Quote:
Originally Posted by Amarantha
I've never even had my ears pierced ... just seems like a lot of extra pain I could do without. 
Will be interested in your follow-up experiences, Kar Kar! 
Slightly off topic but I've had my ears pierced (the lobes) and it really doesn't hurt. Those piercing guns get the job done in a second.
Back to ear stapling - again, this is a FAD that has come and gone over the years, and now I suppose has come back again for a little bit (apparently mostly in the Southwestern region as I've yet to see it happen here in CA). Most of the "positive" remarks I'm reading - both here and on the 'Net - have either been from people actually DOING ear stapling (I wouldn't call THEM exactly an 'unbiased source of information') or people who have had it done, or "I know a guy..." or heard of someone having it done, most of whom have had it done a relatively short time ago and have lost a small weight, most likely from what Tealeaf has said is the 'placebo' effect. Folks...this doesn't mean it WORKS. If ear stapling "worked" there would be LOTS of people losing and KEEPING OFF, for the LONG TERM, a significant percentage of their weight.
Meanwhile here's this recent article from the
Batesville (Ark) Daily Guard:
Ear stapling - Miracle diet or dangerous fad?
Quote:
Ear stapling is similar to true acupuncture in that its goal is to stimulate a nerve through piercing, but the similarities end there. Most acupuncture techniques make use of 10, 20 or even 100 needles and only stimulate the targeted meridian points for a few hours, not constantly. Also, a staple is relatively large when compared to an acupuncture needle and could do more damage to the flesh than is intended. Acupuncturists never pierce cartilage. The chance of serious infection is much higher with the stapling as well, and clients could experience nausea and other side effects.
“There’s a serious medical risk here. The cartilage does not replace itself, meaning those who get the ear staple will have permanent holes in their ears. Why would you want to let someone with no medical background place a foreign object in your ear,” Betsy Day, clinic coordinator for the weight loss clinic at the University of Arkansas for Medical Science, told the Guard. “It would seem rather suspect if medical physicians are performing the operation.”
IMO not a pretty sight - if you wear your hair over your ears this might not be a big deal but having permanent marks where they can be seen...not my cuppa tea personally...
and about licensed acupuncturists doing the procedure:
Quote:
...according to Dr. Michael Ranft, a doctor of oriental medicine, DOMs and other holistic healers are prevented by law from performing the procedure.
“Licensed oriental doctors cannot do it. Medical doctors have a universal license which allows them to perform such procedures,” Ranft said. “Acupuncturists don’t do it because it requires piercing the cartilage, and we don’t do that; we work with soft flesh. We don’t use staples in our practice, and you can run into problems when you leave what is supposed to be a temporary staple in someone’s ear for months ... People want to leave these in for months, but I would want to check it every week or so.”
My guess is that this current wave of ear stapling will burn out after a few months or a year...then in about five or ten years its proponents will come out of the woodwork again - after people have forgotten that it doesn't work, they'll just remember that lots of people TRIED it.
And IMO opinion (keeping in mind that while I know several people who HAVE had acupuncture, though not for weight loss) I don't believe this is the same as acupuncture, it might be VAGUELY related but for the reasons stated above - going into cartilage and leaving the staple in - not the same as acupuncture.
