In this meta-analysis fifteen studies were analysed - over 1100 patients. In each study, acupuncture was compared with control "sham" acupuncture (acupuncture applied to non-acupuncture points).

• Acupuncture patients needed less opioid (morphine-like) pain treatment at 8, 24 and 72 hours after surgery
• Postoperative pain was also significantly less in the acupuncture group at 8 and 72 h compared with the control group.
• The acupuncture treatment group had a lower incidence of opioid-related side-effects such as nausea, dizziness, sedation, pruritus (itching), and urinary retention (inability to urinate).

The authors conclude that "perioperative acupuncture may be a useful adjunct for acute postoperative pain management". I was intrigued, and decided to explore the methods used in one of the 15 studies in a bit more detail (Kim KS, Nam YM. The analgesic effects of capsicum plaster at the Zusanli point after abdominal hysterectomy. Anesth Analg 2006; 103: 709–13).

In this study, needles were not used. This should make the technique a bit more acceptable to needle-averse patients i.e. most Westerners and all children. (The study however included no children and, as it was performed in Korea, probably no Westerners).

Capsaicin is the compound in chili peppers that makes them taste hot. Capsicum plaster (PAS) is a capsaicin mixture of powdered capsicum  and capsicum tincture on a sheet. After application the sheet is covered with an adhesive plaster. This method apparently is widely used in Korea.

The Zusanli acupuncture point (Chinese: 足三里, ST36) is four finger breadths below the lower margin of the patella and one finger breadth lateral from the anterior crest of the tibia. The Zusanli acupoint lies on the stomach meridian and is used in the treatment of lower abdominal pain. In the study, the treatments (capsaicin, control or sham) were applied 30 minutes before anesthesia and were maintained for 8 hours per day for 3 days.

PAS is "noninvasive, simple, painless, and easy to apply". The size (5 × 5 mm²) of the patch is convenient, and capsicum gets from the patch and into the skin surface within 8–12 hours. PAS is also inexpensive ($1 per 5 sheets), especially when compared to anti-nausea drugs or to transcutaneous electrical acupuncture devices like the ReliefBand.

The Zusanli acupoint was first confirmed by the acupuncturist using an acupuncture needle. It's not clear from the study description whether this is a prerequisite for correct application or whether you can simply apply the patch to the appropriate area  below the knee. (De-Qi is a sensation typically associated with proper acupuncture needle positioning and many practitioners say this sensation is crucial in achieving the effect of acupuncture. However, when PAS is applied on an acupoint, De-Qi is unlikely to be elicited).

The results of this pchili powder study were in keeping with the results of the meta-analysis i.e. pain levels were reduced and less analgesic medication was needed.

So, with the above caveat about plaster application in mind, I conclude that PAS may be a useful addition to standard pain treatment in patients having abdominal surgery. It may be especially helpful for those in whom usual analgesic medications have been less successful, or have lead to side-effects, and for individuals who simply prefer non-drug treatments. I can't wait to offer it to my next hysterectomy patient, if I can just get my hands on some PAS plasters!

My knee is hurting from the chair at work. The elevator is out in my apt. I'm on the highest floor. Anywho..

Physical Therapist Asst looks at my ankle and says you have a lot of swelling. I need to give you a massage on your ankle. So, I'm going thru the ropes of exercises. Now, I'm getting scolded by the Paraguarian and Bulgarian PTA about my ankle.  Thick accents say to me, you need to come to therapy b/c your ankle needs much work. Bulgarian PTA is working my ankle like I kick her. She kneads my ankle for 10 minutes. My thick scar receives kneading  for five minutes alone. I'm like dayum !

Her comes the Paraguayan PTA to measure my ankle. The measurements are for improvement in my ankle. She pulls and pushes my ankle to feats that I have not confidentially gain on my on! She goes over my measurements and says you have not improve here. Also, she tells me. My scars tissue is restricting my range of motion.  We will work on this.. I told her that I'll ice down at home. She says no.. You need your electrical stimulation on your ankle. I said ok! Now, i'm iced and have current going at 16. When I first had physical therapy after surgery. I was up to 20.  I lay back on the table with my arms over my eyes. I start crying the pain was not cool for me. The Paraguayan PTA comes over to say something me. Tears are flowing hard. She apologies for the measurements. I told her i'm ok.

