• Call your doctor first and have the antibiotics handy in case the alternative route does not work out within 24 hours.
• See your acupuncturist RIGHT AWAY and get a treatment.
• Buy the following so that you have them handy to take AS SOON AS THE FIRST symptom of infection occurs (discomfort/pain or burning with urination)
• Homeopathic remedy: cantharis 30 c, 3 pellets three times a day. Dissolve under the tongue. Do not eat or drink 10 minutes before or after taking.
• Herbal formula: Urinary Support from Gaiia.

For prevention: get regular acupuncture treatments and advice on herbal treatments.

Call Joelle Dussuyer, Acupuncturist 415-558-8953 if you have more questions or need to make an appointment.

A practical approach for dealing with Hepatitis C.

This is the list of herbs and supplements that I recommend for reducing the viral load with hepatitis C. It can be intimidating but it is well worth trying for a full year as you get regular blood tests from your M.D. to monitor progress.

One of my clients has reduced his viral load to zero after a year on the program. He started a bit after his Interferon treatment had failed. He had been hepatitis C positive for 10 years. His liver enzymes are also normal now except for when he had some wine during the Holidays

Herbs, Dosage, Frequency

Both formulas are from Health Concerns and can be purchased through your acupuncturist.

Hepatoplex One, 9 caps/day, 5 morning 4 evening

Cordyeeps PS, 4 caps/day, 2 morning 2 evening

Supplements, Dosage, Frequency

Available at stores like Rainbow Groceries or online at Vitacost.com (much cheaper)

NAC (N. Acetyl Cysteine), 600 mg, 2 morning 2 evening

Reishi (mushroom extract), 500 mg, 1 morning

Selenium, 200 mg, 1 morning 1 evening

Alpha Lypioc Acid, 600 mg, 1 morning

Milk Thistle (standardized sylimarin extract 30:1), 150 mg, 3 morning 3 evening

Dandelion Root, 510 mg, 2 morning 2 evening

Thymus ( natural glandular) 500 mg, 1 morning 1 evening

Bromelain, 500mg, 2 morning 2 evening

Cucurmin, 95 500mg, 2 morning 2 evening

Ground Milk Thistle Seeds, 1 coffee spoon, 1 morning 1 evening

Aloe Vera Juice, Occasional

Grapefruit Seed Extract, Occasional

Eat organic food as much as possible to keep the liver “clean”. Exercise regularly with an aerobic routine to improve liver detoxification. (More about what to eat in further blog.)

Reading Material

Living Healthy with Hepatitis C by Harriet A. Washington

Hepatitis C Free by Lloyd Wright

Hepatitis C Handbook by Mathew Dolan

Hepatitis Liver Disease by Melissa Palmer

Joelle Dussuyer                                                                                                                             Licensed Acupuncturist                                                                               415-558-8953                                                                                                                www.sf-acupuncture.com

Beside seeking the help of a Doctor or other health professional (Acupuncturist, Psychotherapist) to treat the underlining causes

I recommend to always carry with you and take or do in this order:

1) Magnesium pills with B6 :http://www.drugs-pro.com/anxiety/magne-b6.html, two pills when attack starts.

2) Rescue remedy spray from Bach ( can order easily on the internet or find in your local health food store). Two sprays under your tongue.

3) Have a small brown bag ready: blowing into it decreases the oxygen content of the air inhaled which slows down the rhythm of breathing naturally.

These steps should reduce greatly the intensity of a panic attack.

Write to me if you have more questions about these recommendations

Acupuncture has become known in the States as a very effective tool in helping with back pain, neck pain and other sorts of musculoskeletal discomfort. A less known area where acupuncture is remarkably helpful is in the treatment of migraines and headaches. Over the past 22 years, I have successfully treated numerous clients who have suffered with migraines over many years, and who sometimes had some level of head pain every single day of their adult lives.

What prompts me to write about it today is my success with a recent patient. After suffering from chronic migraines for 15 years, yesterday, after only two weeks of treatments, she walked into my clinic pain free. She had not had a migraine for one week, an incredible accomplishment. She incredulously asked me why people didn’t know how effective acupuncture was in the treatment of migraines. Why was it that she had to use medication for all these years when acupuncture was such an effective tool? The positive news is that she came to me as a referral from an M.D.

I hope this short note on my blog will help some of the migraine sufferers to “think acupuncture “ as a new and powerful tool for them.

Fourteen years ago, Claire, a successful consultant to non-profits came to see me for help with chronic migraines from which she had suffered for many years.  After her third treatment, she was showing steady improvement.  Her migraines were quite severe and we worked on them weekly for a six month period. They continued to decrease in duration and severity until they ultimately disappeared entirely. One day a few weeks after she started working with me, she came in for a treatment and said in a joking tone, “What are you doing to me?  Since I’ve been coming to see you, I’ve been less angry with my ex husband!”

I was not surprised. I had taken notice of the anger that she had toward her ex-husband as she had told me a few stories about their relationship. In acupuncture there is a common thread between anger and migraines, so that by addressing the migraine, the side effect was to quell standing anger.

When I heard the stories about her ex-husband, I immediately thought of what is referred to in Chinese medicine as an imbalance of the liver, or liver Yang rising, which translates into liver deficiency. This is not too different from the weather, in that heat rises in our bodies much as it does in the atmosphere.  Heat in the body tends to rise and carry with it excess energy to the head, which then creates the migraine as well as a propensity for quickness in emotional changes or anger.  By strengthening and re-balancing the Yang and the energy of the liver, Claire not only cleared her migraines, but her anger also dissipated.

This is why we call acupuncture a holistic medicine as there is no separation between the physical and the emotional body.  Claire’s case is a perfect example of this because she did not come for anger issues, but what she did come in for had a direct relationship with another prominent issue in her life.

Another interesting twist to the story was that although Claire was 39 at the time, she had only ovulated with the help of medication and she had irregular menstrual cycles her entire life.  In the course of treatment, her menstrual cycles became regular and she began to ovulate.  Some people might consider this a mixed blessing, but when your body is in tune all the body’s systems begin to function properly.

We’ve kept in touch over the years. She’s come in to see me for other minor tune-ups, a sore back, a twisted knee, and other little things here and there. The migraines, however, are gone. This year she came back at the suggestion of her husband and daughter. She told me that she was driving them both batty with mood swings relative to menopause. I’ve been able to help her both physically and emotionally with this. She knows when things are out of whack when either her husband or daughter tell her “time to see Joelle again”.

For any sort of back pain but particulary for the back pain with a herniated disk in the Lumbar region, sleeping in the right position at night is of primal importance.

It is very simple.

If you sleep on your side, put a pillow between your legs or rest the upper leg on the pillow to give stability to the lower back. This prevent twisting which creates a secondary inflamation at night time. We spend a lot of time in bed and we want to use the time to repair the swollen tissue.

More about taking care of your back to-morrow!