Colonoscopy & Conscious Sedation

There are some modest studies, via Google (ask "acupuncture for colonoscopy") that showed some positive results in relief of fear and pain associated with colonoscopies.
I have benefited from Acupuncture with pain reduction for knee problems (and complete relief from seasonal allergies)

Does anyone onboard know if anyone is using Acupuncture as a type of anesthesia for colonoscopies? Thank you

Anyone on board have info about the use of acupuncture for pain managemet/anxiety control during a colonoscopy?
Acupuncture has a long history of anesthesia use, esp in China, and is becoming more mainstream for use in certain conditions (personally had good pain relief for knee pain due to torn meniscus).

I am not an acupuncturist...I am due for a colonoscopy, have had prior colonoscopies...I doubt it is done, but am posing the question.

JB-I have had acupuncture a number of times for dental surgery in the Far East and it worked great; I'm no expert but I would guess that it could be used for endoscopy as well, but I doubt that you have an easy time finding an endoscopist who will take the time to consider your request. I had a difficult time finding someone who would even do an unsedated colonoscopy (even though this is the safest option and the norm in most parts of the world); it seems like most GI docs are interested in the assembly-line approach to this procedure and do not appreciate a patient who wants to participate in his or her care. Three GI docs whom I spoke with "insisted" on sedation (they usually use midazolam) initially; when I told them that I was a hospital pharmacist they immediately changed their tune and acknowledged that a fair number of patients have fairly terrible experiences with midazolam and that they would personally only have the exam with propofol or even unsedated. And everyone admitted that drugs increase the chance of peroration (you won't get perforated if you are unsedated and probably won't with accupuncture either), but this option is a "secret" because it takes a few minutes longer to do the exam. If this sounds like a dismal assesment of the usual way that colonoscopy is performed in this country, it is. Not a rant against midazolam (versed), which has way too many problems to be so widely used, but it's criticism of a lack of informed consent and cost-containment at the expense of patient care. I did find a wonderful GI doc who did the exam unsedated; I'm sure that she would let you do it with accupuncture if you wanted to bring the acupuncturist...but doctors like her are few and far between. Read the anesthesia section on allexperts, Dr J. Starkman's comments to a colonoscopy sedation with midazolam question..his comments about "weeklong amnesia" etc. ring all too true with the patients whom I talk to. You are not unreasonable in requesting alternatives to the sedation drugs currently being used for colonoscopy. Not by a long shot. Good luck.

thanks for such a excellent review/response to my query. I am not having much success in matching an acupuncturist with a GI doc, and I am seeking info from both fields...I will keep you informed if I find items of interest.