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Photo by Vivian Chen [陳培雯

Lynn Jaffee, LAc, describes the symptoms of IBS on the Acufinder site:

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is labeled a “syndrome” because is involves a group of symptoms that varies for each individual who is affected. It involves abnormal movement of the small and large intestines (which is often referred to as a motility disorder). Symptoms of IBS include abdominal cramping and pain, and constipation and/or diarrhea (often in alternating episodes). IBS may also be accompanied by other gastrointestinal problems, such as gas, bloating, and nausea, and the symptoms are almost always aggravated by stress. Episodes may also be aggravated by eating, and are frequently relieved after a bowel movement.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine work very well for for IBS symptoms. There are many techniques we can use to help with the symptoms of IBS, and with regular acupuncture treatments, some lifestyle changes, and an herbal formula made specifically for your constitution (body type), I have seen a lot of success and immense relief of symptoms in those suffering from IBS. Acupuncture is very good in reducing stress, which is a huge trigger for IBS symptoms. By reducing this stress and making changes towards better living, your chances of getting some relief from IBS improve greatly!

Here are a few simple tips to get you started:

-Be careful with food sensitivities and/or allergies. Gluten and dairy can cause a whole slew of gastrointestinal problems

-Avoid eating too many types of foods at one time (i.e. please don’t eat an entire cake in one sitting….it will cause problems…)

-Steam vegetables rather that eating them raw

-Emphasize a high fiber diet, and include freshly ground flax seeds and whole grains as part of your daily carbohydrate intake

-All foods must be eaten slowly, chewed and salivated well (the enzymes in your saliva break down food)

-Eat in a calm and somewhat quiet atmosphere (no reading or watching television while eating)

Watch this video with Dr. Igor Schwartzman at WellWire.com. Dr. Schwartman demonstrates an easy way to calm your breathing, and offers additional information on some causes of IBS. He also recommends some beneficial herbs and teas that may also help with IBS symptoms, such as camomile and slippery elm.

A new study has come up with the result that acupuncture has the ability to release a natural painkiller, adenosine, in the body.

An article in a recent issue of Nature Neuroscience indicates that at least one of acupuncture’s reported benefits may finally have concrete support and a proposed mechanism of action thanks to laboratory experiments. Researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, and the National Institute of Health report that a neuromodulator (a chemical agent secreted by neurons) called adenosine is the key to why acupuncture lessens pain associated with inflammation and chronic neuropathic problems.

These findings were interesting, and I’d like to see this study recreated on human subjects (instead of mice) to see the effects and what the differences, if any, there would be.

You can download a PDF or full text of the article on the Nature Neuroscience site. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this study!

Image from http://iheartguts.com

Did you know that diabetes is not contagious? It’s time that we knew the basics facts about diabetes and how it affects those who live with it every day.  Although November is Diabetes Awareness Month, we need to be aware of our individual risks for the disease right now.

Facts about diabetes:

-You can lead a very normal life with diabetes

-Insulin is not a cure for diabetes, it is maintenance for diabetics

-Type 1 diabetes does not necessarily run in families

To keep it simple, here is a short breakdown of the types of diabetes:

Type 1: Insulin Dependent/Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults (also known as juvenile diabetes). In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas (see cute little photo at the beginning of the post) does not produce insulin, the hormone needed to convert sugars into energy needed for daily life. Type 1 diabetics need to keep their blood sugar levels carefully in check, and test their blood by pricking their finger several times a day, placing a drop of blood on a monitor, and measuring out the necessary amount of insulin they need inject into their bodies.

Type 2: This is the most common form of diabetes in the United States. With type 2 diabetes, the body is resistant to the effects of insulin, or the body doesn’t produce enough insulin to maintain a normal level.  Type 2 diabetes can be life-threatening if blood sugar levels are not regulated. Millions of Americans are unaware that they are at risk of becoming a type 2 diabetic, and millions more have already been diagnosed.

Gestational: Pregnant women who have never had diabetes before, but who have high blood sugar  levels during pregnancy have gestational diabetes. This type of diabetes affects about 4% of pregnant women. Gestational diabetes starts when your body is not able to make and use all the insulin it needs for pregnancy. This type of diabetes lasts throughout the pregnancy, and needs to be carefully controlled with diet. If not, there can be complications with the baby and possibly the birth.