I'll be in PT for months..  *sigh*.

I'm calling my ortho nurse and asking for ultrasound too.  Maybe it will loosen my scar tissue. I'll ask about my own personal TENS unit or Celebrex script.

My Internist told me that my scar is keloid.  She says they inject cortizone in the scar to lighten it. I need to call her and ask does it breaks down the scar tissue too. I would hate to have surgery to reduce the scar tissue.  Mebbe I need to go back to acupuncture for help with scarring.

Those of you with back pain, this guy or folks on his blog says it great for it.

My day  was supposed to be restful or free flowing.. damn!

New Babies:  there have been a fair number of babies born over the summer and congratulations go to: Ellen and Tilly, Katherine and Natasha, Liane and Lily, Melanie and Isabelle, Alice and George, Neela and Tilly, Cristina and Chiara, Claire and Merry, Andrea and Ayla, and Erica.  The pictures and birth stories I've received are published in the photo section, if your baby's photo isn't there, please do email and I'll add it. For those who have had your babies but haven't got around to emailing (or don't have my email), congratulations also, and please do feel free to email now to let me know how it all went and send your photos so I can add to the blog gallery.

One-off Sessions with Labour Partners:  Julie Summers, who teaches the Wednesday evening antenatal class at yogahome, runs these regular one-off sessions where you and your labour partner can learn about the process of straight-forward labour. The session includes how to support a woman during labour, suggestions for helpful positions, massage, breathing, how to negotiate a birth plan and get the most from the available services.  The next session is Sunday 2nd November for women with babies due mid/late November and December.  There is also another session planned for Sunday 7th December for those due mid/late December and January.  Sessions run from 6.00-9.30pm and cost £40 per person with labour partner.  If interested, please call Julie on 07956 890825 for further info and to check availability.

Doulas: the topic of hiring a Doula has come up quite frequently in recent classes.  If you're interested in hiring one, you can try www.doula.org.uk where you can use their 'find a doula' search facility, the site also provides loads of info and has a FAQ section. 

Therapies/Treatments: recent recommendations for pregnancy massage have gone to Angel Therapy Rooms, Islington, and Sue Boughton (tel 07811953277), who works out of Shine on Church Street - but for a much cheaper option you can go to her house, just off Newington Green, where she charges £40 and the session is closer to 1h 20mins. Sue also does induction massage, and is a doula. For those suffering from lower back pain, a visit to an Osteopath has been highly recommended by a number of mums-to-be, in particular the Foundation for Paediatric Osteopathy in Clerkenwell www.fpo.org.uk. This centre specialises in children and pre/post natal mums, and is donation based.  Please also check out the earlier postings for info on Acupuncture and Homeopathy. 

Taxis to Hospital:  in case anyone is planning to get a taxi to the hospital, I've got a list of 4 companies that are happy to take women in labour. Curiously, Addison Lee don't. But those who will are:   

Imperial Cars - 020 7700 4999 (Caledonian Road)
Angel Express - 020 7704 1234 (133 Essex Road, also known under a few other names)
A&A Car Services - 020 7354 8989 (Upper Street)
Defoe Direct - 020 73354 9999 (Highbury Grove - also called Premier Cars)

Postnatal Classes & Activities:  as more babies have arrived over the summer, thought I'd take the opportunity to remind you of some of the other classes I teach in the area.

• Splashbabies
  On Thursday mornings at Sunstone Gym (Northwold Road) I teach baby and toddler swimming. You don't have to be a member of the gym to come to these classes as they're run by Splashbabies. The classes for new babies (under 6 months) are 11.00 and 12.30 - these courses are very popular and tend to fill up very quickly so if you're interested, do book early. You can find out more at www.splashbabies.co.uk or info@splashbabies.wanadoo.co.uk. I'll bring some leaflets in this Sunday and, of course, feel free to ask me directly if you'd like more info on the courses. 
   
• Postnatal Yoga
  On Monday mornings from 10.30-12.30 I teach the post-natal yoga drop in at yogahome, where we have a 'creche worker', in other words an extra pair of hands to help look after the babies and give you more time to focus on yourself, which as a new mum is very welcome and much needed.

