Insomnia
My
name is Ellie F. I came to Abundance Acupuncture in March, 2008 because I was
suffering from severe insomnia, anxiety, and neck and shoulder pain that were
causing almost daily headaches. I had the neck and shoulder pain for two
years. The insomnia had bothered me for four weeks, but had escalated to the
point where I was living on one hour a night of bad sleep for almost a week. I
had daily panic attacks at work, if I could make it to work at all, and I was
unable to care for my children. It was immensely draining, physically and
mentally. I felt fatigued, irritable, depressed and had a loss of ambition and
energy. My appetite was low, my body ached, and I worried about the strain it
had on my family relationships. It made it difficult for me to function
properly at work and be a good mother to my three children and a loving wife to
my husband. It also completely eliminated any social life I had prior to the
problem.
I tried chiropractic and medications such as
Ambien, Lunesta, and Lorazapam and herbal sleep aids, but I either had no
results at all or I had an unrefreshing drug induced sleep that left me feeling
sluggish and foggy all day. I began feeling significant improvement in my
insomnia after three treatments and immense continued improvement after seven
treatments. At this point in time my condition feels 90% better. I now feel
awake and refreshed in the mornings and little to no evening anxiety and
headaches. I have a much healthier appetite, am able to exercise daily, and can
keep up with the demands of running a household and caring for three lively
young children! I have also had significant improvement in other symptoms, like
my nearly life long constipation issue I thought I would just have to live
with. Not so! What a nice surprise.
During the treatments I felt extremely
relaxed after the needles were inserted. Any discomfort I felt was replaced
with an almost “floaty” euphoric feeling with a distinct magnetic current moving
throughout my body. The clinic is clean with a calming atmosphere and the staff
is very genuine, warm, and welcoming.
I would recommend acupuncture to anybody
searching for alternative healing because acupuncture can effectively balance
the energy of your whole body, both emotional and physical health. It can bring
back normal function so as to lead a healthful lifestyle, something everyone
deserves to give themselves. Acupuncture can also eliminate the need or
dependency on harmful or even potentially dangerous medications that could have
lasting side effects on our bodies.
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Hot Flashes and Insomnia
My
name is Kathy H. I came to Abundance Acupuncture in May 2008 because I was
suffering from hot flashes, insomnia, and interrupted sleep. I had the sleep
problems for three to five years and the hot flashes for seven months. With the
hot flashes my face and neck would turn scarlet and I would sweat…even my
eyelids and ears! I felt like I was running a constant fever with flashes
dozens of times each day. When a flash ended I would feel chilled and some
times shaky. The hot flashes also caused fatigue, irritability, and
hopelessness. They made it more difficult for me to sleep and made it unbearable
to do any physical activity because the flashes would be triggered by exercise,
dishwashing in hot water, drying my hair, walking the dog – nothing was pleasant
or fun.
I tried herbal therapies and natural
progesterone but only had minor or temporary relief. I began to feel moderate
relief after two or three treatments at Abundance Acupuncture and have
experienced virtually complete relief after about a month of treatments. At
this point in time my condition feels 100% better. I now rarely have a hot flash
and the ones I have are very mild. I am able to exercise comfortably, dress
appropriately to the situation, and do housework comfortably.
I have also had significant improvement in
my ability to sleep and now it is unusual for me to wake up in the middle of
night. The treatments are relaxing/reenergizing and I often take a nap during
the treatment. The clinic is serene, clean, and beautiful and the staff
listens to what I have to say and is friendly, caring, and respectful. I would
recommend acupuncture to everyone for every reason because it works and we all
have much to learn from the centuries of knowledge of other cultures.
