Inger’s Blog

Today I’d like to share a testimonial that a patient shared with me recently.  I feel very honored to be able to help people in this position.

For over 10 years I suffered from frequent headaches and migraines. I saw a number of doctors who said that I had headaches from allergies, low blood sugar, stress, and hormonal changes. They said that in time my headaches would probably get better and I should just be patient.

Years later as I advanced through college, my migraines worsened and I decided it was time to try everything out there — over several years I tested out allergy pills, eating more naturally sugary foods,

drinking more water, cutting out tea (the only caffeine I drink), adding aerobic activities, doing yoga, sleeping more, taking migraine prescriptions, and finding stronger birth control pills. Although the birth control pills and migraine prescriptions helped for a number of months, I experienced a migraine with aphasia and was no longer able to take migraine pills due to the danger of potentially having a stroke.

At that time I worked to “ride” out my migraines, but was not having much success. My mother (a physician) recommended that I try something totally different, like acupuncture. Some of her cancer patients found it helpful to reduce pain, so I thought it sounded like a good idea. However, the concept of needles and blood make me light headed, so I put off looking for a specialist as long as I possibly could. On one particular day my migraine became so severe that I had to find some help. I walked by Inger’s office on the off-chance that someone could help me. Inger accepted me immediately as a new patient and spent almost two hours discussing my issues, explaining the work that she could do, showing me the supplies she would use, and treating me.

Inger made me feel so comfortable and safe that I did not feel light headed after my first treatment (or any treatment thereafter). Her treatment room and general clinic facility are very welcoming. She uses a heating lamp and has soothing music, comfortable pillows and great smelling natural products surrounding her patients. Most key for me was that Inger did not try to push any techniques with acupuncture needles or with herbal products that I did not want to try.

I found it very surprising that after my first treatment, my migraine became less severe. Over the next several months we figured out that my migraines were hormonal and only came at certain times of every month. Inger outlined some of the treatments I would need and worked on other areas of my body as additional issues flared up. As my intestinal problems lightened and my back pain lessened, my headaches (which I experienced more frequently than migraines) started to go away. Her combination of acupuncture and tui na (chinese massage) were perfect. I didn’t have to go to a massage therapist separately…she has made my life easier (acupuncture and massage appointments separately would be difficult for me to manage time-wise).

Inger knows what works! We found a schedule that is great for my body and we stick to it! Over the last year there was a period of a few months where I was busy and was unable to see Inger. I noticed that my headaches were not as severe as they had been in the past and I only experienced one migraine during that time. After one treatment with Inger I was back on track and was feeling great! Inger helped me realize that acupuncture and tui na are essential for keeping my body balanced. I will continue acupuncture and tui na for life–which is not a difficult task…because it feels good! If I push out a treatment here or there I know that the effects are long-lasting, so I will still effectively perform at work.

Overall, Inger gets it. She understands that I live a busy and stressful life. She knows what is needed to keep me performing at my best. Most importantly, Inger takes the time to listen to everything happening around me and to my body so that she can thoroughly treat me. She genuinely cares about her patients and their lives. Visiting Inger is one of the best life-choices I’ve made.

Happy New Year to you! I hope you had a restful holiday. Although we are entering a new year, we are still in the midst of winter. Winter from a Chinese medicine perspective is a time for rest and renewal. Yin energy is predominant, meaning the body’s natural tendency is to be more still: to stay at home, read, regroup, rest. Some people may experience a general lack of a desire to be social or participate in major external activities. Don’t feel guilty or “lazy” about feeling this way. You are living according to nature’s natural cycle. Just wait until spring; you will find you have a surge of newfound energy!

Winter is a good time to start up with regular acupuncture treatments. The external environment and change in the weather patterns, such as wind, rain, and snow, can bring on colds especially if you are feeling run down and exhausted. I’m treating a lot of patients with head colds and the initial onset of cough and fevers lately. As soon as you are feeling symptoms such as headache, body aches, unusual sweating, fever, chills, sore throat, cough, fatigue and/or depression, it means it’s time to schedule an acupuncture appointment. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs are very effective in treating the initial onset of colds. While my patients are resting on the treatment table with their needles, I will then prepare an herbal formula for them to take home. I decipher whether their particular cold is more of a Wind-Cold pattern or a Wind-Heat pattern. The prepared formulas are different based on these patterns presentations.

In Chinese Medicine, a “Wind-Cold” and a “Wind-Heat” are two types of early-stage Cold patterns. For example, a patient with a Wind-Cold pattern will present with the following symptoms: fever and chills, head and body aches, clear or white nasal discharge, and a floating pulse. There are many types of Wind-Cold disorders, but the key treatment strategy is to release the pathogen from the exterior by inducing sweating. Based on the individual patient’s pattern presentation, I will decide the appropriate formula for the patient’s Wind-Cold pattern and prescribe an herbal formula accordingly. Alternatively, a patient with a Wind-Heat pattern will present with the following symptoms: fever, sweating, slight chills or a minor aversion to wind, headache, thirst, and a sore throat. Patients may also have a cough and/or redness surrounding their eyes. The pulse is usually floating or rapid. And the tongue can have a white or slightly yellow coating with slight redness at the tip. Heat moves quickly through the body and therefore herbal formulas for Wind-Heat patterns include herbs that are acrid and cooling, which help to release the pathogenic influence at the exterior level as well as clear heat. Also, pathogenic heat patterns tend to attack the lungs first and “injure the fluids” (causing dehydration). These formulas help to generate fluids and help the lungs to disseminate and descend fluids downwards.

Hopefully this will help you better understand colds from a Chinese medicine perspective. If this is confusing you, that’s okay too! All you need to know is acupuncture and Chinese herbs are a wonderful way to resolve the initial onset of a cold as well as boost your qi (your vital energy) in order to prevent illness in the future.

Here’s to a year of good health!

—Inger

Two research reviews published in the Cochrane Library indicated the following:

·         In general, researchers found migraine patients tended to fare better when acupuncture was added to their standard care, which usually consisted of medication to treat acute migraine attacks.

·         Overall, 47 percent of patients who had acupuncture added to their care said their number of headache days dropped by half. That compared with 16 percent of those who stayed with standard care alone.

·         And in four clinical trials that compared acupuncture with drugs used to prevent migraines, acupuncture patients tended to have fewer headaches and fewer side effects.

Go here to read the entire article:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_74040.html

—Inger