A Day of Acupuncture
Nowadays, complementary alternative medicine is very popular in the United States. It is widely used by adults and children. National health statistic reports done in 2007 shows that 38.3% of adults and 11.8% of children use some form of alternative medicine (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). But why is this happening? Why is it becoming so popular? Why are more people turning to it? Many times, this is because conventional medicine has not work and they want to try an alternative. That is the case of the author of this paper.
After many years of battling migraine headaches, she had decided to try something new. The doctors tell her everything is okay with her. MRI shows no abnormality but the
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• Foods to avoid: alcohol, fried food, spicy food, sweets, dairy, caffeine and red meat.
• Foods to include in diet: Parsley, lemon, grapefruit, dark green leafy vegies and sea vegies.
• Try to meditate daily.
(Kaufman, 2016).
Jane did explain that since the history of migraine headache had been going on for years it was going to take a while prior to seen any results but it was going to take some lifestyle changes other than the acupuncture to achieve the goal. The author left the office in a great note. Unable to gauge the results of the treatment yet but with a hopeful outlook for the future.
In conclusion, A Day in Acupuncture was an excellent experience. The author felt energized after her treatment. Recommendations made by Jane have been taken into consideration and some of them such as eating every 2-3 hours, water intake, and applying oil at onset headache are easily achievable. Diet, exercise and meditation are more time consuming, so is still a struggle to do, especially the elimination of caffeine and spicy food from diet. Yes, it is a battle but nevertheless a battle that is worth fighting if the result is no more migraine
The borders between the different forms are very fluid and the specific conditions are often misdiagnosed as a strong migraine, causing the patients to suffer significant pain before treatment is started. Which directly links to another problem: The treatment. Oxygen treatment seems promising, yet it is not readily available to the patients. Orally administered triptans are usually too weak and nasally administered triptans (e.g. ZOMIG) cannot be used in a sufficient frequency to relieve the pain during the whole day, especially in the case of Paroxysmal Hemicrania where attacks are generally of shorter duration yet of higher intensity. Therefore, patients still need to resort to taking a significant amount of painkillers which is medically problematic since an attack period can last up to several months or even years in the case of chronic conditions which 10-15% of cluster headache patients suffer from.
Ernst, E. (2001) The Desktop Guide to Complementary and Alternative Medicine an evidence-based approach, 1st edition, Harcourt Publishers Limited, London, pp 48-49
Mendelson G, Selwood TS, Kranz H, Loh TS, Kidson MA, Scott Ds. (1983). Acupuncture treatment of chronic back pain. A double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Journal of Medicine, 741), 49-55.
Migraine headaches affect an estimated 36 million Americans, or about 12% of the population, surpassing asthma at 8.3% (25 million) and diabetes at 7.8% (23.6 million). Migraines are much more common in women than in men--about 3 times more common. Nearly 30% of women will experience at least one episode of migraine headaches in their lifetime, most commonly in the third and sixth decades of life. However, migraines can affect anyone at any age and from any ethnic group. In addition to indirect expenses like missed work/school and lost productivity, the American Migraine Foundation estimates that migraines cost Americans more than $20 billion annually. Migraine sufferers are also more likely to experience anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, fatigue, and other pain conditions, and those who experience visual disturbances called “auras” associated with migraines are at an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Unfortunately, there is no cure for migraines. The best treatment options available only to seek to reduce frequency of attacks or treat an attack once one has begun, and medication use is often limited by side effects and difficulty of administration. The American Migraine Foundation itself labels current treatment options “far from perfect” and concludes, “Undoubtedly, better treatments are needed.” Filling this therapeutic void is the primary objective of NuPathe Inc. (very recently acquired by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.) with Zecuity®, a sumatriptan iontophoretic transdermal system.
Making lifestyle changes to avoid certain environmental triggers may also help to reduce or prevent migraines from occurring.
Our patient Ms. Blum is a 28-year-old white female who presents with symptoms of a migraine, such as waking up by a severe headache that she states is often made worse when she turns on the light. In addition, Ms. Blum presents with several factors that can trigger her migraines including her lack of sleep, her stressful life as concluded by her statement that this has been a difficult period in her life and her approaching deadline to turn in her dissertation, her weekend alcohol consumption, her menstrual cycle since she notices that a couple of days before her period starts she experiences these headaches, also she states that food doesn’t seem to appeal to her and it takes her effort to eat a meal, and her diagnosis of major depressive disorder.
