COVID-19 Long haulers Syndrome: Treatment, Symptoms and the Relation to Chronic Lyme Disease.

 Researchers estimate about 10% of COVID-19 patients become long haulers, according to a recent article from The Journal of the American Medical Association, and research presented by scientists based in the United Kingdom. Whether you are older or younger, healthy or battling other health conditions, or if you had mild or severe COVID-19 symptoms, these conditions could affect anyone. The term “long hauler” is broadly used to characterize individuals whose symptoms persist or develop outside the initial viral infection; the duration and pathogenesis are still unknown, however there are theories. King’s College researchers reviewed their data from the COVID Symptom Study and identified patterns that suggested long-term COVID symptoms were twice as common in women than in men and the median age was 45. 

Optimal Thyroid Health: A Focus on a Gluten-Free Diet

It’s estimated that 20 million Americans have some sort of thyroid disease, meaning an issue with their thyroid gland that causes it to either under or over-produce thyroid hormones. These hormones are responsible for regulating the body’s metabolism and without proper diagnosis and treatment, thyroid disease can lead to further complications of the heart, fertility, bone health, and weight gain or weight loss. Women are 5-8 times more likely than men to have thyroid problems.

Hyperthyroidism is when the thyroid gland overproduces hormones and as a result, the metabolism increases beyond what is healthy. Individuals with hyperthyroidism often struggle to keep weight on, despite eating adequate or increased food intake. 

Take Charge of Your Thyroid Disorder with Acupuncture Pressure Point #17: The Small Intestine

As a complete system of medicine, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine treats and supports not only pain, which is what brings most people in, but in fact anything health and medically related, including endocrine issues such hyper- and hypothyroid.  The approach in diagnosis and treatment is much different than a western medical doctor, of course, but one that can be integrated into a healthcare plan to help encourage healing and even thriving.

Chinese medicine attributes many functional aspects to the organs that do not always correspond to how western medicine explains how they work.  In Chinese medicine the organs create, regulate, and circulate Qi, blood, and body fluids as well as help to transform, move and excrete food, fluid and substances.  The Spleen, for example, has almost nothing in common with the biomedical spleen, and is more closely related to the pancreas, although this organ is not mentioned in Chinese medical texts.  

With any one disease, an acupuncturist will look for

What to Know About Thyroid Hormone Replacement Therapies

The most common medication use to treat hypothyroidism is levothyroxine, which is a synthetic thyroxine (T4) that was developed in 1927. This medication must be converted to active T3 for it to alleviate the symptoms of hypothyroidism. There are many factors that can negatively influence the conversion of T4 to T3 including stress, trauma, infections, liver or kidney dysfunction, toxins, and certain medications. Minerals such as zinc and selenium are cofactors in the conversion of T4 to active T3. If these minerals are deficient, then inadequate conversion of T4 to T3 would lead to lower T3 levels. 

Often considered a more natural option for thyroid hormone replacement is...

Building Resilience During Turbulent Times

The definition of resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, a return to homeostasis. This year has taught us that our ability to persevere has been the most effective response to these challenging times. With the staggering numbers of economic and personal losses from the pandemic over the last nine months, I have had the honor to care for our community during one of the most uncertain times in our lives. I want to share a story from one of my patients, "Mary," who inspired me with her sense of compassion, hope, and resilience...

Building Immunity Starts with Your Diet

Now more than ever, we need strong immune systems. Living through a pandemic with flu season upon us, a robust immune system can keep us healthy and help us rebound faster if we do get sick. So, what helps us build a robust immune system? Everything from adequate sleep and exercise, to proper stress management and nutrition. Nutrition plays a key role in helping or hurting us. And if we want a strong immune system, there are many foods and key nutrients that can help us build it. When we talk about nutrition, it’s important to recognize that both diet and supplementation can be helpful. While the diet can supply a plentiful dose of nutrients, we often need an extra boost of specific vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants to ramp up our immunity. Some key nutrients for immunity include 

Setting an Intention: Mental Health Tips

Simplicity is the antidote to complexity. In light of the experience of anxiety, depression and racing thoughts, simplicity helps the mind to gain clarity and settle down.  A mistake that can be made while setting an intention is the assumption that you won’t be met with challenges. As is shown in the tai ji symbol, challenges are unavoidable.The tai ji symbol (yin/yang symbol) shows us the law of nature where there is a balance of opposites. Where there is change, there is stability, where there is day...

Covid Prevention: How to Keep Yourself Safe During the Second Wave

The holiday season is upon us, but unfortunately, the rate for Covid infections, hospitalizations, and fatalities are at an all-time high. The U.S. is adding close to 300,000 new cases per day and close to 3,000 fatalities per day¹. Until we can get vaccinated, we still need to take measures to prevent infection. A protocol based guide for recommended treatment and prevention of COVID was recently written by the Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS). In the guide, many of the recommendations for prevention are natural therapies. I will discuss two of the therapies recommended in this post, vitamin D and melatonin. By combining natural therapies with mask wearing and social distancing, we can help reduce the spread of infection. We know that vitamin D is an important vitamin for bone health. But vitamin D also plays a critical role in immune function

I have my wonderful husband back!

A wonderful letter from our patient on how hyperbaric oxygen therapy and other integrative treatments helped dramatically improve the effects pf  traumatic brain injury of 30+years as well as Lyme disease 

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Breast Cancer

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has many benefits in tissue healing. HBOT increases the amount of oxygen saturated in plasma regardless of red blood cell saturation percentage. The pressure assists in driving the oxygen through all tissue and especially where circulation may be compromised due to trauma or injury. Since oxygen provides energy, the cells can start repairing and rebuilding. The pressure also helps to close surgical wounds which can help reduce infection and scarring. Treatments such as mastectomy, tumor removal, and radiation therapy can cause damage to normal tissue and may lead to infection, burns, inflammation, and swelling or lymphedema. Multiple human studies have found benefit in the U.S. of HBOT for post surgical healing, radiation induced tissue damage, and radiation induced lymphedema.