America's Acupuncturist, Ha!

I noticed I've been a very bad blogger here- no posts for 6 months!

But what should an ex-acupuncturist say on a blog he hoped would be his podium to become "America's Acupuncturist"?

I suppose if I had been more desperate for that kind of attention I wouldn't have given up until I'd become a regular Oprah guest. But I have a love-hate relationship with fame. Part of me wanted that for a long time- the more spiritual part of me values and desires anonymity. The sensible part knows that fame's not worth the sacrifices especially since fame itself makes you sacrificial. And not always for a good cause.

I did write a book about acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, and I continue to get compliments on it- people keep buying and recommending it, so I'm proud of that effort, which was the capstone of my pulsemed.org work.

Maybe one day when I settle down in my 50's I'll want to do an acupuncture practice again.

Ahhh, Research!

Finding a research study involving acupuncture that has any statistical significance or reproducible design is not an easy task. This one involving hot flashes and tamoxifen is decent, despite the argument that it is not reproducible because there is no pill involved (?!) and the results are subjective (um, last time I checked there was no lab value for pain or discomfort). An objector does bring up a reluctance to send one of his patients to an acupuncturist he is not familiar with, and that should make any practitioner realize that MDs can be an important component to a successful practice. From my standpoint, I would have liked to have known what treatment protocol was used, but with a little digging I am sure it is not difficult to find.

Acupuncture Can Relieve Hot Flushes Caused by Tamoxifen
Monday, 21 April 2008 20:53 Zosia Chustecka

Acupuncture reduced by half the hot flushes caused by tamoxifen in a small clinical trial involving 59 breast cancer patients after surgery. Relief was experienced both day and night, and the reduction in hot flushes was seen 3 months after the last acupuncture treatment.

The study involved a 10-week course of treatment (with sessions twice a week for 5 weeks, and then once a week for 5 weeks). A control group received sham acupuncture, with needles inserted shallowly (to a depth of 3 mm; in real acupuncture, needles are inserted to a depth of 3 cm), and in places far away from known acupuncture points. Ms. Hervik said that in both cases she aimed for a neutral atmosphere, with no soft music and minimal time spent talking to the patient, to reduce the placebo effect of the treatment.

Women treated with real acupuncture reported a 50% reduction in hot flushes, both day and night, and reported a further reduction in hot flushes when assessed 3 months after the last acupuncture treatment. The women in the sham group reported no changes in hot flushes during the day, and a slight reduction in hot flushes at night while the treatment was ongoing, but they increased once the treatment stopped.

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Fellowship Opportunity

If you like the cold and the security of working within the Western Medical setting, this sounds like a winning experience. I had not visited MCAOMs website before (http://www.nwhealth.edu/index.html) but the programs look impressive. This was actually from a chiropractic newsletter.

Northwestern Health Sciences begins acupuncture fellowship program

The Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MCAOM) at Northwestern Health Sciences University now offers a post-graduate fellowship opportunity in collaboration with the Woodwinds Health Campus in Woodbury, Minn.

The one-year fellowship, launched in November 2006, provides a licensed acupuncturist with post-graduate experience in a hospital setting. Mark McKenzie, LAc, MOm, dean of MCAOM, said he believes there are no other acupuncture and Oriental medicine schools in the United States partnering with hospitals to offer such a paid fellowship.

The fellowship is partially funded by HealthEast Care System. Ian Johnson, LAc, MOm, a 2006 graduate of MCAOM, has been selected to carry out the year-long fellowship. He will be working under the guidance of Wei Liu, BMed, LAc, a professor at Northwestern.

According to McKenzie, the fellowship program would not have happened in the Midwest 10 years ago due to lack of understanding about the field.

MIA Message

The news in the acupuncture world has been dismally uninteresting of late. Lots of private practice press releases and "did you know acupuncture was good for" types of news are the bulk of what I have been receiving. I have not felt compelled to pass along things I have already covered, but I also lost total track of time ans I see it has been over two months since my last post! I have not attend any more CEU seminars to report back on either, shame on me, and I am in a quandary as to weather I am going to go see Richard Tan or Mary Elizabeth Wakefield this summer.

However, the other reason for the delay is general life. I started nurse practitioner school this semester and just moved into a new house a few days ago (we had been looking and planning for nearly a year). My practice is continuing to grow and I am hoping to change my office in the next few months.

It somehow seems like a lot more when you live it as opposed to when you write it.