November 23, 2011
Ian, a 39 year-old ecologist, had recurrent joint pain without any reason for half a year. The pain moved round and could be in any joints such as hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips and knees, sometimes accompanied with swelling. The bottom of his feet also hurt, and his body felt cold easily. He had been to see specialists and was diagnosed with "palindromic rheumatism" - a form of an autoimmune disorder with unknown cause. Ian became very depressed when he found out this was a tricky condition, which means the treatment can be challenging. The doctor prescribed a medication to reduce the ability of his body's immune system. But he was so scared when he read about its possible side-effects that didn't want to take it. Finally he decided to try an alternative treatment - acupuncture, though he wasn't sure it would help or not. Amazingly, since he started having acupuncture, he didn't have any major joint pain again, apart from some mild discomfort in certain joints. After 6 sessions of acupuncture, he felt so good that he reduced the weekly treatment to every other week. After another 3 sessions he still felt good and he decided to have a break. It's been 7 months since then, and Ian hasn't come back.
Palindromic Rheumatism is an inflammatory arthritis that causes sudden inflammation in one or several joints, lasts a few hours or up to a few days, and then goes away completely. The interval between recurrent attacks is extremely variable. For this reason, we can't make the conclusion that in this case acupuncture cured the condition. But it indeed helped to control the symptoms during flare-up.
Posted by Peng Zhang. Posted In : Immune system
November 22, 2011
44 year-old Annette is a cleaner. She had pain all over her body for 10 years. None of the various medications she'd tried could give her any relief. Two months ago she went to see a consultant and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. The new medication she had been taking since then made her put 2 stones of weight on, which really upset her. She still had pain in the back, hips, arms and feet. She felt tired and cold, and had bad sleep. For over a year, her periods had been very irregular and ve...
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Posted by Peng Zhang. Posted In : Nervous system
November 16, 2011
35-year-old Lisa had endometriosis since she was 20. She
received two operations and hormone treatment in the past but none of them helped much. Her periods were always delayed and very heavy, and the blood
was dark and clotty. The pain in her lower abdomen and back would start from
the middle of the menstrual cycle and get worse two days before the period. The
pain was so intense and pain killers didn't work. She always felt
headachy, sick and lethargic, and also had bloating stomach, cons...
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Posted by Peng Zhang. Posted In : Reproductive system
November 14, 2011
Valery is a 58-year-old housewife. She had a sciatic pain on and off for about 12 years, and x-ray showed a slipped disc in her lower spine. A few months ago she had a fall, which made the pain a lot worse, even walking became a problem. The pain was from the lower back through the left thigh all the way down to her left foot. When she first came to my clinic, climbing up the stairs was a real struggle. After the first session of acupuncture, she could already walk better and climb up the sta...
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Posted by Peng Zhang. Posted In : Nervous system
November 9, 2011
22 year-old Holly had a rash on her face for a month. It all started when she was having holiday in Canada. In the past she had occasionally had some itchy patches on her elbows and left leg, but never on her face. Now her cheeks and forehead were covered with some pinkish rash, and the skin looked flaky. Her face felt hot and itchy. She didn't know whether it was the food or something in the air in Canada caused it. She'd been to see doctors both in Canada and back in England and tried diffe...
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Posted by Peng Zhang. Posted In : Dermatology
November 8, 2011
80-year-old Mrs Young had painful knees for about 10 years. X-ray showed both her knees had osteoarthritis. She'd tried different medications, but the pain gradually got worse, even spread to her calves and shins. She'd become so annoyed because she started to have difficulty with walking properly. Due to degeneration, both her knee joints looked bulging. At first she was very reluctant to come for acupuncture because she couldn't understand how it works. It was her husband who benefited from...
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Posted by Peng Zhang. Posted In : Muscular-skeletal system