Unsubscribing from the Blog: am aware that there may by now be some of you who had your baby quite a few months ago and for whom the blog is no longer relevant.  Please let me know as soon as you no longer want to receive this and I'll take you off the mailing list. 

Good Luck: as always, am sure the whole class would like to join me in wishing all the best to those who are due in the coming month - Mary (13th October), Jo (16th October), Pippa (17th October), Karen and Anne (19th October), Lucy (21st October), Alex (1st November), and Maya (6th November).  May your labours be smooth and uncomplicated, remember to let us know how it goes and don't forget the pics of your new babies!! I hope I haven’t missed anyone - if I have, apologies, good luck, and please let me know so I can amend.

And finally Goodbye and Good Luck to Melodie: sadly for us, but happily for Melodie, she and family have moved back to Australia, though she's still on her email so hopefully we can remain in touch. It's been a pleasure Melodie and I know everyone from the class would agree and join me in wishing you all the best!!

That’s it from me for now.

Om shanti
Kirsty xx

Mark Crislip rains on Parade - A little over a week ago, I blogged about my intention to write Parade Magazine for a particularly credulous story they ran that recommended acupuncture among other crap-based medicine. Well, I never got around to it. Fortunately Mark Crislip tore them a new one. Great job, Mark!

NY Times endorses dowsing - I hope they got a good price for that journalist integrity. Maybe the subject of this article would care to take the Randi Million Dollar Challenge.

Speaking of Randi, I'm going to get to see the amazing one in person tomorrow in NYC.

And Randi's annual skeptic's convention is also the focus of the latest Captain Disillusion video:

Voodoo! - George Ann Mills, a South Carolina voodoo high priestess, is alleging that Annette Kesting, an Atlanta, Georgia county commissioner, tried to pay her to cast curses on a political rival and bounced checks in the process.

WHAT'S THE HARM?

Attempted Witch Burning - Darin Najor, a 20-year-old adult education student in Michigan, has been charged with assault and battery after dousing his teacher with holy water and trying to burn her with a lighter because he thought she was a witch. Amateur Scientist points out:

Nor does he understand how to properly burn a witch. If someone's wet, you're going to have a hard time burning him or her. Yes, even if the water is holy.

For more info. on this story, click here.

The Amateur Scientist blog is now banned in China

Campus Crusade For Christ is raising money to buy supplies for the soldiers - So what are they buying? Armor? No. Guns? No. Bullets? Food? No. Medical equipment? Anything even remotely useful? No. Just useless Bibles.

Sydney Atheists doing charity work in the name of reason

ATHEIST DISCRIMINATION:

Those Evil Humanists - The Humanists and Freethinkers of Cape Fear in North Carolina set up a booth about Humanism and Freethinking at an annual street festival. Someone noticed a sign directed right at them at a local church nearby (and God's a terrible spell checker):

Richard Dawkins named one of the 50 people who wrecked Britain! WOOO!!! - This critical document was produce by some random guy named Quentin Letts, who clearly has been granted special authority on these matters. And to think I didn't even know Britain was wrecked? Funny, in all my exchanges with friends living in Britain, not one of them has ever mentioned that Britain is wrecked.

Review of The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality by Andre Comte-Sponville

Christian reality dating show - I can't beat the comment on Skepchick: "Get advice from a twice-divorced Pentecostal minister who plead guilty to assaulting one of his ex-wives! What better source could there be? "

Browse the artifacts of Geek History in Jay Walker’s library - Coolest library ever!

MONKEY NEWS:

Monkey waiters - In America we only have to compete with Indians and Mexicans for jobs. The Japanese are losing their jobs to monkeys! It's a mad house. A MAD HOUSE! Damn, dirty primates!

AND NOW FOR A MOMENT OF SCIENCE:

Circadian Clock May Be Critical For Learning - "The circadian rhythm that quietly pulses inside us all, guiding our daily cycle from sleep to wakefulness and back to sleep again, may be doing much more than just that simple metronomic task, according to Stanford researchers.

