DETOXIFICATION WITH ACUPUNCTURE
Tao Sun O.M.D. & L.Ac.
Acupuncture Detoxification Specialist Certified by NADA
Drug-abuse now becomes a serous problem in the community including it's also the major risk factor in the spread of HIV infection. It's easy to be a heroin addict and the withdrawal symptoms show the addicts' suffering and pain are usually very terrible. Unfortunately, some people become the addicts from the use of drugs to relieve pain, stress, anxiety and depression (emotion-altering prescription drugs) at beginning, which results in withdrawal symptoms.
Now there're several ways to be detoxified. If you don't like to quit one drug with another one for some reason you can choose the natural healing method--acupuncture detoxification.
Acupuncture has been shown to be one of the most effective treatment for chemical dependency and drug abuse in The United States. And see the following facts:
Florida has been so encouraged by the success of acupuncture within its drug court that it has passed a statute, effective October 1, 1993, mandating a drug court in every county. Acupuncture is part of the program; now many drug courts use acupuncture as a primary treatment;
President Clinton's new bill proposes extensive treatment of drug abuse in prison and encourages the use of acupuncture among other alternative forms of treatment;
The National Institute of Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism have begun demonstration project using acupuncture treatment for crack cocaine detoxification and alcoholism;
The U.S. government has spent $ 1 million funding acupuncture drug detoxification treatment programs in New York, NY; Miami, FL; and Portland, OR.;
The American Osteopathic Association endorses acupuncture;
Private and public insurance coverage is available in many states and more states provide public money for use of acupuncture in drug detoxification.
However, acupuncture is only safe and effective when performed by trained, competent practitioner.
National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) provides special training program for acupuncturists in detoxification and certifies Acupuncture Detoxification Specialist for the qualified ones.
The acupuncture treatment of chemical dependency began in 1974 at Lincoln Hospital in New York, which began to offer acupuncture to heroin addicts as a substitute for methadone. Unlike methadone, acupuncture reduces drug dependence (without creating a new one), is far cheaper than medication or incarceration and achieves much higher rates of successful compliance than any form of out-patient drug treatment.
Since 1985, guided by the modern medical theory and based on the differentiation of symptom-complex, I've treated more than 1,000 cases of heroin-abusers with the combination of Chinese herb medicine, body-needling and ear-puncture.
Now the treatment of 38 cases of hardened addicts are reported as follows:
A. General Information:
1.The criterion of diagnosis. The basis of diagnosis is DSM-III-R. It's used the criterion of syndrome caused by opium-sort drugs (except the body-complication, infectious disease and psychoses) to evaluate the withdrawal symptom of every individual addict with the digital system of Himmels bach.
2.Among the 38 cases, male is 35 and female 3; the youngest is 16 years old and eldest is 46; drug-addiction with 1-2 years are 18 and 2-5 years or more than 5 years are 20 ; taking drug by means of sucking is 25 and vein-injection is 13; the minimum of drug-taking is 1 g and the maximum is 3 g / per day. 11 cases of drug-addict used a mixture of dolantin, large amount of sleeping pills, morphine and heroin. All of the drug-addicts had taken the treatment of addiction abstinence in other detoxification-center for at least 1 time to 10 times at most.
3.The LAB-tests showed all of 38 cases had a different abnormal change respectively in their ECG examination and their haemoglobin is higher than the normal amount and their calcium in blood is lower than the normal.
B. The way of the treatment:
As soon as the patients went into the treatment course all of them were forbidden to take any of irritants with morphine-like and every 4 hours a herb medicine without any sedatives and sleeping pills was supplied to assist the acupuncture and ear-puncture treatment. Normally in 16--48 hours a symptom of withdrawal emerged including the irritation, restlessness and sleepless and some had the feeling of formication on their bones, which is a terrible suffering to them. They were treated with a combination of acupuncture (body-needling), ear-puncture and Blum-blossom needle (a cutaneous needle inlaid with five needles).
C. The Classification of Therapeutic results:
Markedly effective: in 72 hours the marks of withdrawal symptom is lower than 5 and the urine test is negative after a combined treatment.
Improved: in 72 hours the marks of withdrawal symptom is between 6--12, which means a slightly discomfort that the patients can suffer and the urine test is negative.
