Alternative treatments on the NHS

[Melanie]

Has anyone tried alternative treatments on the NHS or found a dermatologist with an open mind?

Mine is intriuged as to the success I will have using various alternatives (I've been having chinese acupuncture for about a year - I was nearly clear (or at least as good as I was on PUVA (but sadly without the tan and fortunately without the all day sunglass wearing) for some time although I had a flare up this spring and he refered me to a colleague for chinese medicine - I've only just started this so will see how it goes....) but highly sceptical. I suppose she has seen it all before but I can't see that there is anything wrong with trying various other methods before resorting to tablets. She has told me herself that I have run out of other 'western medicine' options.

I have also been to my GP about having acupuncture on the NHS but was flatly refused. My derm can tell them that it was working and acupuncture is available on the NHS for other problems, so why not p? Surely it has to be cheaper than some of these creams and it is well known with p that what works for one person could well not work for another.

Does anyone know who makes these decisions for the NHS and who I should contact?

[Melanie]

P.S Just off for my first porrige bath - sounds the most preferential option! Mmmmm, I can smell my chinese tea brewing from here, Maybe I will take a mug in with me to sip

[archie]

Hi Melanie,

I don't know why they don't offer acupuncture on the NHS for P, but i had it once for a stiff neck at a local health clinic and it was surprisingly cheap. You could try that.

[MissBee]

Has anyone tried alternative treatments on the NHS or found a dermatologist with an open mind?

Mine is intriuged as to the success I will have using various alternatives (I've been having chinese acupuncture for about a year - I was nearly clear (or at least as good as I was on PUVA (but sadly without the tan and fortunately without the all day sunglass wearing) for some time although I had a flare up this spring and he refered me to a colleague for chinese medicine - I've only just started this so will see how it goes....) but highly sceptical. I suppose she has seen it all before but I can't see that there is anything wrong with trying various other methods before resorting to tablets. She has told me herself that I have run out of other 'western medicine' options.

I have also been to my GP about having acupuncture on the NHS but was flatly refused. My derm can tell them that it was working and acupuncture is available on the NHS for other problems, so why not p? Surely it has to be cheaper than some of these creams and it is well known with p that what works for one person could well not work for another.

Does anyone know who makes these decisions for the NHS and who I should contact?

Well just guessing.. and it is a guess because I don't know at all... but are the acupuncture treatments covered by the NHS addiction related... ie. smoking, eating etc???

If so... maybe it is that... maybe they believe acupuncture doesn't work for us because it is not controlled by our own desires.

Who knows... why not ask your GP to explain why??

[lisalu]

I don't know either, but I do know that I had acupuncture on the NHS, first off at my GP's surgery, and then at a local hospital physio dept when ordinary physio was doing no good for my bad back, and that wasn't controlled by my desires, unless you count my desire not to have a bad back.  I think a lot of it boils down to how understanding your GP is.  The derms I see at the hospital are not really interested, they ask what I am using, I lie and say the usual dovenex, alphosyl and I say they don't work. The reason I don't use them is because I did for a long time, and nothing happened so I stopped, but nobody listens and they just write out new scripts for the same old same old and then the pattern is repeated 6 months later...the annoying thing is that I know, or am as sure as I can be that I know what 'causes' or at least affects my P and that is my hormones, but will anyone listen?  Everyone admits that pregnancy affects P, so why don't they do some bloody research on it, at least it'd help SOME people, I'd be a guinea pig.

[MissBee]

OK.. we'll that was my theory blown away lol

I've never had acupuncture or known anyone to have it for anything other than smoking and weight loss.

You are right though, GP's vary massively on what they will/won't refer for.

I have a frozen shoulder which comes and goes.  One of my doctors always refers me to a private osteopath and they fund 12 treatments.  Other GP's refer me to the hospital or do nothing at all :-/

It's all a bit of a gamble really.