Back to Treated Conditions
Insomnia
My
whole reason for coming to Abundance Acupuncture was to see if there was any
hope of treating my insomnia. I have suffered with that all my life. I am going
on 52 and I remember as a child getting in trouble because I wasn't sleeping and
laying in bed what seemed like forever watching stars out my window. As the
years passed that only got worse and I got so I hated going to bed. I would
rather stay up until the early morning hours (usually 4am) then go to bed and
face the anxiety. I could not get to sleep and for whatever reason it seems that
I 'woke up' when it was bedtime. Once I went to bed, I would lay there not being
able to shut down my day. I would plan my work for the following day as I laid
there. I could not get comfortable. I would toss and turn but it was painful.
Once I did get to sleep, I would be up every two hours to urinate!
I would try to go to bed by midnight. If I
didn't I know I would stay up forever avoiding the fitful night ahead.
Typically, what would happen this is I would fall asleep about 45 minutes later.
I would then wake up within two hours. I would stay up from about 2 am to 4 am
and do work on the computer. Go back to bed (still getting up to urinate or
sitting up to roll over etc) I would need to get up by 7 am. When I was
sleeping, it was still fragmented. Even if I did not get up, I woke up several
times.
Sleeping pills were prescribed which didn't
really help. It made me felt so lethargic all day after taking it. I decided I
would just live with it. Living with it really isn't an option. My adrenal
glands were giving out. I found I couldn't do the simplest things, like clean my
own house. Just to ride in the car to Milwaukee or Madison from Beaver Dam would
tire me out so much that the next day I would not be able to do much but sleep
and rest. I had to pace everything I did and carefully plan around my energy
level, or lack of.
I decided to try acupuncture. Because this
was so chronic, I have been taking a series of treatments for this. After the
first treatment, I saw a difference. The frequent urination was due to a Thiamin
deficiency. NO ONE was ever able to figure the fix for that one before. After a
few days on this vitamin, I stopped getting up at night Wow! That alone gave me
hours of sleep. The pain I was having trying to turn over in bed etc. was
addressed which allowed me to also continue my sleep. What I have noticed every
night now is that around 9 to 10 pm I am ready for bed. My body is
shutting down ready for sleep. My mind is turned off and I S-L-E-E-P. I called
Abundance Acupuncture straightaway full of excitement that for the first time
that I can remember in my life I slept.
My body/mind had some retraining to do. I
would wake up, for no reason and I would realize I didn't need to get up so I
would just go back to sleep. I would wake up to turn over and realize I didn't
need to go through all the effort it used to take to roll over, the pain was
gone. As treatment went on I have had nights that 'concerned me' in the morning.
I could not remember the night before. I mean nothing! I went to bed, woke up
and I remember nothing!! I think this is serious. I asked everyone I could think
of what could have happened. I asked my husband, David etc. The answer was....
you slept. Like everyone else... you slept soundly this time. I can't describe
that to you how odd that felt unless you went through it but I have never had a
night that I didn't remember doing something, reading, working on the computer,
being frustrated but to relax and be in a deep sleep, this was indeed serious.
Out of all my testimonies of the wonders of
acupuncture, and I could write a million, this one can bring me to tears.
Treating me for insomnia has changed my life and no doubt added several years on
to how long I shall live. My mood is always light and happy. I have a bounce in
my step and I wake Up ready to begin any adventure that comes my way. I never
use to be able to plan anything before 11 am. I love my life. I had no idea how
much difference the quality of my life would be by fixing my ability to sleep. I
have been looking for years for an answer to insomnia and I found it. Abundance
Acupuncture!
Donna W.
Back to Treated Conditions
Difficulty Breathing and Insomnia
My
name is John T. I came to Abundance Acupuncture in June 2008 because I was
having severe difficulty breathing and had been unable to sleep at all for four
weeks. This problem started just after my hip surgery four weeks earlier. I
could not breath at all if I laid down. Unless I was sitting or standing it was
just like a valve in my throat was shut off, my breath would not go in, and I
felt like I was going to die. Because of my recent hip surgery I could not
stand up for very long, so the only thing I could do was sit, but I was restless
and could not relax. I also could not sleep a wink. I felt like crawling up
the walls and I was so irritable, hopeless, and tired that I was about to pull
my hair out. Because I could not sleep my hip was not healing and my feet were
swollen from sitting all the time.
