Trying to get off hydrocodone? Acupuncture can help
Modalities such as acupuncture and mindfulness meditation can be extremely useful in easing the process of discontinuing opiate pain medications such as hydrocodone. Contrary to what many people assume, discontinuing hydrocodone can result in better overall pain control, improved quality of life, as well as avoidance of the serious side effects associated with this drug. New DEA regulations go into effect If you or someone you love uses hydrocodone to manage chronic pain, you are probably aware that as of October 6, 2014 all hydrocodone... [Read more...]
Not getting better? Eastern medicine may help
Below is a great little video with Dr. Sanjay Gupta talking about the new Chinese herbal clinic at the Cleveland Clinic. A patient with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia) is featured. The herbal clinic at the Cleveland Clinic is an exciting development because, although acupuncture is increasingly accepted and utilized at progressive medical centers around the country, Chinese herbal medicine has not been embraced to nearly the same extent. This is too bad because, in China, herbal medicine is considered the preferred modality for... [Read more...]
Three reasons to consider diluting essential oils
Many essential oil users apply oils without dilution and never experience any problems. Personally (knock on wood) I have not experienced any adverse consequences from neat (undiluted) application of essential oils, nor have members of my family. But I am always one to err on the side of caution and am aware that many of my patients fall into the category of “sensitive”. Therefore I wanted to provide guidance in this article and the previous one about who might want to consider diluting essential oils for topical use and how... [Read more...]
Is it possible to be allergic to essential oils?
The short answer to this question is yes, it is possible to be allergic to even very pure and high quality essential oils. Anyone who tells you that you cannot be allergic to essential oils or that when skin irritation arises in response to the use of essential oils (for example hives, rashes, itching, etc.) it means that your body is “detoxing” and that you need to continue to use oils is misinformed (please see postscript below about the emotional origin of allergies). Top quality essential oils do not contain synthetic... [Read more...]
Parrots and essential oils
Me and my citron crested cockatoo Maggie (left) and a Goffin cockatoo that we fostered (right) Please note that I am not a veterinarian. I do, however, share my home with eight parrots. I have spent a great deal of time researching the use of essential oils on and around parrots in an effort to insure that my birds are safe. Resources I recommend on this topic include The Animal Desk Reference: Essential Oils for Animals by Melissa Shelton, DVM and Aromatherapy for Parrots by Angela Nelson (with the caveats mentioned in my review... [Read more...]
Acupuncture and the placebo response
A recent study comparing real acupuncture, laser acupuncture, and sham laser acupuncture with no treatment for knee arthritis showed that real acupuncture, laser acupuncture, and sham laser acupuncture all resulted in decrease in pain. In the media this study has been presented as evidence that acupuncture does not work and that any decrease in pain associated with acupuncture is the result of the placebo effect. In reality the story is more complicated than that. First of all, the study was small, with fewer than 20 patients in each treatment... [Read more...]
Arbor Vitae — a new essential oil
We are very excited about one of the new oils launched at the recent dōTERRA Global Convention — Arborvitae, which translates to “tree of life”. Benefits This oil has benefits for the skin and immune systems, as well as emotional wellbeing. One of the chemical constituents in Arborvitae is tropolones. This constituent is unique and is not found in any other essential oil. Tropolones have a seven carbon ring structure, which is important because pathogens have never been exposed to seven carbon rings before. This makes... [Read more...]
Can I ask a favor?
Live Oak Acupuncture & Wellness Center is supported in part by patients purchasing products (herbal medicines, dietary supplements, essential oils, etc.) from me. It is no exaggeration to say that I have invested hundreds of hours of time and tens of thousands of dollars into selecting the products that I recommend and sell to you. For each product that you see on my shelves, I have researched and tested dozens of others. I have spent over a decade pulling together the contents of my pharmacy and only carry the best quality, most... [Read more...]
Five ways you’re not living with chronic illness
I absolutely LOVE this article. The author shares insight that only a sufferer of chronic illness could have. I have included the article in its entirety here (with links to the site that originally published it and the author’s website) because I believe it is so important and insightful. by Ilana Jacqueline, freelance writer and patient advocate. Published in The Huffington Post A fine line, ladies and gentleman, its what stands between living with chronic illness and being alive with chronic illness. I’ve straddled... [Read more...]
I had a black dog, his name was depression
In previous posts I have written about the effect that stress and unresolved anger can have on physical and emotional health. Today I’d like to discuss depression. From the point of view of Chinese medicine, depression is the result of unresolved emotions (especially anger) turned inward and “deep-pressed”. When the energy of anger is not allowed to motive us to change our lives and relationships, the eventual result is the energetic collapse that is characteristic of depression. Depressed individuals feel cut off... [Read more...]
Your body as a garden
The concept of gardening gives us an excellent illustration for the theories behind Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and acupuncture. Imagine you are a gardener whose job it is to help a garden thrive. To help nature along, you must provide necessities such as water and fertilizer. You must make sure plants receive the right amount of sun, and you must weed out any undesirable elements. Gardening takes time and effort, but the reward is a beautiful, healthy garden, abundant with flowers and vegetables. One of the philosophies underlying... [Read more...]
An extra hour of sleep increases healthy gene expression
The BBC recently conducted a short study to assess the health effects of an extra hour of sleep. The article is well worth reading. Two high points: During deep sleep memories are consolidated and moved into long-term storage. This consolidation must take place within 24 hours or the memories are lost. This is why it is important to prioritize adequate sleep during times when you are learning new things (e.g. finals week, the first few months in a new job, etc.) The REM sleep phase is the only time, day or night, when the body stops producing... [Read more...]
What to expect from the early phases of treatment
Did you ever notice that the biggest hill of a rollercoaster is always somewhere in the beginning of the ride? This is so that the cars can develop enough momentum from the first hill to propel them through the rest of the course. Getting to the top of that first hill, however, takes some work. The full weight of the cars must be towed up the hill from a standing start before they can be released at the top. In fact, if the ride contains a really gigantic summit, sometimes you are pulled up a smaller hill first and then the momentum from... [Read more...]
Are you suffering from unresolved anger?
As I wrote about here, in Chinese medicine we believe that the primary cause of disease in adults is unresolved emotions. In my clinical experience, unresolved and/or unrecognized anger is particularly common and troublesome. It is unusual for me to encounter patients whose health problems are not caused (at least in part) by unresolved anger (Liver Qi stagnation, in Chinese medicine parlance). At times it can be difficult to identify unresolved anger in ourselves, however. We are so adept at hiding it, even from ourselves, that we think... [Read more...]
Acupuncture…alternative to what?
You have probably heard acupuncture referred to at some point as “alternative medicine” but classifying acupuncture this way is based on two erroneous assumptions. First, it implies that acupuncture is a runner-up or a contingency plan to turn to when medicine inevitably falls short, or should one choose not to utilize medicine in the first place. Second, it implies that acupuncture is a type of medicine, albeit an alternative type. To set the record straight, acupuncture stands alone in the detection and correction of the body’s... [Read more...]