Acupuncture is completely safe in for diabetes, as the needles are one time use only, and we carefully swab the points with alcohol inserting needles. Besides, these needles are MUCH smaller that the injection needles! There are acupuncture points to help control blood sugar, diabetic neuropathies, as well as help control other issues that may come up. Diabetics unfortunately often develop other autoimmune disorders, such as asthma or Crohn’s disease. Acupuncture practitioners can also recommend safe herbal formulas to control blood sugar more effectively with Type 2 diabetics.

If you are at risk for diabetes, here a few great articles and sites to look at and start taking care of yourself:

-Look into a change in diet that can help you count carbohydrates and sugars: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp

-Switch from sugar, honey and other sweeteners to great alternatives- check out this post for some ideas.

- Read this article by Christine Dionese, LAc about how to prevent diabetes!

Anya Rozek- Type 1 Diabetic and the bravest kid I know

It finally feels that spring has truly arrived in the Northwest. About time, if you ask me!

“Spring fever” starts hitting people right around now, which means fertility planning (or even birth planning) is on our minds. There are several great sites that have a wealth of information about baby planning, and how to encourage your body to be in it’s optimal state for conception to take place. Spring is definitely a time of new beginnings :)

- Acubalance.com offers an amazing book about food and fertility. The entire book is available online, and it’s a wonderful resource for learning how to shop, cook, and choose the right foods for your body.

-Acupuncturist Jennifer Dubowsky, of Acupuncture Blog Chicago, posted a great article with five different links to research studies that prove how well acupuncture works for fertility. Check it out to read more about acupuncture in successful in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments and lowered miscarriage rates.

- Dr. Randine Lewis, the author of The Infertility Cure, has information on her website The Fertile Soul about retreats and workshops offered. I have found her books incredibly useful in my own life and practice, and often refer patients to them.

Photo by christyscherrer

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Photo by Vivian Chen [陳培雯

-A recent article in the New York Times discussed acupuncture in the US, and how expensive it can be, mostly due to the fact that it’s not covered by insurance companies. While each clinic and each acupuncturist has a different price range, there are many options out there, including group acupuncture (which is NOT like a chair massage, as stated in the article. It’s a whole-body treatment, but in a healing group environment instead of a private office). If you want to use insurance, and think you may coverage, talk to your insurance company. Better yet, have your acupuncturist do it for you! There are many plans that will cover acupuncture, but you have to ask the right questions :)

-Another controversial topic in the acupuncture world has been around medical practitioners who aren’t acupuncturists, but are allowed to practice acupuncture after taking a 300 hour course. A friend of mine posted this article, and I found the study interesting- what do YOU think? Would you rather see an acupuncturist who has had 4 years of training, or someone who has had a few weeks of medical acupuncture training?

Photo by jessicafm

I’ve received a lot of calls lately about acupuncture and breast feeding. Many mothers are concerned with lack of milk production, and others have experienced the dreaded mastitis on more than one occasion. Both of these issues are something that acupuncture and herbal medicine can definitely help with (be sure to find an acupuncture practitioner who specializes in women’s health, especially fertility and pregnancy!)

Lack of milk: There are several ways to boost milk production, and acupuncture combined with Chinese herbs is a great way to help promote more milk and improved flow. Getting a an acupuncture treatment is a great way to determine why milk production is lower, and finding the best herbal formula to help.  Each person has a unique constitution, and your practitioner will help you get the safest herbal formula for you and your baby.

Mastitis: Acupuncture treatment includes acupoints in the hands, legs, upper chest, and possibly a few near the inflamed breast itself. Mastitis is inflammation of the breast, often caused by blocked milk ducts. It’s necessary to move the stagnant blood and energy in the local area to clear the blockage, clear the inflammation, and get the milk moving again. Herbal medicine is also safe to take while breastfeeding- as long as you are taking the right herbs! Your practitioner will know what to give you.

If milk production just isn’t working for some other reason, purchasing milk from another lactating mother is another option, and this is usually this is done through breast milk banks. You can contact a midwifery organization or your local hospital for more information about this. You can also make your own formulas- a rice or goats milk substitute is commonly used (I don’t personally have experience with either of these, but would love more information from those who have used either of them!).

Photo by chany14

Spring is back , and even though it’s (still) raining here in the great Northwest, it’s time to at least start acting like summer is on it’s way! Spring cleaning season is a great time to clean out your closets, prepare for the potential summer abundance from our gardens by caring for the soil and planning gardens, and everything else that’s been put off due to winter weather. Get outside and enjoy the vitamin D when the sun shines for a few minutes!

