chi Kung.

A few years ago, I discovered an extremely simple form of Chi Kung that involves no outward movement at all. Called "standing like a tree", this practice requires one to stand motionless in each of a sequence of five positions, which somehow enable the body to gather and distribute life force/Chi through all the meridians, clearing blockages in exactly the same way that acupuncture does, but without the need to visit a practitioner and have needles stuck in you.

When I first encountered this form of Chi Kung (officially called Zhan Zhuang - pronounced 'Jan Jong'), I was very dubious. How could standing absolutely still have any effect at all, except maybe to give you varicose veins?! But actually trying it left me gobsmacked. I could really feel something going on. My heart began to beat more strongly - not faster, just somehow with more power - while I was doing it and, after a couple of days, I noticed that my headaches eased suddenly!

Unfortunately, at the time, I didn't have enough energy to stand up for even five minutes every day, due to M.E., so I had to use a modified form that can be practised lying down, but which I didn't find had the same amazing effect on my headaches. However, I am now able to stand for more than ten minutes at a time, so have returned to practicing 'standing like a tree' and am, once again, getting significant relief from both my regular headaches and from migraines.

I still can't quite believe how standing motionless can have this effect, but it does, and the secret seems to be in the positions that one holds and how they are sequenced. They undoubtedly do have a powerful effect on one's internal energy, without one having to expend any muscular energy at all.

The practice of Zhan Zhuang is not as simple or boring as it might appear, and I seem to be kept very busy while I'm standing, needing to constantly check all my muscles to ensure that they remain relaxed. In fact, I find standing still in this way is surprisingly demanding and it can be a struggle to hold the positions for the specified time - especially if I develop an itch!.

That said, if you're interested in trying this, there are several books on the subject by the acknowledged master, Lam Cam Chuen: 'The Way of Healing' (1999); 'The Way of Energy' (1991) and 'Everyday Chi Kung' (2004). These all outline the basic standing sequence, but each one also introduces additional aspects, so it's worth having all three if you become a serious student of standing still. There is also a Channel 4 video production of Master Lam's ten-part Channel 4 series, 'Stand Still - Be Fit', which is particularly easy to follow and 'stand along' to.

Returning to your post, when you do get around to trying CoQ10, I'd recommend getting the newer 'bio-active' UBIQUINOL rather than the standard ubiquinone. The former is 8 times more effective than plain ubiquinone.

Ubiquinol is the active, 'reduced' form of this nutrient, which we normally obtain by converting the oxidized form, ubiquinone. Unfortunately, this conversion process becomes less efficient as we get older, so taking the already converted form ensures that our cells get more of what they need.

The Nutri Centre sells a selection of Q10 Ubiquinol products. See: http://www.nutricentre.com/search.as...Term=ubiquinol

Dear John -
You are a fund of information! Chi Kung sounds extraordinary. I think I might start with the video. And thanks for the extra info about Q10 - I will let you know how I get on.

Just thought I would add that I have also found acupuncture very helpful for migraine. It has not stopped them but it has greatly reduced their intensity - which is a huge bonus. I am persevering with the treatment in the hope the the reduction will continue to the point that they disappear entirely......