Working with Siberian hamsters, biologist Norman Ruby has shown that having a functioning circadian system is critical to the hamsters' ability to remember what they have learned. Without it, he said, 'They can't remember anything.' "

Computers 'Taught' To Search For Photos - "A pair of Penn State researchers has developed a statistical approach, called Automatic Linguistic Indexing of Pictures in Real-Time (ALIPR), that one day could make it easier to search the Internet for photographs."

Genome Of Relapsing Malaria Parasite Decoded - "In research aimed at addressing a global epidemic, a team of scientists from around the world has cracked the genetic code for the parasite that is responsible for up to 40 percent of the 515 million annual malaria infections worldwide, Nature reveals in its October 9 cover story."

Concentric Circles

Originally uploaded by Hoot Owl

The days are crisp, and the nights even colder. We look up into vivid blue skies in Maine, as the kids head back to school with jackets they won't need by noon recess. Each day darkness encroaches slowly but steadily, today just a bit shorter than yesterday. I'm almost always in wool socks again, except for mightily-cold toes in the ocean. The leaves are turning vivid reds, oranges, yellows. In this northern climate, the great harvest is coming to its end. We are trundling towards autumn on a crisp cool day, the clankety sound of aluminum snow shoes jostling to the front of the closet, just behind cleats and hiking boots. Mums, pumpkins and root vegetables rule.

Over the past month I drafted a few possible autumnal posts for this blog, touching on the Immune System, the balance between exterior and interior, taking in and letting go. But my writing never lifted out of my intention into a realm all to it's own. The presence of me loomed too heavily in the words, like a stodgy old professor standing in front of a drowsy class of kids text-messaging under their desks.

And then today, it happened. It turned warmer again and Late Summer sang to me. And I was reminded that we aren't quite there yet, not autumnal, not metal, not yet. I feel the left radial artery of my first client with my right hand, my first three fingers feeling the hard push of something insistent and ornery knocking on the door as if to say,

Get this Crap out of Here!

My client is a retired man in his 70s with hypertension, a bad-ass attitude, a gentle-side the size of Kilimanjaro, and two competing regrets: to have never found a heroic opportunity for hand-to-hand combat and to have ended up in a marriage that is short on skin-to-skin contact. When he comes in to the office from the world he perceives as hostile, he's laying down the search for hand-to-hand, and thirsty for some ordinary, professional skin-to-skin. While still feeling the knock-knock of his pulse, I use the forefinger of my other hand to gently touch the man's left thigh, just above the knee on the inside: Spleen 10, Sea of Blood. This is the point that answers the insistent knocking, and says

Yes, thank you, you found Me. I'm still here. Underneath this crap!

There is no life without blood. Blood is the warrior who travels the kingdom and picks up all the viral, fungal, cancerous enemies and loads them into it's vessels and transports them away, away, away. Where do they go, these villains?

Where do blood's burdens go? Lady Macbeth was right. There is only one way to go that is any good at all.

Out, out...!

Lady Macbeth felt so intensely guilty for orchestrating her husband's death that she imagines the blood on her hands, which she washes furiously. It will not go away. She cries,

Out, out damn spot. Out I say!

I start thinking of Spleen 10 as out-out-damn-spot. The light touch of my forefinger mellows the pulse, which now breathes like a baby. The kind of breath that has new mothers watching, listening, holding mirrors by baby's nostrils, asking,

is he breathing? is he still alive?

Yes, this is rest. This is alive without the stampeding of the survivalist, sympathetic nervous system. This is parasympathetic. This is down-time. This is being, not doing, and certainly not running. No tiger at the heels here. Just breathe. Just rest. What a treasure trove of nothing. I insert a needle at the exact point where my finger had rested, pointing the needle in the exact trajectory in which my forefinger had pressed ever so lightly, like a feather.

Lady Macbeth's guilt was a toxin knocking at her psyche, urging her to cleanse her hands. Were she here now, were my fingers on her pulse would I feel that bounding blood bursting at the seams, too full with toxic Crap, craving release of the load? Would a light touch at the Sea of Blood reveal the spirit underneath, in wait, still there, whole and perfect and still, being itself and nothing more? Maybe all the relentlessly scheming Lady Macbeth needed was a good cleansing of the blood?

