I went to an acupuncturist once to give up smoking. He connected me up to a lot of needles, and then put some low voltage electricity through them. It was slightly uncomfortable. As I could feel the pulses of electricity.
I had about three sessions, lasting one hour each. They were totally ineffective. I still smoke around thirty a day.
The treatment cost me around three hundred dollars. I would have been better off spending the money on cigarettes.
A friend went to an accupuncturist, many years ago for the same problem. His practicioner just put one needle in his ear, and he gave up smoking straightaway. He had been smoking around fifty a day.
When he got ribbed at work about it, he took the needle out, and started smoking again.
I suppose, it works for some, but not for others.
Good luck.

I had acupuncture before going in for major surgery three years ago, specifically to try an increase my resistance and ability to heal. I started walking round the ward as soon as I was allowed up, and then round the hospital, including climbing up and down stairs. Two weeks after the surgery, I walked 9.5 miles including five miles along a fairly steep mountain road. The nurses and doctors were surprised at what I was managing at each point of my recovery, and I like to think the acupuncture had something to do with it.

There are not enough words that I can write for the fantastic results I have had from acupuncture.

I had suffered with debilitating migraines for over a decade; Western medicine was unable to do anything to help me, other than try drug after drug in the effort to either prevent them or abort one that was in progress. Nothing worked long-term and many drugs had side effects I could not tolerate.

Eventually I was on a strong combination of barbituates and Vicoden for the migraines and I was having several a week. I was also beginning to have a doctor who suspected me of being addicted to my meds.

I turned to acupuncture for the migraines and for joint pain. I started in June and by August I was having far fewer migraines and by now (October) I consider myself to no longer be a migraine sufferer. I have an occasional headache that is easily treated with ibuprofen and rarely need to take any prescription medications, and if I do I take far, far less than I ever did.

The joint pain is taking longer to resolve but it's also decreased. My rosacea has cleared up, my energy levels are higher than they have been, I sleep better most nights due to less pain and I'm missing far less work than I had in the past

I actually missed a day of work this week with a migraine, but only because it started at 2:00 a.m. and needed prescription medication to control. After taking those, I could not drive, but the migraine resolved within 8 hours. Previously that would have been a 3 day migraine.

Acupuncture can treat so many things wrong with us. The most interesting aspect is how TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) looks at what we consider one ailment and connects them with a body system we would never have thought of. It's a different way of looking at the human body and occasionally, especially at the beginning of treatment, takes a bit of getting used to. It takes an adjustment to wrap your mind around Eastern medical philosophies after being treated for decades by Western medicine.

As far as being painful, I would say there are sensations involved, but for me there was no pain. There are tinglings and jolts as chi is allowed to move along the meridians, but it's rather a pleasant sensation of energy moving around to parts that have been blocked or stagnant. It's an invigorating kind of feeling, while being deeply relaxing.

I tend to sleep during the 20 minute treatments, or else have very vivid thoughts and visions, which are highly entertaining and very enlightening. My acupuncturist plays music for me and I just let my mind go.

There are rare occasions where a needle needs to be removed, usually if I have a migraine in progress and she inserts a needle in that area. My temples are extremely sensitive during an attack and even though the treatment is to insert a needle in the area of pain, sometime my body just says no.

I have also started asking for needs to be placed in specific points, without really knowing what those points are for. My acupuncturist thinks I was treated in a past life or am a reincarnated acupuncturist. :)

Certain places on my body will tingle or prickle and when I ask if that's a point and what it's for, it usually relates very specifically to some issue I'm having.

It's been a fascinating course of treatment. I'm now seeing her once every three weeks during the fall (the changes in weather bother my joints and energy level) and I will continue to see her, both for chronic issues and for acute illnesses. She has lessened a case of the flu and a cold dramatically by treating me as soon as I had symptoms. It's simply amazing.

Thank you everyone for your great answers!

I'm sorry the acupuncture did not work so well for you, chrisanton.

Sounds like it did work for Ceridwen and CarolMcK so that's hopeful.

Thanks for the very informative and enlightening answer, CarolMcK! That helps a lot! I think I will ask my doctor more about it and see if it might help me with my sciatica.

Thanks again!

Thank you for the award. I appreciate it.

For me, it has been a life saver. But I do know that it is not for everyone. My 17 year old son had several treatments for acne. While the treatments were successful in decreasing his break outs, he did not like the thought of having needles stuck in him. Neither he nor I can really understand why, since he willingly gets his face and body pierced, with much larger needles and with actual pain. But for him, the thought of the needles makes him cringe. I, on the other hand, don't mind them at all.

You are very welcome! Thanks again for your great answer!

Wow--that is funny! Your son gets piercings but doesn't like the acupuncture!

And wow again...sounds like acupuncture can sure help lots of things...even acne!

I'm so happy that it worked so well for you and you feel much better now! It sure does sound amazing!

I know it can lower high blood pressure which I have but I wonder if it can help with lowering high cholesterol too which I also have. That would be great! I'm going to just come out of the doctor's office feeling like a new person...lol!

Happy Halloween to you!

It would be interesting to see if it worked for high cholesterol or how high cholesterol would be viewed by traditional Chinese medicine. I'm deficient in ying, with too much yang, which rises to my head and causes the migraines. I also have stagnation of the liver (not the actual organ...but they view the liver as more of an organ system than just the organ) so I'd be curious to know where high cholesterol was viewed by TCM.

Good luck with your treatment and Happy Halloween to you too!

I know...I can't wait to find out more about it!

Thanks! I love this time of year!