I could not function normally, work, drive a
car, live like a human being, or do anything; I did not even feel like reading
or watching TV. My doctors tried medications for my breathing and sleeping
pills but they only made everything worse.
I was able to breathe again, even lying
down, after two treatments at Abundance Acupuncture and my sleeping improved
after the fourth treatment. At this point in time my condition feels 300%
better. I now feel normal again and I am able to breath normally, sleep at
night, drive a car, and go to work. My hip is healing faster now and the
swelling in my feet has gone down completely.
The clinic is wonderful and the staff is
very welcoming. I didn’t know where else to turn and my doctors couldn’t help
me. I’m very glad that Abundance Acupuncture is here in Beaver Dam. I would
recommend acupuncture to anybody because it works.
Back to Treated Conditions
Fatigue, Vertigo, and Insomnia
My
name is Carol M. I am a 50 year old grandmother and special education teacher.
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the wonderful staff at
Abundance Acupuncture for giving me my life back. Last winter, my daughter
successfully fought breast cancer, I went through menopause, and the more
negative aspects of my job achieved critical mass. This Trifecta of stress
compounded symptoms that had been building up for years, leaving me depleted
with constant fatigue, dizzy from water built up in my inner ear, and unable to
stand for more that 10 minutes without getting a burning pain down the side of
my right thigh. Insomnia, a host of digestive disturbances and chronic water
retention also plagued me.
The usual remedies of self treatment with
herbs, meditation, nutrition, trigger point self massage and yoga offered little
or no relief. Ditto for over-the-counter and prescription meds recommended by
my primary care physician and the ER doctor who treated me when the school nurse
and my daughter, who is also a nurse, bullied me into going in because my
vertigo and high blood pressure, along with tingling extremities made it look
like I was having a stroke. Turned out to be hyperventilation and water in the
middle ear.
Now, I hate spending money on myself. (My
husband and I brag about having bought my wedding band second hand for $50 at a
gun show.) So you know I was desperate when I made 2 appointments with Jodi
Sager, a massage therapist here in Beaver Dam. Her Jin Shin Do and hot stone
massage did me a world of good, reducing the pain in my leg for 2 days after
each treatment, but the symptoms quickly returned. Jodi said I had so many
issues going on, that she thought I would be a good candidate for acupuncture.
Her referral to Abundance Acupuncture netted me a free initial assessment.
That referral turned out to be such a lucky
turning point for me! I had my first acupuncture treatment on August 11, 2008
and am writing this testimonial 4 weeks later, unable to believe that it is 5:30
in the morning and I have awakened refreshed, ready to face the day with energy
to burn. Starting with the first treatment, my fatigue has gradually lessened,
until I now feel 10 years younger. The vertigo disappeared after only 3
treatments and the pain in my thigh after 8. (It also helps that I self massage
a trigger point that made its presence known when I sat in a kiddy quad chair at
my grandson‘s request.) At times, water retention still makes me feel like a
wood tick ready to pop, but that usually happens only if I miss a few doses of
the Six Gentlemen herbals that David recommended, or if I eat salty restaurant
food.
Relatives, friends, and coworkers are
probably sick of hearing about how effective acupuncture is when they ask me how
things are going. Thanks to David, his staff, and Jodi for her referral, a
simple response of, “just fine” doesn’t cut it anymore.
PS--Since writing
this a few days ago, I fell of the menopause wagon. Shari warned me this could
happen once my body got back in balance. Anyone who thinks the effects of
acupuncture are "all in your head" needs to explain to me how likely it is for
the ovaries of a 50 year-old crone to start popping off eggs again after an 18
month break.
Back to Testimonial Photos
Fibromyalgia
My
name is Lori L. I came to Abundance Acupuncture in April 2008 because I was
suffering from fibromyalgia and was at my wit’s end. I had this problem for
over 15 years and had pain all over my body, fatigue, headaches, and
difficulty sleeping. I felt depressed and hopeless and had a very low energy
level which made it difficult for me to exercise, work in my flower gardens, or
work on household projects such as painting, cleaning, and redecorating.