My client is no Lady Macbeth. Like all of us, I'm sure he has his shame, his guilt, his regrets. They do not, however, haunt him as they haunted Lady Macbeth. He shows no urge to be cleansed, no need to over-wash. But the knocking at the door, the insistent rabble-rousing of his pulse, so quieted by Spleen 10 tells me that his Blood is carrying a toxic overload of some kind.

Blood is in the flowing, blood is in the flesh, blood is in the organs, blood is a whole dynamic interplay of solid and liquid manifestations of substantial nourishment and kick-ass cleansing. Blood is the nutritive aspects of food, and the cleansing potential of a great fire followed by a clean jet-stream of water to wash the debris away. Blood is therefore the best protection we have from the diseases of contemporary society, which as chronic and degenerative, are related to stress, toxins and deep, internal bio-dysregulation.

The acupuncture treatment delivers my client with the rabble-roused pulse to a place of no rabble, no scrap and scuffle. He is floating. The warmth of a far-infrared heat lamp beaming at the needles I've placed in Stomach 25, Heaven's Pivot, allow this floating nothingness to be no big deal, a nothingness rooted to the middle of his body. Stomach 25 is the bodily convergence of heaven (qi) and earth (blood); needling it regulates qi and blood and eliminates stagnation. Lady Macbeth stops washing her hands.

My next client has cancer. She's young and graceful and parries and side-steps and is emotionally ephemeral--darting only briefly in and out of her feelings. This is a condition she knows well, having used it to survive other life-threatening experiences in an abusive family of origin. But today she tells me that she took some steps over the past week to step through the emotional abyss she has jumped over and over for decades. She experienced a deep and exhausting exhumation of buried feelings and it was physically excruciating. The same kind of physical pain that she feels when her cancer cells loaded with chemotherapy swell and swell and explode and dissolve. Such symmetry is remarkable to us both. I feel her pulse.

Knock, knock.

It's here, too. The little child who is just learning to use the potty holds her pants and stamps her feet when she feels the insistent knock, knock on the door. I touch Sea of Blood and am instantly somewhere else inside, under blood's burden in the calm beneath the storm.

Here I am,

Says Sea of Blood. Back at the pulse all is calm except for the hard tap tap on the Liver pulse straining under chemo, straining under the presence of tumors some of which are dying off, others which hold on.

Come, Sea of Blood,

I say, bring your calm, to Liver blood. Cancer in the liver? Meet Liver 8, the He-Sea and Water Point of the Liver meridian. Just a light touch on Liver 8, Spring at the Crook, and I know this is the next point to needle today. Together little Spring and Sea of Blood call out,

Out, out damn spot!

Welcome back Gertrude, my next client of the day. I've written about Gertrude in the past. You can read about her here. She's come a long way, but it's forward, back, forward, forward, forward, back, and so on. She is looking for a house in which to live safely, an uncontaminated house. Her anxiety about toxic exposure is severe, her reactions instantaneous and her ruminating on the many possibilities of exposures and reactions is intense and automatic. But she is not running. Well, not for long. She comes back. Like a strawberry plant she is apt to make a run for it underground and pop up somewhere else, seeking, seeking. But she is beginning to have a sense of her own root, of her Sea of Blood, and she returns to it.

Leaving is good, new shoots are good. Those are Wood element activities in which she feels at home. But autumn is approaching now. The encroaching cold and darkness asks something different of us. We look inward, and those of us with homes begin metaphorically and figuratively to prepare the fireside hearth. Those, like Gertrude, without homes, feel out of sync, short of breath, dry, and cold. This is not a season of seeking outside of ourselves, like the Spring and Summer, but a season of growing repose and reflection. It marks the beginning of an inward journey to that part of our story which is still outside the warmth of the hearth. In health, this season propels us to take inventory and to gather the lost bits of our selves. It is hopeful. It is knowing how far off our orbits we all travel, at least some of the time, and knowing we can return home, where we do not wear masks, and where we are whole even in our brokenness.

Again I take up my post at the pulse, and feel the effect of the light, feather-touch of my forefinger on Spleen 10. Sea of Blood reveals itself here as invincible and inviolate once again. Deep and forgiving of ripples of guilt, shame, anger, fear. Remove the touch on Spleen 10 and a boat of toxins slides under my fingers. The pulse is knocking, hard, insistent, like a can of nails tumbling down the rungs of an aluminum ladder. In Gertrude's blood there is a boat crammed full of sticky, icky toxins clamoring to be let out.

