Archive for the ‘Case Studies’ Category
Acupuncture for Depression and Anxiety
Chief Complaint: Difficulty coping with stress; depression & anxiety
Western Diagnosis: Depression & Anxiety
Medical History: 24 year old male PhD candidate. Exercises up to 6 times a week for 1-2 hours each session. Frequently eats take out and drinks 1 caffeinated beverage each day. Works long hours. Drinks 1-3 glasses of alcohol each week. Takes Lamictal (200 mg/day), Wellbutrin (300 mg/day) and Neurontin (300 mg/day) to treat depression and anxiety. Would like to utilize acupuncture to treat side-effects of medications and for overall wellness. Medications cause drowsiness and Wellbutrin specifically can cause agitation, irritability and anxiety after taking dosage.
Last modified: September 8, 2009 · 
al · 
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Tags: Acupuncture, anxiety, depression · Posted in: Well-Being
Oriental Medicine for Infertility
Chief Complaint: Infertility
Western Diagnosis: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Medical History: Central obesity. Excess high GI/sweet foods. Deficient dietary fibre. Sedentary lifestyle. No red meat. Too many cold raw foods
Questioning exam: Central obesity,acne, hirsutism, yellow leucorrhoea, abdominal bloating, irregular scanty periods, dysmenorrhoea with dark-clotted blood, lower abdominal pain, backache, dizziness, floaters, night-sweats, facial flushing,feelings of heat rising, irritability.
Last modified: September 8, 2009 · al · No Comments
Tags: abdominal, infertility, PCO · Posted in: Gynecological, Reproductive
Acupuncture and Herbs for Menopausal Hot Flashes
Chief Complaint: Hot flashes
Western Diagnosis: Menopause
Medical History: A 56 year old female presented with hot flashes. She had undergone mastectomy and chemo therapy a year prior to her first visit at my office.
She had also undergone a series of Tibetan and Chinese herbal therapies for cancer treatment with a practitioner in another state.
With her history the patient wanted to avoid anything that might cause a recurrence of her breast cancer; that is she wanted to avoid any food and/or herbs with phytoestrogens.
Last modified: September 8, 2009 · al · No Comments
Tags: Acupuncture, anxiety, hot flashes, menopause · Posted in: Gynecological, Metabolic, Well-Being
Traditional Asian Medicine for Shoulder Pain
Chief Complaint: Right shoulder pain for 2 months.
Medical History: In two months ago, he started a new job where he does a tremendous amount of lifting and balancing of heavy doors and cabinets. He feels sharp and stabbing pain over his right upper trapezius muscle and around his shoulder joint when he moves his shoulder in abduction. He feels better after a massage and hot Epsom salt baths but nothing has totally relieved his pain. Physical exam revealed pain and tenderness on palpation of the right upper trapezius, biceps brachii tendon, deltoid, pectoralis minor insertion and all of the neck muscles especially the scalenes and posterior muscle group.
Last modified: September 8, 2009 · al · No Comments
Tags: Acupuncture, Herbs, pain, shoulder · Posted in: Musculo-Skeletal
Acupuncture Treatment of Post Shingles Neuralgia
Chief Complaint: Post Shingles Neuralgia
Western Diagnosis: Uveitis
Medical History: 93 y.o., female, complaining of paresthesia around left eye with inflammation in left eye following a Herpes Zoster attack which manifested on the upper left quadrant of the face a few months ago. Western treatments with acyclovir, prednisone (eye drops) and ciproflaxin (eye drops) were ineffective for 2 months. Ets 2-3 meals with adequate caloric intake and digestion is ok with no diarrhea. Sleeps a lot- 10+ hours per day. Good disposition.
Last modified: September 8, 2009 · al · No Comments
Tags: Acupuncture, herpes zoster, pain, shingles · Posted in: Infectious, Neurological
Herbs and Acupuncture for Diabetic Neuropathy
Chief Complaint: Lower extremity numbness, tingling, and pain for 6 years
Western Diagnosis: Peripheral Diabetic Neuropathy
Medical History: 6 years ago the patient was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes; concurrent with his diagnosis he began to experience signs of peripheral neuropathy in his lower limbs which include numbness, tingling and pain in the ankles and feet. The pain pattern is as follows: the toes are numb, the top of the sole and the sole of the feet are numb, and a numb pain and feeling of thickness with pain are felt around the ankle joint. There is also heaviness of the foot. The patient also reports a dull pain in the knees. The pain is on the yin side of the legs and the UB channel. The pain is aggravated by walking and is worse in cold wet weather. The pain is reported as a 6/10. Alleviating factors are warmth and massage.
Last modified: September 8, 2009 · al · No Comments
Tags: Acupuncture, ankles, Herbs, Peripheral Neuropathy · Posted in: Cardiovascular, Metabolic, Neurological
Oriental Medicine for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Chief Complaint: Pain in the Joints.
Western Diagnosis: Rheumatoid Arthritis
History: The patient complained of small joints starting in the winter from a long time. Gradually, it spread to larger joints mainly in the knee.
Symptoms: Joint Pain, Muscle pain, Body Ache, Tiredness, Stiffness, Swelling in the legs, too much weakness while doing even small work she was feeling weak.
Palpation: Pulse is thin and wiry.
Last modified: September 8, 2009 · al · No Comments
Tags: acupuncturist, arthritis, joints, pain, RA · Posted in: Auto-Immune, Musculo-Skeletal
Chinese Medicine for Urinary Retention and BPH
Chief Complaint: Urinary retention
Western Diagnosis: Urinary retention due to benign prostatic hypertrophy
Medical History: 68 year old male experiencing increased frequency of urination, especially at night. After urinating, he felt some of the urine remained. Over time, increasing effort was needed to urinate and the urine stream became thin. Enuresis occurred occasionally. Recently, after becoming tired, he was unable to pass urine, resulting in lower abdominal discomfort. The abdominal distention was relieved by catheterization combined with drugs and Chinese herbal medicine. Two days later, voluntary urination was still impossible, and catheterization was repeated. Surgery was recommended, but the patient refused, opting instead for acupuncture.
Last modified: September 8, 2009 · al · No Comments
Tags: Acupuncture, BPH, urinary retention · Posted in: Urinary
Acupuncture and Herbal Treatment of Fatigue and Anxiety
Chief Complaint: Fatigue and anxiety Medical History: 23 y.o. female in overall good health, except that she feels run down and easily fatigued.
Last modified: September 8, 2009 · al · No Comments
Tags: Acupuncture, anxiety, fatigue, Herbs · Posted in: Metabolic, Well-Being
Acupuncture Treatment of Depression
Chief Complaint: severe depression due to recent back surgery
Medical History: Client has recently had back surgery, is slowly coming off oxycodone, presents with severe depression. Low appetite, little pain at this point. NO exercise as it is not appropriate at this time. Wears a back brace.
Questioning exam: severe depression, suicidal ideation, recent back surgery, some pain
Pulse exam: tight, wiry, heart pulse superficial, slightly rapid.
Last modified: September 8, 2009 · al · No Comments
Tags: Acupuncture, depression, surgery · Posted in: Well-Being
