Reducing Medicine

Reducing your dependence on western pharmaceutical drugs through acupuncture and Chinese medicine

Dependence on Western pharmaceuticals is a very common problem in the United States. Many patients with chronic diseases often have a multitude of concurrent health problems. Some of the more common ones are: pain, stress, anxiety, depression, anger, worry, poor sleep, fatigue, emotional problems, neurological disorders, digestive disorders accompanied by allergies, and cardiovascular disorders linked with hormonal imbalances. Patients with constellations of these disorders have often spent a great deal of time and money seeking treatment from biomedical physicians, undergone many rounds of tests and lab work, and have generally been put on western medications for years at a time, even over whole lifetimes, which has in many cases caused marked dependence on these Western pharmaceuticals.

Patients who have seen less than satisfactory results in either their symptoms or their lab test results are, reasonably, continuously looking for newer and more effective medications and treatments. Many patients who have been prescribed such a large number of pharmaceuticals over a number of years are understandably upset about the situation they find themselves in, but have difficulty stopping or reducing their dependence on these medications.

However, acupuncture and Chinese medicine can provide a powerful alternative, one without the negative side effects. This approach is completely holistic and will not only benefit chronic diseases, but also reduce the need for Western pharmaceuticals. Since the 1950’s in China, we have treated diseases with a novel integrative approach to medicine that combines acupuncture, Chinese medicine and modern Western medicine. We have used acupuncture and Chinese medicine for reducing dependence on Western pharmaceutics, which has provided very effective clinical results, and enhanced the health and well-being of our patients.

After treatment with acupuncture and Chinese medicine, some patients with chronic diseases, including those who have taken medicines for a long time, have their conditions change, symptoms improve, and lab tests return to normal, to such a great extent that they can stop taking virtually all Western medications. Common conditions for which patients are able to stop taking Western pharmaceuticals after a course of acupuncture and Chinese medicine include pain, allergies, acid reflux, menopause, hypothyroidism, hormone replace therapy, stress, anxiety, and depression.

In some cases, it is not possible to stop taking all Western pharmaceuticals for particular conditions, but very often it is possible to significantly reduce the number of medications that a patient is on with the help of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Often, patients who are being treated with acupuncture and Chinese medicine experience improvement in both their symptoms and the results of lab tests, such that they can significantly reduce their dependence on Western medications. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can be very beneficial in treating pain – this is particularly noteworthy, because pain tends to exacerbate the experience of emotional disturbances like stress, anxiety, depression, anger, worry, poor sleep, and fatigue.

By treating the pain, and reducing the medications that are prescribed to manage it, these other emotional symptoms can likewise be positively affected. In a similar way, digestive disorders are often correlated with allergies, and cardiovascular disorders are often associated with hormonal imbalances and neurological problems – by treating one aspect of the imbalance with acupuncture and Chinese medicine, the associated disorders are positively impacted.

As noted previously, for patients who are prescribed medications with significant side effects, they often find themselves seeking or being prescribed other medications to control the new symptoms and health problems that arise as an effect of the original medications. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can be used to control these side effects, or even to substitute for Western medicines in some cases to reduce side effects, in order to help patients continue what may be necessary courses of Western biomedical treatment.

There are many cases in which patients suffering from certain diseases do see positive results from Western medical treatments, but have difficulty continuing treatments because of the powerful side effects. For diseases like Parkinson’s syndrome, and the well-known detrimental effects of chemo-therapy or radiotherapy for cancer, acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help to ease the side effects of medications, allowing the course of treatment to continue.

When using acupuncture and Chinese medicine to reduce dependence on Western medications, this reduction should be performed step by step in order to prevent withdrawal syndromes that can be induced by abruptly stopping these pharmaceutical treatments. Extensive clinical research and experience – ongoing in China, the United States, and Europe – powerfully suggests that there are no negative side effects, and no dependence, from the use of acupuncture and Chinese medicine.