Here are some  posts from acupuncture blogs around the US with tips on a healthy spring, and just a little inspiration to get you motivated.

Lynn Jaffee, LAc of the Acupuncture Twin Cities Blog gives us ten easy ways to improve our health this spring, including eating more green vegetables, getting your eyes checked, and making time to stretch and exercise.

Photo by naitokz

Lorne Brown of Acubalance wrote a great post with stories of hope for couples and women dealing with fertility. There are touching stories of people who are discovering the amazing effects of acupuncture. Even when the immediate results aren’t what you expected- often patients will begin treatment for fertility, then suddenly their cramps disappear, energy and digestion improve, and they are sleeping better. The body needs to find a balance first, and these are all signs that the body is working towards balance of the mind and body.

Photo by *superhoop*

Adam Kuby, the artist in residence for the Portland Acupuncture Project, continues with the project to heal the city of Portland by inserting needles throughout the city in the most needed places. Read about the history of the project and Mr. Kuby’s vision here. More needles are sure to be popping up all over Bridgetown!

Photo by Adam Kuby

Photo by christyscherrer

“Pregnancy is such a special time.”

It certainly is, I’m not doubting that at all in writing this post. Growing a human inside your own body for 40 weeks is certainly an incredible feat that women have been doing since…forever! While there are often many different ways of getting pregnant, the end result of carrying a child is a journey all on it’s own. Some parts of it are very fun and mind-blowing (seeing the first ultrasound, feeling the baby move), others are a little less exciting to experience (constipation, nausea, breast tenderness) .

There are a lot of books out there that tell you to expect when you are pregnant, and I found some of them quite scary, personally! Several people with very good intentions recommend the old-school books their mothers gave them, thinking that they would be helpful. In this age, with all of the amazing tools and practitioners that we can  If something comes up, I want to be able to look it up in a book, then then ask my practitioner about it. I didn’t want to panic about things that might happen, then not have a solution, which is what I found in a lot of the older books.

What I want to do is talk about a few things that happened to me while being pregnant, and give solutions or at least reasons why they happened. Some of them are a little humorous, and a few things are a little unusual. Either way, it’s all happening with something wonderful to look forward to in the end! Like I keep saying to myself and others: it’s not forever, it’s just for now. And it’s worth it. You’re only pregnant for a few months, and a lot of things that we may consider inconvenient have solutions.

Check out the ABC’s of what I wish I’d known might happen to my body:

Abdominal Pain: I read this in a few books, but it’s still not at all what I expected with my very first pregnancy. Diastasis recti, or abdominal separation, is common in women who have had multiple pregnancies, and none of the mothers I spoke with had experienced it with their first pregnancy. What happens (slowly), is that the muscles that comprise the “six-pack” of the abdomen slowly separate from the midline of the abdomen. This occurs because of the enlarging uterus pushing against the abdominal wall, and the many hormones secreted during pregnancy that cause the connective tissue to relax.

To be fair, it’s not uncomfortable all of the time. It feels like there is a tiny tear in the abdomen, at first on the midline, and now, after 6-7 months, occasionally on the sides.  My wonderful midwife, Sara, told me to get a belly support band if the pain continued. However, I’ve found if I just support the belly myself for a bit, it helps with those little pains. There are some really great online resources about what we can do after the baby arrives.

-Be Fit Mom has some great information on the abdominal separation, and I just found this great class that I’m definitely signing up for after birth! It’s pilates for moms, and you bring the baby to class- check out the Mamalates!

-Self-massaging the belly with pregnancy massage oil (I was given Mother’s Special Blend) has also been helpful. Use long strokes from the outside of the ribs to the midline of the body -it’s very comfortable and soothing. Take your time when applying oil or lotion, and try to find an organic oil- what’s going on the outside of your skin also gets to the baby inside!

Breasts. Wow. That’s all I can say. I was told they would become larger, but doubling in size? Really? The breast tenderness many women experience in the first trimester does go away, but can come and go throughout the pregnancy. Leaking small amounts of colostrum from the breasts is also very common in the weeks leading up to birth. However, some women experience it sooner (a friend of mine leaked from 16 weeks on!). You can use breast pads to help with the leaking- there are both reuseable and disposable breast pads. It’s also very important to make sure you are fitted properly for a bra. Things will change the further you are along in your pregnancy, but it’s definitely worth it to have at least one bra that actually fits!

