Autonomic Activity and HRV
I was reviewing the Wikipedia entry on HRV and found this sentence. “It is important to note that HRV measures fluctuations in autonomic inputs to the heart rather than the mean level of autonomic inputs. Thus, both withdrawal and saturatingly high levels of autonomic input to the heart can lead to diminished HRV.” So…
Read MoreAcupuncture for GERD and Anxiety
I wanted to do an update on treatment for the elderly patient with GERD and anxiety. She is still having bouts of reflux that take it out of her. Her throat is raw from the reflux and for some reason the physicians don’t seem to think she has reflux. At any rate, here is…
Read MoreAcupuncture and Migraine
This clinical case study concerns a 30+ year old female who presented with a 6 month history of headache, fatigue and weight gain. She had been given a diagnosis of migraine, a sort of atypical type, where the fatigue was part of the syndrome. The fatigue was seen as a “migraine equivalent.” From a Chinese…
Read MoreAcupuncture for Gastro intestinal disturbance and anxiety
The gut is the “second brain,” meaning that it perceives and reflects the status of the mind. This is the case of an 85 year old woman with severe gastric reflux that effects her mood to the extent that she sometimes wants to give up on life. She also developed extreme night sweats and…
Read MoreAcupuncture and HRV: What is the Point?
Or another way to ask it is, “Why do I do what I do?” HRV or Heart Rate Variability, is tricky but it gives a glimpse of the very subtle changes that occur in the autonomic nervous system. Other modalities can do this too, fMRI, even pupil size, skin resistance to some degree. But…
Read MoreAcupuncture and Moxibustion for Allergies
Acupuncture cured my allergies 18 years ago, so I’ve always had a special interest and focus on allergy treatment. The ability to help allergies with acupuncture particularly fascinated me, because of the potential for immune function optimization. This article talks about moxibustion in particular, which we used extensively when I was in training. It is more difficult…
Read MoreAcupuncture for Migraine: A difficult case and HRV
Migraine is such a miserable condition, I don’t understand how migraine patients manage as well as they do. The case here is a woman who is 47 and developed migraines after the birth of her child at age 45. The migraines have become almost intractable and she not only is on propranolol and other preventatives…
Read MoreAcupuncture for Headache and Correlation with HRV: Clinical Case Study
I’ve been treating a 27 year old woman for headaches for a bit over 5 weeks. She was having 4 to 5 headaches a week and once they started they would not let up throughout the day. She has long standing nasal congestion and is extremely sensitive to needling. For the most part her…
Read MoreTreating Sleep Disorders in the Acupuncture Clinic: Strategies and Physiology
This is part of our submission (collaboration with B. Golianu from Stanford) for a special journal issue on treating sleep disorders in alternative medicine. It may or may not get accepted, hard to know… Treating Sleep Disorders in the Acupuncture Clinic: Strategies and Physiology “A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures…
Read MoreAcupuncture for Hypertension: Remarkable Case Study
This is the amazing case of a 60+ year old woman with long standing (30 year) history of high blood pressure. Her daughter brought her in for acupuncture treatment since she refuses any sort of medications. She comes from a more traditional society and is skeptical of modern medicine and always found an excuse to stop…
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