What are the symptoms of depression?

1. Feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness or hopelessness

2. Angry outbursts, irritability or frustration, even over small matters

3. Loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, such as sex, hobbies or sports

4. Sleep disturbances, including insomnia or sleeping too much

5. Tiredness and lack of energy, so even small tasks take extra effort

6. Reduced appetite and weight loss or increased cravings for food and weight gain

7. Anxiety, agitation or restlessness

8. Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements, like to stay home, not willing to go out. 

9. Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or self-blame

10. Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things

11. Frequent or recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts or suicide

12. Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches

Anyone with suicidal thoughts should call 911 or seek help. 

How can Acupuncture help?

Most depression patients are taking anti-depression medication. As we know all medicine taking for a long time has side effects,  the most common side effects of antidepressants are Nausea, Fatigue, Gain weight, Loss of sexual desire,  Insomnia, Agitation, Irritability, Anxiety, Dizziness, and so on.  Acupuncture can help to alleviate the symptoms. With the help of acupuncture patients usually feel better, often able to slowly reduce the dosage of the anti-depressants after consulting with their doctors.  

Most of the depression is caused by hormone imbalance, Acupuncture can balance hormones. Once the hormones are balanced,  depression will gradually disappear. acupuncture also works by modifying the nervous system through stimulation of specific points throughout the body. The application of very fine needles to these points, or needling, releases neurotransmitters, like endorphins and serotonin, that relieve pain and stimulate feelings of well-being.  

I have helped many depression patients and most of them recovered very well and went back to their normal life. 

other than acupuncture, my 60 minutes session also includes: 

1. Listen to patients, try to figure out the source of their depression. only when I find out the causes of their depression, I will be able to help them. 

2. Ask them to let go of the past, do not revisit the past. Patients suffering from depression tend to revisit the past a lot, this is one of the reasons they felt sad constantly. 

3. Encourage them to set a GOAL, a small one first, one goal at a time, once they achieve it, REWARD themselves. They are usually very low in confidence, many small achievements will be able to bring up their confidence. Once they are confident, the depression tends to disappear automatically. 

4. Encourage them to EXERCISE and make our body create a substance called endorphin this natural substance does not have any side effects like Morphine, Marijuana. endorphins can help us handle stress better and reduce the feeling of pain. It minimizes the discomfort and pain and maximizes the feeling of good sensation (pleasure). exercise also makes them look good, this can help bring up their confidence. 

5. Eat foods or do things that create endorphins, if the patient has no anxiety, I recommend dark chocolate, eat spicy food, drink a cup of coffee (people who have anxiety should avoid these because it will worsen their anxiety) eat the banana, eat their favorite food, get a massage. Do things that they enjoy the most, watch a comedy (laugh), listen to the Music (except sad songs), Aroma Therapy (Peppermints, Rosemary, Pine, Citrus, etc.) 

6. Ask them to STAY BUSY and OCCUPIED, they tend to think a lot and revisit their past when they are not busy. 

7. Ask them to ACCEPT themselves, love themselves, many depression patients dislike themselves,  I praise them, remind them how good they are, how beautiful their smiles are. how lovely they are, also, It is okay to make mistakes, we are not perfect. That is part of us. 

8. have some BAREFOOT WALK every day under the Sun for 10-15 minutes. The patient usually has vitamin D deficiency, cold limbs, low energy. Sunlight can fix those, also ground yourself with bare feet, Mother Nature has the best healing power, utilize it. 

There are many things we can do to help as Acupuncturists, I will stop here. In the end, the most important is they need LOVE, a lot of LOVE! Be patient with them, give them time to adjust and adapt. I have done that many times. Never doubt them!  Have faith!  They will heal!

I believe Acupuncture is the most effective treatment in Post Stroke Rehabilitation, the golden period for post stroke rehab is within 1-6 months. This period of time is very crucial and important because most of the neurological recovery happens in this time. This is the reason that golden period plays a significant role in recovery of the patient. After the golden period, the treatment may not be as effective.  

A good recovery usually related to the following factors

1. start early acupuncture treatment within the golden period, start right after hospital discharge and Neurologist gives a green light.  

2. Patient's strong will (to cooperate, to do the exercises after treatment)  

3. Patient's health condition and age before stroke 

4. The patient has good support from family and friends. 

Clinical trial and meta-analysis findings have demonstrated the efficacy of acupuncture in improving balance function, reducing spasticity, and increasing muscle strength and general well-being post-stroke.  

Stroke caused by brain Damage. Acupuncture can increase blood circulation, all the good healing requires good blood circulation. Some patients recover up to 95% of their motor and sensory function.

For details of how can Acupuncture helps on Cancer Patients, here is link 

https://www.medicalacupuncture.org/For-Patients/Articles-By-Physicians-About-Acupuncture/Acupuncture-in-Cancer-Treatment

I have treated patients with stage 4 Breast, Lung, Bone, liver Cancers. They go to Chemo Therapies every 3 weeks, they suffer a lot of pains and side effects from the Chemo Therapy .  I helped them to manage pain without painkillers, alleviate their severe  constipation, constant fatigue, headache, nausea, dry mouth, insomnia, depression, anxiety, leg spasm and swelling. 

