Cases

Stress & Anxiety

Female, 24, complained of nervousness, anxiety, and frequent panic attacks. She sometimes experienced left side chest pain & palpitations. She also suffered from insomnia, waking up usually between 1 AM and 3 AM in the morning.Upon awakening, she was extremely fatigued. She reported that she had experienced the anxiety throughout her wholelife, since she was a young girl. She also experienced chronic constipation, and sometimes hemmorrhoids. Her stools were long and thin. The patient had taken on huge responsibilities at a young age, supporting her entire family. She worked very long hours, usually up to 60 hours per week.

She had been taking a large amount of herbal supplements, which were sold to her by a sales rep for a multi-level marketing company. She was taken over 35 pills, three times a day. Included in the 105 pills she was taking each daywas: herbal laxatives, purgatives, sedatives, liver cleansers, colon cleansers, kidney detoxifiers, and pro-cognitive herbs.This is an example of taking way too many things at the same time, without any focus. She was misguided by a sales repthat told her more was better and that she would feel better after 6 months of spending over $ 500 per month on herbalsupplements and vitamins. When she came in to see me, it had already been 3 months of taking the products. None of hersymptoms had improved. In fact, the anxiety, constipation, and insomnia had worsened.

After the detailed evaluation, including ear inspection, pulse palpation, tongue observation, and verbal inquiry, a diagnosis was made. A therapeutic principle to treat both her immediate symptoms, as well as the etiology, or cause of her symptoms was established. Appropriate acupuncture points were selected, in combination with Auriculotherapy was used. A customized herbal formula was written specifically for her, based on all findings. She was instructed not to take the previous herbal supplements that she has been given by the sales rep.

She was also taught meditation techniques, given dietary guidelines to strengthen her nervous system, regulate her bowels, and bring her body & spirit into balance.

After the first Acupuncture treatment, the constipation was gone. She started having regular bowel movements every day thereafter. After she started the Chinese herbal formula that was written for her, her insomnia had been resolved. She reported energy upon awakening, and experienced very little anxiety throughout the day.

After only 1 month of therapy (4 Acupuncture treatments in total), her originally chief complaints of anxiety, nervousness, insomnia, constipation, and fatigue are gone.

One of the keys to her full recovery was her commitment to meditating two times a day. This made a profound impact upon her well-being. The combination of acupuncture, auriculotherapy, Chinese herbal medicine, dietary guidelines, lifestyle changes, and meditation, were instrumental in her success.

Pain

Female, 62 yrs old, complained of pain in left leg, thigh and hip. She had the knee pain for 10 years, the thigh pain for 5 years, and the hip pain 2 years. The pain degree varied from practically no pain to incapacitating pain, especially in cold and damp weather.

She had fractured her hip 3 years earlier, and had hip replacement surgery. Some of her other surgeries include gall bladder removal 3 years earlier, and a petellaectomy 10 years earlier. She also had arthroscopic knee surgery 12 years earlier.

When she came in the office, she was taking the following western medications: Celebrex, Zestril, Restoril, Excedrin, Prozac, and Hydroclorathiazide.

From her medications, it became clear that as a result of her chronic pain, she had developed depression. In addition to her pain, she endured a difficult bankruptcy 4 years earlier, in which she lost her house.

She also had hypertension, which she was taking medication for.

After a comprehensive evaluation, which included, pulse palpation, ear inspection, tongue observation, and verbal inquiry, as well as knee, thigh, and hip palpation of both sides, a diagnosis was reached.

Acupuncture points were selected to treat her chief complaint of pain, as well as to address the emotional component, anxiety & depression. Also her insomnia, which she had been taking Restoril for, would be addressed as well. In addition to the body acupuncture, Auriculotherapy was applied to both her ears, with a combination of needles and ear seeds. She was also given a combination of herbs to address both the symptoms she presented, as well as the underlying causes. Both were addressed in her herbal protocol.

She was given specific meditation techniques, dietary guidelines, and was also instructed to replace her ritual of Coffee consumption with Lung Ching Green Tea.

She left the office with ear seeds on her right ear, and her herb formulation.

After four Acupuncture treatments, she was able to walk, without her crutches, as she had been using previously. Her pain had improved to the point where she was considering exercise, however this idea waa quickly discourages, until she was fully recovered. Her insomnia had improved greatly, to the point where she only took Restoril once a week. This was quite impressive, since she had been taking Restoril for almost 5 years, which can be a highly addictive sleeping medication. She reported that her quality of sleep was deeper, and she felt more rested. Her energy levels increased during the day, and her anxiety & depression had been reduced.

She reported that her coping mechanism overall had greatly improved. She looked forward to life, and was able to experience joy, which had not been the case for quite some time.

She continued regular acupuncture visits for the next 4 months, as well as consumption of her Chinese herbal formula. She meditated on a regular basis, and slowly began walking, as an exercise on a daily basis.

Over time, she experienced increased strength, range of motion, and mobility in her knee, hip and thigh area. She was very pleased with the results.