Inger’s Blog

Great News!  The AAAOM is going to the National Federation of Women Legislator’s (NFWL) conference September 3-6, 2009.  From the AAAOM website: “Women legislators hold some of the most influential seats in healthcare reform. The majority of them tend to support the inclusion of acupuncture in American mainstream medicine. This year their conference will focus on health care. We will be there, AND have we will have their ear!

Our profession will be highlighted in the following ways:

Two of AAAOM’s most dynamic speakers—Michael Taromina, Esq. and Claudette Baker, LAc will be giving keynote addresses.
Thirty acupuncturists will be on hand to give treatments, speak with legislators one-on-one, and generally educate them about acupuncture and Oriental medicine.
The NFWL will consider passing a resolution at the conference that will endorse recognizing acupuncture in all 50 states and accepting acupuncture in ALL government insurance plans. A resolution by this group has tremendous influence in the Legislature.  State Senators, Governors, Senators, and House Representatives will be there.”

Here is detailed information about the HR 646 Bill Text: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h646/text.

More and more women are turning to alternative therapies to treat their menopausal symptoms, according to a study by Dr. Elizabeth M. Kupferer and colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin, School of Nursing. The article states that “almost half of women who have discontinued hormone therapy for menopause but still have symptoms turn to complementary and alternative medicine, commonly referred to as CAM.”

I find this article particularly interesting, given that I have treated several women experiencing menopause, with the main complaint being hot flashes and night sweats.  I’ve found acupuncture to be quite effective in decreasing the frequency and degree of severity of both the hot flashes and night sweats.  And in some cases the hot flashes have completely resolved.  In addition, I have found Chinese herbs, along with regular acupuncture treatments, to be effective in treating menopausal symptoms in general.

Here’s a link to the full article:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_81380.html

—Inger