Quite frequently, people come to Eastern Medical Center looking for help with getting off “lifelong” Western medications. Often I hear about symptoms such as sluggishness and tingling in the fingers and toes, which are common side effects of many drugs. Fortunately, acupuncture is a powerful tool for getting off of medications while balancing the body so that it doesn’t “need” the pills to sustain stable health. We can use acupuncture to taper off medications in a safe, gradual way and balance the chemicals in the brain so that the patient doesn’t suffer withdrawl symptoms.

It doesn’t matter if the patient has just been diagnosed and still has a prescription slip in hand or has been taking the same medication for a decade. In either case, there’s almost always an alternative to a lifetime of medication use.

It’s also important to reiterate that someone can appreciate the benefits of Western medications while still desiring to get off of them. Western treatment and drugs play a critical role in medical care — especially in acute, short-term situations. But that doesn’t mean we want to be at the mercy of medications for a lifetime! I often say that pills can create temporary stability, but acupuncture can achieve sustainable natural health.

In the next post, I’ll discuss how acupuncture can help the body detoxify from drugs (recreational or medical) and alcohol. This is a key piece of the puzzle because after the body has been subjected to external influences over an extended period of time, it needs to flush out all those toxins before truly being well again. So please stay tuned for that!

Purchases of cholesterol and diabetes prescription drugs by elderly Medicare beneficiaries reached nearly $19 billion in 2007 — about one-fourth of the approximately $82 billion spent for medications for the elderly, according to the latest News and Numbers report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). And according to a recent AARP study, the average prices of many brand-name prescription drugs widely used by elderly Americans rose more than twice as fast as general inflation during a three-year span. Moreover, we have all seen news reports about elderly Americans having to choose between paying for food or paying to fill their prescriptions — and the difficult side effects they have to try to live with.

On top of the skyrocketing costs and side effects, most of these drugs are designed to treat (or cover up) symptoms rather than address root causes of illness and pain. That approach ensures elderly patients will be taking — and paying for — these medications for the rest of their lives and may never truly feel they way they did before the illness presented itself.

This isn’t a pretty picture, which is why it’s so essential that we all play a part in educating the senior part of our population about the benefits and possibilities of acupuncture and other forms of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In California and many other parts of American today, acupuncture is well known, accepted and celebrated for its natural and lasting health benefits. But for our American seniors, acupuncture isn’t so “mainstream.” Many elderly Americans have never experienced an acupuncture treatment or even heard a thorough explanation of how acupuncture works and helps people heal.

For all Americans, acupuncture holds the promise of treating the root cause of illness by balancing the whole body, so it can heal itself. Every case and every person is different, but for many, acupuncture treatments can gradually remove the need for taking prescription medications at all — even those prescribed “for a lifetime.” For some seniors, acupuncture may give them a feeling of health and vitality and energy that they sacrificed long ago and never thought they’d get back.

Our commitment at Eastern Medical Center is to do everything we can to help our patients find relief, comfort and healing, regardless of age or circumstance. If you or someone you know is a senior suffering from an illness or the cost and side effects of drugs associated with illness, please call us to set up a consultation where we can discuss what’s possible with acupuncture. It may be something “different,” but it also may be something positively life-changing.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the body has a natural homeostasis. Any time we introduce a foreign chemical like a drug to the body, it creates an imbalance to this natural state. And disturbing our body’s delicate balance could have negative side effects later on, particularly to the adrenals and kidneys.

More and more people are coming to Eastern Medical Center for a natural alternative to lower their blood pressure without side effects. Drugs mask hypertension’s symptoms, which can include dizziness, flushed face, tinnitus, headaches or insomnia. But acupuncture offers more than a temporary fix. Acupuncture treats your symptoms so you are more comfortable — while also treating your body as a whole so your blood pressure naturally lowers as you get back into balance.

There’s no one single reason for hypertension. Everybody is unique, and it’s important to treat each person individually. So the first thing we’ll do is find the root causes of your hypertension.

Common Causes of Hypertension from a TCM Perspective

What are some of the common causes I see? A deficiency or excess of yin or yang energy. If that’s the case, we’ll balance out the meridian systems. If the cause is stress, we’ll increase your serotonin levels to calm the mind and nourish the heart. If you have a local blockage, we’ll work to unblock the channels in that area.