Unchanged: in 72 hours the marks of withdrawal symptom is 13 and above; the symptoms in 3rd and 4th degree don't vanish, which the patients can't suffer and ask to leave the hospital in the middle way or change to another therapy.
After a combined treatment of acupuncture and ear-puncture the patients began to sweat slightly and their withdrawal symptom were reduced immediately or vanished. All of 38 cases are effective. According to the different time of withdrawal symptom occurred each patient was treated one time each day for 1-5 days with herb medicine and acupuncture. All of them smoothly passed the heights of the withdrawal symptom. Among the 38 cases, 25 are remarked effective and 13 are improved. The total amount of effectiveness is 100%. After 10 days of the treatment the addiction abstinence for the patients was successful and all of them were released from the hospital where they took the treatment.
D. The Principle to select the Points of the Treatment:
The study of meridian system displays the stimulation of the points on the body has function of regulating the viscera and the circumstances of inner organs and reinforce the immunization system.
The relationship of the ear-points and body is established by the regulation of the sympathetic nervous system. There're lots of distribution of fibers of sympathetic nerves between the blood vessels and their walls in the ears; so the stimulation of the ear-points will cause a super-reaction. And the connection of the skin of ear-points and the internal organs is completed by the reaction of the axon of sympathetic nerves. The stimulation of the ear-points will affect the functioning situation of the central nervous system and regulate the sympathetic nerves through the thalamus system and the dynamic equilibrium of the hormone in the body fluid through the hypophysis system and stir up the defending system of non-idiosyncrasy to reinforce the body function and at the same time to adjust the excitation and inhibition of the cerebral cortex. For example, the ear-point of TF1 has a function of sedation and the soothe of the mind and IC 9 has a function to tranquilize the mind and remove the restlessness.
In my medical experience, It's been judged that the addiction of heroin is a superficies-syndrome. The pathology of withdrawal of symptom is emerged from meridians of liver, heart and kidney. The combined treatment of Chinese herb medicine and acupuncture can dispel the poison from the body, sedate and clear the mind, nourish the kidney and dredge the meridians connecting the internal organs. In my examination the points on the meridians are very sensitive to any stimulation; the larger the amount of drug-taking and the longer the history of drug-abuse, the more the complication arisen and severer the reaction to the press of the meridian-points. This is the normal reaction of every drug-abuser until they abstained from drug and the pain to the pressure will be gradually reduced and vanished after that.
E. The Sample Case:
A Mr. Liu, 38 years old, height of 174 cm and weight of 34 kg. 5 years ago he took the heroin and became an addict. At the beginning he just took 0.5 g of heroin and gradually increased to 3 g for 4-7 times inhalation per day. He couldn't fall asleep and needed more injection of 20 mg of traquilizer for 2 hour sleeping only. He had taken treatment of addiction abstinence for 5 times in the other detoxi-center but had a relapse because of his insomnia and his craving for drug again. And 6 months ago, he changed his way of drug-taking from smoking to intravenous. He had injection of pethidine, morphine and chlorpromazine. He had 20 injections of cyclobarbital per day at most. In 6 hours before he was accepted to our hospital (a Red-Cross Hospital in China) to take the treatment he had the last injection. The physical examination displayed his blood pressure was Bp 80/60 mm Hg. And heart-rate was 113 / min. The electro-cardiograph showed he had a sinus tachycardia and the calcium amount in his blood was 1.1 mg / Litre. His body was very thin and his complexion was pale and gray and the naked parts of his body were densely covered with the injection pinpricks. He was first provided with Chinese herb medicine and complained his restlessness in mind and the suffering from his bones inside and turned-over on the bed in 20 hours after he checked in the hospital when I treated him with acupuncture for 10 minutes to calm him down and after that I treated him with body acupuncture daily and one time ear-puncture every 3 days and since the 4th day he restored his appetite and could fall asleep and in the 10th day his eating and sleeping was as normal as the other people. His complexion became reddish and energy increased and gained weight for 4.5 kg. His treatment of addiction abstinence was successfully completed.
Any question about acupuncture detoxification you can call Dr. Sun @ (801) 355-8668.