These alternative treatments include acupuncture, meditation, and therapy among many others.There is growing evidence that the desire for alternative medicine is expanding because people undergoing procedures in today’s health care system has had unmet needs as well as feelings of being uncared for (Acari & Flanagan, 2015). Alternative medicine is able to provide patients with treatments that provide relief for hard to cure problems such as back pain, neck pain, and arthritis. Many of these alternative treatments have been shown to be successful for various problems. The use of complimentary and alternative medicine as well as the open ended communication that holistic nursing provides is gaining popularity from patients who are fed up with traditional care and hospital
Complementary therapies are alternatives to conventional medicine, which advance conventional health care. These therapies have been around for a while but are becoming more popular in nursing and in health care (O`Regan et al., 2010, p. 35). It is shown that...
Today is a good day. Today there is only mild throbbing in my right temple. Feels like a small ice pick jabbed in my head. Unlike a bad day when it feels as if I am giving birth through my head just after someone beat my skull and neck with a baseball bat. This is a small example of how it feels to live with migraines. It was an ordinary day at work back in 1987 when I received my first visit from the migraine. The day was unforgettable. I was twenty years old. Out of nowhere, my peripheral vision became blurry. It was hard to see. Shortly after, I began seeing black spots. I was scared. I thought I was going blind. Nausea soon followed. I told my boss I was not feeling well and needed to go home. The twenty-two-mile journey
In reviewing the medical care provided ,it seems that the patient’s previous medical history clouded her doctor’s decisions. Because of this, none of her doctors opted to dig deeper into other possible reasons for her daily headaches. Many factors that should have been...
In today’s world, many people assume that the latest medical technology and treatments are always the best option. However, all over the world, different techniques for curing diseases and aliments are being used. These methods fall under the category of complementary and alternative medicine.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is slowly becoming better known all over the world. CAM encompasses various types of therapies, such as yoga, reflexology, chiropractic therapy, herbal therapy, ayurveda, meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis, homeopathy, acupuncture, etc. The evidenced-based research, recognition of disconnect between patients and also the positive and negative aspects of CAM modalities are reasons behind the increased attention it has gained in medicals schools all over the United States. (Hart, 2009, p. 287).
Acupuncture doesn’t allow people to get ahead of themselves like Victor did; the way of thinking brought about is that of a natural sense. The techniques of the alternative medicine allow people to remember how magnificent and sacred the human body is and realize that it cannot be created through lab work or perfected through medicine. With Western medicine, patients can take up to four or five medications before finding one that suits their needs and most can have many life threatening side effects. With acupuncture, it is one procedure and one attempt to heal a patient with NO major side effects. Acupuncture is a unique ancient art that is backed by thousands of years of Chinese thought and research and has been proven affective for many people and their illnesses.
You live life how it is, you wake up go to work or school. You eat food and drink water. Then once you touch a doorknob to open the door, but you don’t know that the door knob was previously touched by a person who coughed into his hands. You get sick with a minor flu and a fever, so what is next? Do you go to your doctor knowing she can only see you in like two weeks? She is really busy being a professional in medicine and health. Do you go to the hospital, but is your 5 day flu really an emergency? Or do you just go to the closest CVS and buy Tylenol? Well, 30 percent of adults use Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). CAM is a term describing health and wellness therapies. These typical therapies are not part of the
There has not been complete evidence to prove exactly how it works, but there have been theories. Dr. Morry Silberstein of the Curtin University of Technology believes, “the insertion of the acupuncture needle disrupts this circuit and numbs our sensitivity to pain” (Vlasto). When cumulating studies such as the above or university studies, there is a connection between the disruption with the nerves and the communication with the rest of the body. His study is published in a medical research journal and researchers will continue to further investigate. Although there a many doctors who have studied the effectiveness and purpose of acupuncture, science has observed acupuncture helps with chronic pain especially for the neck, back, and head.