For instance, I have treated a late stage cancer patient, she was my neighbor, 43 years old, before we met,  the patient usually took 2-3 pain killers per day for pain management, under my treatments with acupuncture, 2-3  visits per week,  no pain killers were taken for 3.5 years. patients sleep better, more calm, much more mobile, better appetite.  During the first treatment, the patient said "can I sleep now? I have not had such feeling No Pain for many years. the patient said " usually the medicine I took will bring down the pain from 7/10 to 2-3/10. It can never bring it down to completely no pain! The patient was amazed how powerful acupuncture can help in cancer management. After a year of treatment, that patient was able to hike 4 hours compared to constant fatigue before the treatment. 

Imagine without acupuncture,  what can those 2000 painkillers that the patient skipped (3.5 years x365x 2)  do to her body? 

Acupuncture for cancer pain management is very effective and has almost no side effects. 

my cancer treatment have 5 key focuses and they are:  

1. Making sure they can sleep, Good sleep is essential for good healing, most healing processes occur when we are asleep.  

2. Make sure they can eat, have good appetite and good bowel movement, which means no constipation, constipation makes them feel bloated and afraid to eat even when they are hungry. Constipation causes toxicity to build up in our body. There are many acupuncture points and herbs can help promote good appetites and increase bowel movement.  Also how to eat to have a healthy body (food selections depends on their body types) 

3. Make sure they can move (pain less)/exercise,  Exercise promotes good blood circulation, in TCM, many Chronic diseases have blood stagnation. Exercise is the best way to get rid of blood stagnation. 

4. Asked themselves, what have them done wrong? Why are they sick ? What are the sources of their sickness? not enough rest, overeating and stress. we have to get rid of those reasons in order for our body to start recovering. 

5. Set a Goad and work on it. Many cancer patients lost their hope. they think this is it. Nothing can be changed. They are sad and depressed, anxious and afraid of their future. those negative thoughts will bring them down faster. Not knowing our body can heal ourselves if we provide an environment, Eat healthy, exercise, sleep well and stay positive. our body has a better chance of recovering from it. Most important thing is to stay POSITIVE! make everyday COUNT! 

Please refer the CP page

Psoriasis is a skin disorder (autoimmune disorder)  that causes skin cells to multiply up to 10 times faster than normal. This makes the skin build up into bumpy red patches covered with white scales. They can grow anywhere, but most appear on the scalp, elbows, knees, and lower back. Psoriasis can't be passed from person to person  

The most common symptoms of plaque psoriasis include:

• red, raised, inflamed patches of skin

• whitish-silver scales or plaques on the red patches

• dry skin that may crack and bleed

• soreness around patches

• itching and burning sensations around patches

• thick, pitted nails

• painful, swollen joints

Acupuncture is effective in treating Psoriasis. it has to be treated 3x a week for 10 weeks. also patient need to avoid over think and certain foods (list below) 

foods to avoid: gluten, alcohol, sugar, dairy, tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, peppers, spicy food, greasy food, shellfishes, lambs, chickens. iced cold drinks. iced creams. processed foods, MSG. 

Many of my patients that suffer from Psoriasis usually like to drink cold water/drinks, eat ice creams, and food just comes out of the refrigerator. Also they overthink a lot. 

patients under my treatment, there are protocols to follow:

1. Avoid all those foods are not good for Psoriasis(listed above + taking a allergic test)

2. Avoid overthinking (thinking too much is harmful for digestion) 

3. Exercise regularly(relieve stress, promote better blood circulation) 

4. Be patient, it usually takes 10-15 sessions to start to see the effects of the treatment.  30 sessions to be completely healed. some more some less. 

5. Dress the clothes that are made of natural materials. 

6. Acupuncture treatment  2-3 times a week 

7. Taking Herbal formula 

last time, I treated a severe Psoriasis. She has gone to a dermatologist for many years, had done everything they suggested. Her skin had cracks, bled, thicken, swollen and itches. she followed my protocols, her skin was back to normal after 32 treatments.  After the first 8 treatments, she did not see much different, during the 2nd 8 treatment, she started to feel the differences. the body started to respond to the treatment. Then she completely healed after 32 treatments. why ? Our body has 3 ways to get rid of toxicity. through bowel movement, urination and sweat. The organs involved are liver, kidney and skin (sweat gland). Many patients suffered psoriasis, their body  had too much toxicity built up and their body was not able to get rid of them through bowel movement and urination. then the toxicity comes out from the skin. Without changing the diet, daily routines, emotions and doing more exercise, the treatment won't be effective. lifestyle change takes time. our body change takes time. BE PATIENT! IT WILL HAPPEN! HAVE FAITH. I SAID.

Acupuncture is very effect in relief many kind of pain. without pain, our body can relax and start healing.  

acupuncture is very effective in releasing Trigeminal Neuralgia pain (see testimony).  patient suffers sharp pain, burning sensation, tingling, numbing sensation. this pain is unbearable. MD usually gives strong pain killer or anti-depressant. acupuncture really works for reducing the pain in intensity and frequency. gives patient a better quality of life. usually after 6-10 treatment, patient can be released. with proper diet and emotional/stress control. patient return to their normal life (no pain!) , just little tingling and numbness.