Seasickness Accupuncture - Carnival Spa

[santacap]

Anybody have any experience treatement / feedback on this? worth 150?

 

thanks in advance

[2Okies]

Last Sept on our Magic cruise, my husband was having some severe pain in his shoulder & foot - it had been going on for months. He had been to chiropractor at home, but nothing was helping. He was told it was bursitis, and it usually has to run its course. Anyway, we saw that the spa had a short seminar about all acupuncture could do, and to my surprise DH wanted to go. My husband - who is afraid of needles! We went, and of course my jokester hubby had to pop up and say something to the doctor giving the class that he didn't like needles. Well, THAT little comment made him the guinea pig for the class :) and she demonstrated in class how she put one in, using his arm. The needles are so tiny, they almost look like a piece of hair. It didn't hurt him, so he was more open to the idea. He went to one treatment on the ship early one morning - on his shoulder & foot. By that afternoon - his shoulder didn't hurt, and his foot was a LOT better! It made the rest of his cruise SO much more comfortable. It made a believer out of him, and when we got home, he found an acupuncturist here that could do a couple more treatments on him.

So, I would say if you want to try it - go for it. However, we found our chiropractor did it, and we were able to get it done for our co-pay ($30) compared to the $150 on ship. BUT, my husband would NEVER have considered it without the little seminar he went to on the ship. If you have any ache or pain, or you want to do it for seasickness - whatever - they will treat you for whatever you request. There are supposed nerve endings, etc in different parts of the body that when stimulated slightly w/the needles, effect other areas of the body, to promote healing. It was pretty fascinating stuff.

[golfadj]

Why would anyone want someone who they didnt know and have no clue as to their expertise stick needles into your body?

 

I would only consider doing this at home after vetting accupuncturist very carefully.

[dixieva]

I agree. I would never do this or teeth whitening on board a ship. Lots more expensive than at home and you have no idea of the training these people have had.

[HO HO]

Why would anyone want someone who they didnt know and have no clue as to their expertise stick needles into your body?

 

I would only consider doing this at home after vetting accupuncturist very carefully.

 

By researching on the internet beforehand.....Having traveled to the Far East since the 60's, and having experienced acupuncture in Hong Kong & Taiwan, I went to CCL's main site and did a search on it. Their acupuncturists are all certified, many with medical degrees. They work for a company that contracts to all the cruise lines - same company provides all the spa employees.

 

I went to the seminar on the FREEDOM this past June, and offered to be the guinea pig, as I'd had it done before. It takes about 10 needles to equal one human hair. They are all sterile, pre-packaged, single use needles, so there's no worries about cross contamination.

 

I had three treatments for knee pain. I have arthritis in both knees, have had the steroid injections in the past, and had arthroscopic surgery on the left one about 6 years ago - so I knew what my history was and wanted to see if acupuncture could do anything.

 

The ship's services are expensive, and while I did get relief for a few months, it was recommended at the time that I follow up with a local practitioner for continued treatments. They will also attempt to sell you a mixture of Chinese herbs ($99 per bottle); however, be cautious, as they are not advised for anyone taking cholesterol medication or hypertension medication!

 

My recommendation is that if you have an acupuncturist in or near where you live, and you're interested to see if it will work for your ailment - go see them. It'll be much cheaper, and you'll have someone to follow up with if you decide to continue.

 

[santacap]

thanks for the replies...

 

if it was to treat for seasickness would a pre treatment work? Or would it need to be on the ship?

 

any specific experiences with the seasickness points?

[NCTribeFan]

Anyone can use accupressure to treat sea sickness. That's what the sea bands do. Unfortunately, most people do NOT wear the bands where they should be worn.

 

Google P6 accupressure point and put the bands where they'll actually do some good, NOT right where the wrist bends (which is where I see people wearing them).

 

The bands gave me some relief but, seriously folks, Ginger Root Capsules have CURED me of seasickness.

 

And they're a lot cheaper than other treatments!

 

Start 2 days prior to sailing, take one am and pm daily, continuing throughout the cruise and for 2 days post-cruise (for mal de barquement symptoms); take 1/2 Bonine/meclizine before sailing, continue 1/2 am and/or pm if needed.

 

That's all I've needed to do since I started taking Ginger Root. Did a B2B a year ago that overlapped Hurricane Sandy and had absolutely no problems. I now have a difficult time being able to tell if the ship is even moving.

[slord12]

Anybody have any experience treatement / feedback on this? worth 150?

 

thanks in advance

 

YES! My boyfriend gets extremely seasick! We were on RC Freedom of the Seas in April and he was miserable. We met the acupuncturist up in the spa before our massages and decided to go for it. It was amazing, by the second needle in his foot he wasn't sick at all! He only did the procedure on one side of Jon's body. It was amazing. Jon had never done acupuncture before and was blown away by the results. I'd be willing to give it a try if I was seasick!

[2Okies]

I agree. I would never do this or teeth whitening on board a ship. Lots more expensive than at home and you have no idea of the training these people have had.

 

The lady that gave the treatments on the Magic, was a doctor that had trained in acupuncture for years. She gave us a lot of her background info before we even started. And, she did tell my husband she was hired through someone else that provides Carnival w/people in the spa, etc. She was on the last leg of her 2 year tour w/Carnival.

 

As someone else said, the needles are sterile, and she was very professional.

 

But, as I noted - it would have been cheaper at home.

 

As for sea-sickness, we have done the patches behind the ears. I also take a package of Bonine (since it doesn't tend to make you sleepy). We have never had any issues. We've been in pretty rough seas on one cruise for a few days, and we did fine not using anything. You can get FREE sea-sick medicine in the infirmary, as a friend of ours went down & got some.

[wrp96]

My mother has gotten severe seasickness in the past. Ginger didn't help her, neither did meclizine, so she switched to the patches and she's now able to cruise, but last cruise even with the patch she had some issues. She tried the accupuncture and it definitely worked. Would it be the first thing I would recommend? No, but for my mother it was absolutely worth it.