Let us out or we cannot be held responsible for what we do here!"

But Spleen 10 isn't enough. The needles in Sea of Blood are drowned out by the voices of Gertrude's sisters who insist that this whole Multiple Chemical Sensitivity trip is just grief, transmuted into an elaborate maze in which Gertrude wanders, obsessed with her own powerlessness and isolation. To which Gertrude says,

So what if it is!

To which Sea of Blood says,

I cannot be tainted. I am inviolate.

To which Gertrude says,

Then why am I drowning?

My next client has one of the thickest and most yellow coatings to his tongue that I have ever seen. He is a man of great responsibility who is studious about his obligations. Duty-bound and controlled by the needs and demands of others, he swallows spontaneity, the urge towards freedom and his growing rage, and those three things sit in his stomach and rot.

His stomach meridian is taught in the abdomen, sticky at numerous places on the shin, especially the crater at Stomach 40, as if a glob of phlegm attaches to it from the inside and pulls the skin down into this empty concave morass of swallowed crap. Sea of Blood seems to open up a door inside him and that strong current that was pounding at the door is now flowing, circulating.

There have been other clients today who I will not mention who showed the same striking pulse variations with and without a bridge to the Sea of Blood. Is this confluence an expression of the very real interplay between our bodies and our natural world? As Thea Elijah says,

This is real!

The observations of the seasons and of plants is not beneficial to us because of its symbolism but because all phenomenon--humans, plants, animals, seasons, included--gyrate, resonate, orbit and return on the same elemental trajectories. Maybe this really is late summer in my corner of New England, a time when it is only natural for the flow of Earth points to be especially evident. But why Spleen 10?

Perhaps I gravitated towards Sea of Blood today for my own reasons, not because of any great sensitivity on my own part to accessing my client's healing. I stumbled upon it, out of my own inner drama and fascination with the Sea of Blood and the healing of my gut.

6 years ago I stopped eating all gluten and dairy because my breast-feeding infant developed severe itchy eczema in reaction to my diet. He remained gluten and dairy-free when he began solid foods. Over the years, either by accident or with intention we tested him periodically to see if the itchy rash returned, which it did. Last summer it took a few months but then returned. I too tested my reactions to gluten and dairy several times after my son had weaned, and always felt that my body was unable to properly transport the stickiness of these foods. This summer my son had no reaction and his good fortune has continued. So I decided to try it again myself.

This time it was different. I had no reaction. I'm now eating breads and yogurt and even cheese. Oh, how I love cheese! This exploration of my body's resources and reactions has been fascinating. My spleen has been resplendent. And so I am in a very intuitive, sensory and personal understanding of my rich, adaptive, nutritive, and cleansed Sea of Blood. Once overloaded with toxins, unable to handle the heavy-damp, puffed up grandeur of gluten and dairy, my Sea of Blood is now able to feast and cleanse, feast and cleanse. A note to those interested in Celiac disease: I was never tested for Celiac because it seemed more important to immediately cease ingesting what I intuitively knew was hurting my child. (One has to be ingesting gluten to test the blood). Since celiac can be asymptomatic, while still damaging the small intestine, I intend to be tested at some point in the near future. To be sure. Until then, I'm presiding over late summer's table with one finger on Sea of Blood, and the other hand at the pulse. Can you feel the rising of the Self within Blood, feel the natural state of being blood--quiescent and powerful in it's depth? Can you feel the quieting of that which has been added, that which is non-self, non-blood, the quieting of the noisy passengers as they clamor to get off?

Out, out!

A bit more of a wait and I went in.  I was the only transfer they had this afternoon so things were pretty relaxed.  Dr M is sooo good at what he does I barely felt uncomfortable.  A bit of a wait once they put the catheter in and it was all over.  I stayed lying down for half an hour then I was on my way.  Next stop Acupuncture again for another 45 minutes lying down.

I came home, had something to eat and (shock horror) fell asleep.  

The wait begins!!

