Alternative Medicine Works for Me

I have received and been trained in various alternative therapies including receiving acupuncture treatments, using herbal supplements, and providing various energy treatments to others.

In January 1999, I was involved in a car accident when my car flipped and rolled off an expressway and landed in a ditch on the side of the road. This caused an ongoing condition involving my neck muscles that continuously causes me pain. My general practitioner has prescribed every prescription in the pharmaceutical guides to treat the pain and to relax my muscles. I have been on Celebrex, Vioxx, and other prescriptions, but the only effect I received from taking these drugs involved vertigo because I took too high of a dose in an attempt to relieve my pain. I did not receive any relief for my neck pain by using these methods.

I learned from other people that acupuncture helps relieve back pain and other conditions. The people I spoke with swore up and down that acupuncture was a life-saver for them. However, since acupuncture is considered an alternative medical treatment and not yet mainstream in Western society by 2009, I took their assertions as a grain of salt and continued to take pain relievers without much success.

In June 2004, I worked at Christ Advocate Medical Center in Illinois, and I transported a patient to an acupuncturist who worked on-site and just down the hall from my department. Having a trained acupuncturist in a hospital setting, and within a hospital that is famous locally for its trauma and triage center, struck my curiosity. I met Dr. Manuel Rosario, M.D., who offers acupuncture treatments, and he opened my eyes to the possibility that acupuncture could help with my neck pain. Shortly thereafter, I found out that acupuncture is an alternative therapy that is covered by many private health care insurance providers, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois.

I decided to give acupuncture a try that month and scheduled my appointment with Dr. Rosario. After all, it was covered by my medical insurance and wouldn't cost me anything out-of-pocket. My appointment was scheduled just prior to my regular shift. I went in, laid down on the massage table, and Dr. Rosario proceeded to put on some relaxing music and inserted acupuncture needles into various strategically placed acupoints in my skin. While some acupoints were more tender than others, once I got adjusted to having the needles in my skin, I was able to relax.

The entire session lasted about a half-hour to 45 minutes, and I felt very relaxed and pain-free by the time I started my shift. In fact, I felt like I had taken muscle relaxers without the vertigo. Even my daily stress and anxiety were greatly relieved. I continued to see Dr. Rosario as long as I was employed at Christ Advocate, and found that these alternative medical treatments were most beneficial for me when I had them on a regular basis. Usually once or twice a month of acupuncture treatments worked great for controlling my pain.

I have also had great success with herbal supplements after my gynecologist recommended I take Kava Kava and St. Johns Wort for my anxiety and depression, and I have taken Dong Quai for menstrual pain and symptoms of premenstrual syndrome after a recommendation from a friend. When I first started taking these supplements, I experienced immediate relief that was initially short-lived; however, the relief increased as the supplements were built up in my body. The only real concern I had with Dong Quai was the bad breath and body odor I was left with after taking capsules.

Since these experiences, I have been trained to offer alternative energy treatments of healing including Reiki and Crystal Healing, and have used these methods to relieve headaches, pain, and stress of individuals in local homeless shelters and within my community. Gemstone elixirs, or water that is charged with the healing energy of specific stones, have also provided me with immediate relief for my anxiety and depression and have left me feeling exuberant and unusually perky.

I remain open to the possibilities that alternative therapy does work for many people and I continue to research the various medical studies that confirm alternative medical treatments can offer relief for a wide variety of medical conditions.

References:

Personal Experience; Korenchan, C., "Acupuncture Quickly Becoming Mainstream in U.S."