After we discover the root cause of your hypertension, we’ll carefully address it through herbs, cupping, acupuncture and acupressure. These natural alternatives can help you avoid problems caused by medication down the road: I’ve seen people who’ve never had a problem come to me with numb limbs or horrible pains in their body after they’ve started taking medications.

I’ve also had patients who’ve never had high cholesterol or high blood pressure offered drugs such as statins from their doctors. I always remind people to get a second opinion and to always question your doctor about these kinds of drugs before taking them.

I believe that all pain is a sign that the body is not happy with something. If you are struggling with high blood pressure or side effects from drugs, visit your acupuncturist. At Eastern Medical Center, we’ll figure out why your body is unhappy and I’ll do my best to help you heal.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the body has a natural homeostasis. Any time we introduce a foreign chemical like a drug to the body, it creates an imbalance to this natural state. And disturbing our body’s delicate balance could have negative side effects later on, particularly to the adrenals and kidneys.

More and more people are coming to Eastern Medical Center for a natural alternative to lower their blood pressure without side effects. Drugs mask hypertension’s symptoms, which can include dizziness, flushed face, tinnitus, headaches or insomnia. But acupuncture offers more than a temporary fix. Acupuncture treats your symptoms so you are more comfortable — while also treating your body as a whole so your blood pressure naturally lowers as you get back into balance.

There’s no one single reason for hypertension. Everybody is unique, and it’s important to treat each person individually. So the first thing we’ll do is find the root causes of your hypertension.

Common Causes of Hypertension from a TCM Perspective

What are some of the common causes I see? A deficiency or excess of yin or yang energy. If that’s the case, we’ll balance out the meridian systems. If the cause is stress, we’ll increase your serotonin levels to calm the mind and nourish the heart. If you have a local blockage, we’ll work to unblock the channels in that area.

After we discover the root cause of your hypertension, we’ll carefully address it through herbs, cupping, acupuncture and acupressure. These natural alternatives can help you avoid problems caused by medication down the road: I’ve seen people who’ve never had a problem come to me with numb limbs or horrible pains in their body after they’ve started taking medications.

I’ve also had patients who’ve never had high cholesterol or high blood pressure offered drugs such as statins from their doctors. I always remind people to get a second opinion and to always question your doctor about these kinds of drugs before taking them.

I believe that all pain is a sign that the body is not happy with something. If you are struggling with high blood pressure or side effects from drugs, visit your acupuncturist. At Eastern Medical Center, we’ll figure out why your body is unhappy and I’ll do my best to help you heal.

I can safely say that patients are delighted when they come in for one thing  — and find improvement in another area.

So when people ask me if acupuncture has side effects, I say yes! But it’s not the kind of side effects you find on the label of a prescription drug bottle. Instead, these are positive side effects, the result of balancing out your body. And when you balance out the body, good things happen.

Here’s how it works: The body’s systems and organs are connected. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, we have five elements — water, wood, earth, fire and metal. Each corresponds to an organ: The bladder and kidney represent water; the gallbladder and liver represent wood; the spleen and stomach represent earth; the small intestines and heart represent fire; and the lungs and large intestines represent metal.

These elements rely on each other for balance. For instance, you can’t just have water because you would be cold, heavy and stagnant. If you only had fire, on the other hand, you’d be bouncing off the walls. When we treat a symptom, we balance the elements. So it’s no surprise that other symptoms go away.

There are a few minor things to look out for after a treatment: Some people report soreness. This isn’t a bad thing. Acupuncture stimulates the body, which can release toxins and create the same kind of effect that vigorous exercise can have.

Others report that they feel tired after a session. One of my patients told me that he went home and slept the rest of the day! This just means that you really needed the treatment. Or it could indicate that you didn’t give yourself enough time after the session to transition back into the world. So remember to take it slow. Don’t try to run a marathon! You are trying to heal, and if you use all your energy and direct it somewhere else, it’s just not wise.

The effects of a treatment are very individual. It really depends on how much you want the change, what other things you are doing in conjunction with acupuncture and how long you’ve been dealing with a certain issue. Acupuncture can work for new conditions or those you’ve had for years. Everyone is different. But in general the sooner you take care of it, the better.

I look forward to seeing you soon so you can benefit from acupuncture’s positive side effects.