In evaluating the treatment of DPNP physicians are faced with many treatment options including non-pharmacological choices such as acupuncture. As you read in the following excerpt acupuncture was shown to be effective for the management of DPNP. Out of the group of patients receiving acupuncture treatment, 77% reported significant relief. 21% reported complete resolution of symptoms, and at the time of follow-up a full 66% of those patients reported continued relief of symptoms. These are very impressive results.

“Acupuncture probably falls somewhere between these 2 groups; it has minimal but not insignificant risks but also some evidence of analgesic efficacy in chronic pain and DPNP. It was evaluated in 46 patients with DPNP, 29 of whom were receiving drug treatment.

53 Patients received 6 sessions of traditional Chinese acupuncture throughout 10 weeks. Thirty-four (77%) reported significant improvement in symptoms (P<.01), including 7 (21%) who reported complete resolution of symptoms. Patients who completed the study (n=44) were then followed up for 18 to 52 weeks.

During the follow-up period, 66% of patients reported they could stop or reduce pain medications. Only 8 required additional acupuncture. No adverse events related to the acupuncture were reported, and there were no changes in peripheral neurologic examination scores or hemoglobin A1c levels. Acupuncture may relieve pain and/or reduce the need for pain medications in selected patients with DPNP.”

Mayo Clinic College of Medicine: Mayo Clinic Proceedings Supplement April 2006, Volume 81, Number 4, Page S22

For more information about this topic, or how acupuncture and integrative healthcare and improve your health please visit www.drscottdenny.com or www.multicareclinic.org. To speak with our office staff please call 888-840-4325.

Houses of worship have used Frankincense for centuries for it’s heavenly aroma…it is not suprising to discover new research has proven the scent can indeed raise your spirits.  Scientists at John Hopkins University in Maryland and Hebrew University in Jerusalem found that incensole acetate, a compound found in frankincense resin, simulates production of a protien called TRPV3, which elevates your mood affecting areas of the brain that respond to anxiety and depression drugs.

“Burning the resin produces the strongest mood-elevating results, as the effects of inhaling the smoke are immediate,” says Ruth Knill, PhD, a licensed acupunturist.

If incense isn’t for you, light a frankinsence infused candle, add 10 drops of essential oil to a bath, or dab a few drops (diluted with a carrier oil-like sweet almond oil-onto your wrist.

I also ran out of my beta blockers for a while and that was crazy. Just about anything could make me cry and I felt really edgy, nervous and like I wanted to punch things. All of this was familiar to me since I used to feel like that before I was ever on the beta blockers. But I had to respect myself for being able to live like that day in & day out for years. It was infuriating to walk up the stairs in my house and have my heart doing 120 and just feel like I needed to take a nap from going up the stairs. So needless to say I am so glad to be back on the beta blockers.

I went back to my dr. that I see from the city healthcare program. And ironically after wasting all of my money the last few years trying to find that special dr. that understood what I was going through, I realized now that I'm on a government program I finally have that dr. Irony. She said that we might be able to look into the permanent options. (No one has ever said that to me.) I told her how my feet are puffy all the time and she said that that is related to the Graves & she mentioned the pretibial myxedema. (No one had ever mentioned that either.) She even talked about getting me in to see a dietician who could navigate my sensitive stomach combined with the blood sugar problems. And she may send me back to an opthalmologist to make sure my eyes are still ok. So I was very pleasantly surprised. All she wanted to talk about was my Graves. Every other dr. I have ever seen has acted like it must not be that big of a deal and they try to make up all of these other possibilities like IBS or fibromyalgia, all the time ignoring the white elephant in the room.

I also in my mind had wanted to ask this dr. if my dryness "down there" could be Sjogrens since I do have a positive ANA. I mentioned the dryness and she asked if my eyes, mouth, and nose were dry. I said yes. So she said she wanted to test for Sjogren's. Who knows if I have it, but at least she is always trying to figure things out.

I think I will go with one.

I have Acupuncture booked for before and afterwards.  Here we go....

I have been seeing an acupuncturist regularly for the last 3 years.  He helps me get regular sleep, and boosts my immune system.  He also helps me deal with anxiety issues.  My appointment was yesterday.  While I often have powerful sessions, I had an unusually strong one yesterday.

