JULY 2005 MEETING NOTES

JULY 2005 MEETING NOTES

TOPIC: “TREATING HEADACHES: THE NEW PARADIGM—ANCIENT MEDICINE WITH MODERN SCIENCE”

Duncan Macdonald, L.Ac., was the guest speaker for the July 2005 meeting of the East Bay Headache Support Group. The meeting was held in the Sterns Conference Room at John Muir Medical center with about 15 in attendance.

Duncan is a licensed acupuncturist. As a personal sufferer of chronic headaches, he understands the impact they have on quality of life. That is why he has dedicated a significant portion of his professional practice to the understanding and treatment of chronic headaches.

While living in Japan, Duncan developed trigeminal neuralgia from a neglected ear infection. He was treated with medications, but obtained little relief. He tried Shiatsu and acupuncture and it helped a lot. Following that experience Duncan became increasingly interested in non-traditional medicine. After he returned to the USA, Duncan went to school to learn more about acupuncture, and in particular, its use in the treatment of chronic headaches.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

There is lots of solid research behind acupuncture, but it has gotten a bum rap—it’s seen as “new agey.” Acupuncture got a bad reputation because of association with other non-traditional treatments in the 1960s. Actually, acupuncture is a medical system which has been around for 2,000 years, and came about through physical and anatomical mapping. It was passed along the silk trade routes of the Chinese. Much came out of studies of bodies which were from the battlefields of the numerous wars in China. They found that if the body was stimulated around areas rich in nerves and blood vessels, a signal could be transmitted to the central nervous system. These are particularly rich around joints. Signals going into the central nervous system result in a signal coming out of the central nervous system and producing physiological changes.

Some terms used in Chinese medicine:

· Chi refers to oxygenation of tissues.

· The Meridians were named by the French when studying early maps of acupuncture. They really refer to lines of arteries and nerves.

· The Chinese pharmocopia is easy to learn, based on thousands of years of use, and is being explored by pharmaceutical companies today.

The root and branch refers to symptoms being a manifestation of a “root” problem in the body. Duncan stated that we need to treat “the whole person.” Each individual is unique and treatment needs to be individualized. There is no cure-all in Chinese medicine. In Asia traditional medicine is integrated with Western medicine.

Duncan recommended that one must start with the most conservative approach. First change your diet and then make changes to your lifestyle. If that doesn’t provide relief, then try acupuncture, and lastly herbs. It is safe to start with, and then integrate with Western medicine.

The effect of weather in triggering headaches was known by Chinese medicine practitioners for thousands of years. They characterize headaches as those that are triggered by some external factor and those triggered by internal factors. The latter can be hormonal, food sensitivities, stress, and the concept of how run down some one is. We are not well adapted to living in our environment: Eating odd foods, sleeping odd hours. This leads to a chronic depletion and if not addressed one “chases” symptoms all the time. Some herbs are thought to shore up the body’s defenses. There is a question of stress on the organism causing auto-immune diseases. Fundamental is making a correct diagnosis.

Polypharmacy can be a problem. Medications layered upon one another have the potential for interaction. You need to simplify.

Diet is a large part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Foods are characterized by their effect on the body, and a person’s diet is the first thing modified by a TCM practitioner in trying to bring about relief for the patient.

Acupuncture treatment aims to affect the body and correct imbalances. It cannot be done in one session.

There is a huge range in the amount of training that acupuncturists receive in this country. It is a very potent medicine which can be misused. There are also areas of specialization in acupuncture. There is a tremendous amount of writing in Traditional Chinese Medicine on the topic of headaches (thousands of pages). Look at the credentials of any TCM practitioner you are considering seeing for treatment, and check to see that he/she is licensed in California and has been through a four-year training program. Education has come around in the last 8-10 years.

You should improve within 8 treatments. Acupuncture can bring an immediate improvement, and herbal medications may take longer. Duncan sees patients two times per week at first. He starts with acupuncture frequently, and then uses herbs. Then the acupuncture treatments are reduced and herbs are increased. Herbal therapy may continue for “some time,” Duncan said.

Most insurance plans cover acupuncture. This occurred in the last five years after efficacy studies appeared. It is also less expensive than Western medicine modalities. An acupuncture treatment can be $60 to $85 each, and herbs can be $15 to $20 per week. Insurance typically will pay $75 to $80 per treatment session.

Side effects are few. Sometimes one experiences a histamine reaction, and some have tenderness around the acupuncture sites. You may develop a bump that may itch for an hour, or a bruise. You can also get dizzy or nauseous. Acupuncture should not be done on an empty stomach. When having acupuncture, all points should feel sensations.

Not all herbs are created equal. The strongest way to take them is to boil the herbs and drink as a tea. Another option is to take them as powder, and the least effective way is to take pills made up of the herbs. If you’re treating serious headaches, you will need to use loose herbs boiled and drunk as a tea. You should know your treatment plan and where you’re going.

Duncan mentioned that after the cultural revolution in China, most of the Chinese doctors moved to Taiwan or came all the way to San Francisco, California.

Reading the patient’s pulse is very important in Chinese medicine. The TCM practitioner can feel changes in the artery—the arterial wall becomes “tense” when under stress. He determines not only how fast the pulse is, but how it feels. There are 28 types of pulses.

The tongue is also useful as a gauge of health. It will look different after a big greasy meal. Size of tongue is also a tip-off. When a person is nervous he may rub his tongue against the back of his teeth, and so the tip will be red.

He is fairly positive in his practice─few cases don’t improve. He said it is a rare case which doesn’t respond. There should be some objective and subjective measure of improvement. Duncan also said that he feels he can figure out the cause of a headache.

Per Duncan, the best school for acupuncture is the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco. He also mentioned the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College in Berkeley, CA. There are now over 80 schools for training in acupuncture. California has the strictest licensing for this modality.

Duncan ended with his presentation by mentioning that people can reach him at 415-820-9633 or send e-mail to duncan@secara.com.

The intention of the East Bay Headache Support Group is to provide information and resources. It does not provide medical advice, which should be obtained directly from a physician.