Acupuncture as supplementary Parkinson's treatment

My husband is trying acupuncture for urinary issues related to PD. His urologist thought it was worth a try. My husband has only had two sessions and it’s predicted (by urologist) to take 8-12. I’ll keep everyone posted.

Best wishes to all,
Cindy

My friend was diagnosed about 2 years ago. She has just started acupuncture so it will take a few more treatments before she sees any results is what she was informed. I really hope it works for her and so many others.

Hello @bb1956 and @cmdw2600

I have also had the urinary treatment called, PTNS.
Here is a description of this procedure from Mayo Clinic's website, under the heading,

"-Stimulation therapy. These treatments include sacral neuromodulation (SNS) therapy and percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS). They're often used when medications and lifestyle changes can't manage neurogenic bladder symptoms. Both of these techniques involve connecting devices to nerves that affect bladder control. These devices send electrical impulses to control the bladder." (https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/neurogenic-bladder-bowel-management/about/pac-20394763)

After the series of 12 was completed, I noticed a significant difference in urgency as well as leakage. I was then given the approval to continue the treatments on a once a month or twice a month basis. I chose once a month as I am also seeing a certified acupuncturist once a month as well.

While I'm sure everyone is different, this has really worked for me and without the side effects of the medications that are available to treat this problem.

Accupucture is not evidence based. It is not a supplement to PD treatment.
Accupuncture Homeopathy etc may even be harmful.
Your physician call explain this new trendy phenomenon ie acupuncture etc.
PD is about basal ganglia and cerebral cortex.

I have had incredibly good experiences with acupuncture with other issues (tennis elbow, and plantar fasciatis). It took 3 years of searching (8 hospitalizations, 5 hospitals, 100 days in hospital,) to get my PD diagnosis and by the time I received a diagnosis ,I was in Advanced Stage PD. One of the things I tried for relief -- before my diagnosis- was acupuncture. It didn't help. HOWEVER, when I tried acupuncture, it was BEFORE I had my PD diagnosis AND I was well into AdvancedStage PD. My PD was very hard to diagnose because my only symptom was increasingly severe fatigue. Consequently, my acupuncturist didn't have information that may have led her to tailor my treatments a bit differently PLUS, I was so severely impaired that it may not have helped anyway. Your case seems very different. Your acupuncturist has the advantage of knowing your diagnosis, it sounds like you are at an earlier stage of PD than I am, so it makes sense that accupuncture could make a difference for you. If the treatments are helping you sleep, that seems HUGE! If I were in your situation, I would continue the treatments.

Thought it might be useful to post some Mayo Clinic information on acupuncture:

- Acupuncture
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/acupuncture/about/pac-20392763

Thanks for this useful description and guidance about what a reasonable outcome might be.