Constipation. This shouldn’t be early practice for birthing, ladies…), and constipation is unfortunately very common at any point in the pregnancy, especially the last trimester. The reason for constipation is that your digestion slows down as the uterus grows and expands in the pelvic cavity and the hormones (mostly progesterone) relax the muscles, which slow down the digestive process. So eat plenty of dried, non-sulphured apricots or plums, and be sure to drink as much water as you can! I know that with some of us, even plain water causes nausea and vomiting, so having a sports drink or electrolyte replenishing drink to get you started and keep you hydrated is fine. If none of these solutions work, be sure to talk to your practitioner about something else that will address your specific needs.

Discomfort in Morning sickness and nausea that lasts for longer than 12 weeks. Sometimes it happens. Several mothers I’ve treated or interviewed experience either nausea or vomiting in the first several weeks, but a few have both for the first 20 weeks and beyond.

Maya abdominal massage is a massage technique based on repositioning internal organs that have shifted, creating improved blood, energy, and lymph flow throughout the pelvic cavity. This massage is very beneficial for women, as our abdomens tend to go through many stages in life. For a few decades, we have monthly cycles that shift and change as we age, our abdominal muscles stretch (then retract) as we become pregnant, give birth, and live life in general.

I was fortunate to connect with Dr. Carrie Jones of Natural Women’s Health Care clinic in Sherwood, Oregon, and ask her a few questions about this therapeutic massage.

Where did you learn this wonderful technique?

I learned this massage from Rosita Arvigo herself. She does trainings at her clinic in Belize as well as on the east coast, Colorado and in Oregon. You can find out more about trainings, or find other practitioners in your area by heading to this site: http://arvigomassage.com/

Who benefits from Maya Abdominal Massage?

The massage can help women of all ages.  It’s great for younger women who have heavy periods or painful periods. It’s very beneficial to those looking to become pregnant, as it improves circulation, lymphatic and nerve flow to the pelvic area as well as corrects uterine displacement.  For women who are currently pregnant, it can be really helpful for back and leg pain, abdominal heaviness associated with a growing baby, and make for a smoother birth.  I also have menopausal women who experience prolapse or urinary incontinence and want to improve the health of the area.

The massage can be very helpful to the menstrual cycle and is amazing at relieving cramps.  Because all that fresh blood, oxygen, lymph and nerve flow is moving through the area, women will report that their first period after the massage is more ‘cleansing’ in that it’s a bit heavier with more clots.  After that it’s usually a lot smoother.  I also find that women with endometriosis benefit from the work because the massage works right over the abdomen and can be helpful in reducing adhesions.

What should a patient expect from the initial session?

3) During the first session, we usually have an initial consultation where I get a better understanding of their lifestyle, menstrual cycle, overall health and their goals with the massage. I explain what I’m going to do then we begin!  It’s like a traditional massage in some aspects as you lay on a massage table and usually undress so that I have access to the entire back down to the hip and tailbone and then over the stomach area.  The massage generally lasts 35-45 minutes depending on findings.  Like a traditional massage, many of my patients fall asleep or zone out while I’m working.

What can I expect from this massage?

5) The massage is all external over the skin. There is no internal work like during a gynecological exam.  Even then, it can be deeply personal or even ticklish to many women as our bellies aren’t often touched. I can work right over smooth clothing for the first massage, and want the massage experience to be as comfortable as possible.

Here is a quick “roundup” of a few things that are happening in the acupuncture world (plus a good demonstration video).

• Jennifer Dubowsky, LAc, wrote a great article about how acupuncture helps with pain in breast cancer patients who are undergoing hormone therapy. Read the excerpt below, then check out her blog post for more information.
  

  The study found that the true acupuncture group had significant improvement in joint pain and stiffness as well as an improved sense of well-being. Furthermore, 20 percent of the patients taking pain relief medications did not need them after receiving acupuncture. This benefit was not seen in the control group.

• A study came out that shows how acupuncture helps calm anxiety before dental work, and may even help with preoperative work. For more information on dental procedures in acupuncture, check out this post on dental procedures during acupuncture.
• The Acupuncture Relief project is looking for volunteers! This great project that provides thousands of acupuncture treatments and a wonderful opportunity for practitioners to treat a lot of people and spend time in a beautiful place. There is also a need for donations to this great project- take a look at a previous post here.
• Still a little scared of getting that first treatment? Watch this acupuncture for back pain video to get a taste of how relaxing, safe, and comfortable acupuncture is.

Acupuncture Therapy : Acupuncture Back Pain Demo