I have been suffering from a particularly heinous cold the last couple of days.  So naturally, we concentrated on my breathing and lung points.  This isn't unusual, since I am very prone to bronchitis and pneumonia -we concentrate a lot on the lungs.

What was different, was I had a very strong sense of qi at the point du-16.  This point is located at the base of the skull, in the centre.  This is a very new point for me.  Never had I felt anything there before.  With the exception of a point in my forehead and occasionally at the top of my head, I don't even get any needles in that part of my body.

So why this point, why this time?  Well, I believe that du-16 is a wind channel point (my terminology may not be quite accurate here) that helps with breathing problems (acute-not chronic)- I do have a cold after all.  But it is a point used to treat types of mental illness.  Which types?  I am not certain.  However, I do suffer from bouts of anxiety.  Up until a few weeks ago, I was taking medication to help with it.  I no longer am.  Could this be why that point was so strong?  

I tend to believe that you feel the flow of qi most, where you need it.  I have come in with a cold or worse to an appointment before, and I have never felt anything like that.  So I have decided, that  yesterday I just needed a little extra help in that area (mental health).

You may ask how I am feeling today.  The answer to that is calm, and quite run down.  Not exactly exhausted, but a little more tired feeling than what you would call lazy.  Am I feeling more stable than I have felt in the last couple of weeks?  Well, of course....but then again, I am at home and not at work, and I have been doing some internet shopping - and that always helps doesn't it.

I noticed that Wizard has begun to pin his ears when I put a saddle on him. In the past few days, he has become more sensitive to me brushing his back- especially this past Friday. I'm going to schedule an appointment for the equine chiropractor so she can determine if he's sore from getting back into work, the saddle, or an old issue. In the meantime, Wizard is getting spoiled with grazing, grooming, and going for walks.

The treatment has also been known quite effective for weight loss in the body weight.

Acupuncture involves treatment by stimulation of anatomical points on the body, known as Acupuncture Body Points, with the help of specialized thin, solid, metallic sterilized needles.

These acupuncture points are distributed along the meridians, which are interconnected throughout the body, and are over a hundred in number.

Acupuncture can be quite effective for losing excess weight in the body.

Needles are inserted to the acupuncture points in a manner that it stimulates the release of natural pain relieving hormone of the body known as endorphin.

This hormone has a very calm and reliving effect on the human body.

The practitioner would opt for certain points of treatment. This will depend on the diagnosed problem of the patient.

Once, these points are chosen, the needles are inserted to these points. These inserted needles are supposed to stay in position for about half an hour to forty minutes each session and then removed.

Acupuncture points in the ear are usually replaced with ear tacks or ear staples. Thereafter, an adhesive is secured over these.

The ear tacks or ear staples are placed exactly where the needle was. These should continue with treatment in between sessions.

Whenever the patient gets food cravings in between the meals or without any reason, mild pressure is applied on the ear staples via rubbing them alternatively back forth for about twenty seconds. This ultimately results in the release of mild endorphin, thereby relaxing the patients to gain control over the food craving.

The endorphin hormone tends to design a conducive psychological and physiological environment in order to overcome any sort of temptations to eat unnecessarily. The ear tacks are removed after three days.

The frequency of the acupuncture weight loss treatment depends on the patient’s goals.

Acupuncture Weight Loss Technique is safe and free of any side effects.

Today is my brother's birthday, I would like to wish him HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GOR GOR!! :-) Wish you happy always, and embraced by all the chances in your life. ;-) Momma said, bought cake also didn't bring back for parents eat, let cousins ate. hahah.. =X Anyway, next time I will buy a cake for you, no need you buy for yourself, I promise. :-)

See ya all~ ;-)

And if a growing body of research is any measure, perhaps the couple should try acupuncture before giving up on baby dreams. In fact, a September 2008 study shows that women with polycystic ovary problems can significantly improve their chances to become pregnant with regular acupuncture treatments.

Cysts on the ovary might appear to be a block to successful pregnancy, especially since they tend to eliminate monthly menstruation or make it highly irregular. But the movement of energy or “chi” in acupuncture appears to regulate a woman’s ovulation cycle—which trumps all else in fertility.

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