Fit to be tried: five elements acupuncture
Monday May 11 2009
WHEN a doctor told Tara O'Sullivan she was among a group of women "who have the worst wombs I've ever seen" and unlikely to get pregnant again, she refused to accept the diagnosis.
The Malahide woman already had twins after eight years of trying, and was desperate to have another child. She tried just about every remedy on offer to combat her problem -- a condition called polycystic ovary syndrome, which can disrupt periods and impede conception.
She endured invasive medical procedures. She embarked on several stringent fad pregnancy diets. She even tried walking three times around a religious statue supposed to have healing powers.
But the successful birth of her third child was not due to divine intervention, she says, it had more to do with regular visits to a Dublin practitioner of an unusual form of Japanese-style acupuncture.
Ms O'Sullivan (39) says the IVF-assisted birth of her twins three years ago was tough compared with her second pregnancy a year later after the acupuncture treatment. "It was a dream, completely different."
Her saviour was Karen Costin, one of a handful of Irish practitioners of the Five Elements, or Japanese, acupuncture.
Ms Costin works on the basis that the health of a person's entire body, mind and spirit must be taken into account to fully diagnose the cause of an illness.
She focuses mainly on treating infertility, but also treats tiredness, stress and even cancer.
So what's the treatment like? The first thing you notice when Ms Costin inserts her super-fine needles quickly in and out of key points is the pain -- a quick sting, but a sharp one.
By contrast, traditional Chinese acupuncture is virtually pain-free, with needles left in for up to 20 minutes.
The needles are inserted in acupuncture points, or meridians, across the body. There are 400 in all, ranging from the corner of your eye to the tip of your gum.
Ms Costin uses a person's smell, face colour, general demeanour and history to make a diagnosis.
"We identify the element -- metal, wood, fire, earth or water, that under internal or external stress becomes imbalanced, and initiates a state of disease," she says.
This may sound strange to Western ears, but she is down-to-earth about the treatment, and has been practising for 18 years. "I've no time for the New Age woo-woos," says Ms Costin.
The treatments last around 60 minutes, and as well as sticking needles everywhere from my navel to the inside corner of my left eye (a point connected to your bladder), Ms Costin applies small burning cones of herbs to heat the point before needling. This process is called moxabustion, and the aim is to stimulate sluggish or stagnant points around the body.
Ms Costin is a regular visitor at the major maternity wards around the city. "I'll often get asked in to help with an induction or labour," she says.
She's proud of her track record in helping couples to overcome infertility and claims a 40pc success rate, saying acupuncture can help to unblock energy channels that impede pregnancy.
Ms O'Sullivan swears by the therapy, and is so happy with the results of having a baby under the acupuncture treatment that she's now aiming for child number four, just before her 40th birthday in June.
- Amanda Phelan
