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What
can I expect on my first visit?
 Before treatment, we
evaluate your health by asking you questions about how you
feel. We may ask to feel your pulse — not just to check its
speed, but to judge its condition. We may also examine your
tongue, the color and texture of which can reveal much about
your health. We may also perform some orthopedic tests to
evaluate your muscular-skeletal condition or injury.
In areas where the muscles are especially tight,
electrodes may be attached to the needles. The
electrical current provides a steady vibration to the
tight muscles which feels like a gentle massage. You may
also receive moxibustion (a heat treatment) or cupping
to improve circulation. Herbal supplements may be
recommended to complement your treatment.
How many treatments will
I need? The
number and frequency of treatments will depend on a lot of
factors including duration and severity of the disorder, age
and constitution. Generally acute conditions need more
frequent treatments up to two or three times a week, while
chronic conditions usually take longer to heal and require
one or two treatments a week for one or two months. Herbal
medicine may be combined to quicken the healing process. To
simply maintain a good health, one treatment every season or
once a month is ample. |
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PATIENT STORY
I am one of Ms. Han's patients. I came to her
because
I have an autoimmune disease, one in which
antibodies attack TSH-Receptor of the thyroid gland,
which in turn overstimulates the thyroid gland to
produce excess thyroid hormone. There is no "cure"
for the disease, only therapies to help resolve
symptoms and assist the patient in achieving
remission (as indicated by few or an absence of
autoantibodies). Because of this, I
started acupuncture several months ago and as a
result have noticed relief from disease symptoms like
fatigue, lethargy, and those of a more neuroendocrine
nature (tingling, numbness).
Of a Western mind, I began to research how acupuncture
specifically helps those who have autoimmune thyroid
disease and what the Western analog might be.
Evidently, acupuncture modulates the
hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis, influencing
"autonomic and neuroendocrine systems, especially
microcirculation". It also helps modulate the
responsiveness of striated muscle. Abnormalities in
certain striated muscle is a part of autoimmune
hyperthyroidism, including the
extrinsic muscles of the eyeball (thyroid eye
disease), consisting of
degenerative atrophy of muscle cells, fatty
infiltration, loss of striation and uniform
appearance, and the proliferation or
degenerative nuclei. Finally, acupuncture modulates thermoregulation,
that is, the metabolic rate, which in
hyperthyroidism is responsible for palpitations,
excess sweating, and tremors.
Also, the manipulation of certain acupoints are immunosuppressive,
i.e. slows the overproduction of autoantibodies. Acupuncture also
treats inflammation (lymphoctyes, cytokines), a
symptomatically significant part of autoimmune disease.
Acupuncture is a significant portion of my total
therapy. - Notes from the patient
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