I tried medications such as antidepressants,
various supplements, physical therapy, and chiropractic to resolve this problem
with some improvements initially, but never any great improvement that stuck
with me. I began to feel some improvements in my condition after a month of
treatments at Abundance Acupuncture. At this point in time my condition feels
95% better. I now feel much better and I am able to do many things such as
gardening and walking without suffering the painful affect afterward.
I have also had significant improvement
in my sleeping and a much improved energy level. I just painted my living
room without any ill effects.
During the treatments I felt calm and
relaxed. The clinic is wonderful and the staff is warm and friendly. I would
recommend acupuncture to anyone who suffers from a long-term condition because
it is a great alternative from more and more medications and their side effects.
P.S.
I called to cancel an appointment when I had
the flu and Margo said to keep the appointment – it would really help with the
flu. She was right – it was amazing! I felt better immediately.
Back to Testimonial Photos
Fibromyalgia and Severe Pain
My
name is Brenda H. I came to Abundance Acupuncture in August, 2007 because I had
been suffering from fibromyalgia and severe pains for seven difficult years. My
body ached all over; I had sharp pains in both legs and in my neck and shoulder,
almost daily headaches, knee pain, difficulty breathing, digestive problems, and
night sweats. Even though I was always fatigued and exhausted it was
difficult to fall asleep or sleep all night because of the pain.
I was so depressed that I cried myself to
sleep hoping that I would not wake up in the morning. It was difficult to make
it through my daily life. I was unable to play with my grandchildren or do
anything fun with my husband like going for a walk or a bike ride. My doctor
recommended that I only work one or two hours at a time for a couple days a
week. Now I find it difficult to even remember how bad I felt about my life
during that time.
I tried medications such as Cymbalta which
made me feel like I was on another planet and Effexor which caused depression so
severe that I was unable to move. I tried Ibuprofen for pain and many natural
remedies and nothing made me feel any better.
I began to feel some improvements in my
condition after the first treatment at Abundance Acupuncture and significant
improvements after 12 treatments. At this point in time my condition feels
95% better. I can now function almost normally, I have much less pain, and I am
able to work up to 30 hours per week. I can now play with my grandchildren and
enjoy life, even though I still can’t over do strenuous activities. I have had
significant improvement in other symptoms: my sleeping is much better, I am
breathing better, and I have spurts of energy and the motivation to do more
things.
During the treatments I was scared and
nervous because of my intense needle phobia, but I did it anyway! The clinic is
calm and relaxing and the staff is caring, friendly, and nonjudgmental. I would
recommend acupuncture to anyone because it has been life changing. It is one of
the best investments I have ever made in my life.
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Fibromyalgia
My
name is Steve C. I came to Abundance Acupuncture in March 2008 because I was
suffering from fibromyalgia. I had aches and pain all over my body especially
in my lower back and thighs. The pain was also much worse after any type of
exertion. I had difficulty getting to sleep, woke up often in the middle of the
night, and I always felt tired and fatigued. Because of this I was also more
irritable than usual. I had this problem for two years and made it difficult
for me participate in any activity, even playing catch with my son. I was
unable to do any household maintenance or repairs.
I tried medications such as piroxicam,
lexapro, ibuprofen, and aspirin to resolve these problems but only noticed
temporary, mild pain relief and nothing more. I began to feel some improvements
in my condition after two treatments at Abundance Acupuncture and significant
improvements after one month.
At this point in time my condition feels 85%
better. I now have no extreme muscle pain, I feel much more energetic, and I am
able to do landscaping, yard work, and play with my son. I have also noticed
significant improvement in other symptoms like having less sinus congestion and
fewer headaches which is unusual for me.
During the treatments I felt very
comfortable and relaxed. The clinic is great and the staff is friendly. I would
recommend acupuncture to anyone because it has helped me achieve an overall
feeling of healthiness.
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