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Interview on Acupuncture: Steve Haines
Date: April 22, 2003
Interviewed by Claudia from the Pacific Wellness Institute, Toronto
DDo you remember what health concerns you came to us with on your first visit?
Headache, extreme fatigue, and IBS (digestive problems). I was very irritable and felt burnt out. I was always out of sync or out of phase with where I should have been. I was not tired when I should have been tired. I was not hungry when I should have been hungry. I felt I was totally out of balance.
How long have you been suffering from these conditions?
I’ve been having headaches most of my life. They started in my late adolescence, around age 20. They were diagnosed as migraine-type headaches by my doctor two years prior coming to your clinic.
How often were you getting headaches?
About once a week, usually on Fridays and on the weekends. I would skip the headache if I had to work through Friday.
I guess all of those symptoms affected you at home or at work.
Well it affects everything, yes. Your outlook and your relationships.
So, you were taking medications?
Yes. Because at different times that I’ve been diagnosed with a condition, whether it be migraines or irritable bowel syndrome, I have always had symptoms along the brain-gut axis. Medications never seemed to work the same way. With medicine, one time it would work and then the next time it wouldn’t work. They were just dealing with the symptoms.
Did you try any other treatments?
There’s a holistic medicine called orthomolecular therapy which basically involves taking supplements. That was some help although I only felt better for periods of time.
So, after those treatments, you've started to come to us for acupuncture and massage?
Actually, I came to Leon first. I came for massage because I had massage elsewhere before. Leon was really great because he does a sort of trigger point massage.
How did those others compare to Leon?
It was relaxing but until you know that there’s something past relaxation… sort of deep muscle work.
Have you had acupuncture before coming to us?
Yes, somewhere else. However, after a half-dozen treatments I didn’t want to go back, in fact, because there was tension about the pain of my condition being outweighed by the sort of good pain of treatment.
How did those treatments compare to the ones by our acupuncturist, Dr. Tim Tanaka?
It was deeper, rougher, more painful treatment. And there was moxa, but that was a different kind of moxa than what you use here. It was put on the skin and then lit, but if it wasn’t doused quickly it would leave a burn mark. So I was reluctant to try it again. But, as I was coming here for massage, I read about Dr. Tanaka emphasizing being relaxed and at ease during treatment and not being stimulated in a painful way. Acupuncture during exhalation is important.
How did your body respond after Dr. Tanaka’s treatment?
I would feel really relaxed and good for an hour or so, but it would take a couple days to get over the “Mengen” reaction which was, in fact, more sort of fatigue and irritability but then a steady increase in feeling better. I didn’t realize that would happen even though, intellectually, Dr. Tanaka said it would. I didn’t sort of realize what was happening. After “Mengen”, vitality comes back. It’s therapy. Usually you go to therapy and you feel better for a while. This, in fact, you feel a little worse so you can feel a better later on. A little pain for a lot of gain, so to speak.
But I guess not as much pain as before.
No, not that kind of pain. Different. Achy.
How is your headache now?
It is an area that has improved to where the migraines which used to last two-and-a-half to three day are now lasting one day.
On a pain scale of one to ten, where they used to be ten or eleven, now they’re under five. The improvement with acupuncture has been consistent. It has increased the threshold, if you want to talk about pain, and it has lowered the sensitivity to that stimulus. Once you realize that things are sort of abating, it affects your mental health as well.
So, can I say that it had a positive impact on your life?
I think right across the board, yes. I still have some problems with sleep, but even they’re reduced. I sleep better.
The vitality has come back. Basic metabolism. Not necessarily in an ecstatic way, but just an ongoing, everyday kind of way… It is as if things were dry and now there’s water back. There’s reserve there.
Also, there is a mental aspect to any kind of chronic condition. My depression has improved. A lighter load, as it were. I notice it in little ways. Humour back and forth. Not on edge all the time. It’s the little things. I am more at ease around my daughter and at work when it comes to deadlines. I was able to distance myself from the some of the emotional stress. I had reserves of energy. You realize, “Oh, I’ve got it back! Oh, isn’t that nice? I forgot about that. I didn’t know I had that.”
How are your other symptoms?
Digestion is better and there’s internal harmony in my body. IBS symptoms (bloating, diarrhea, constipation) have been decreased from 10 on a pain scale to 2 or 3. It’s not fighting itself. It’s been brought back into some kind of cycle
Oh, I did not mention it before, but I have fallen arches. My feet tend to get sore as soon as I get stressed out or catch a cold, or from being overworked. At work I am on my feet a lot. My feet are my “pain indicator”. I wear orthotics. Before I started acupuncture treatments I used to have sore feet even with orthotics. Now I don’t have any problems with my feet.
You’ve made quite an improvement so far. What is your goal from now on?
To be as good as I reasonably can. I find it hard to be a purist, to eat everything that I know to be healthy. Maintain a relative balance, and within that, make healthy choices.
I haven’t really stopped. Treatments have been spread out more. I continue to see improvement. It will eventually level off, but I still want to maintain my health.
What would you comment on, generally, about Dr. Tanaka’s treatment?
Dr. Tanaka’s a natural healer. He’s sensitive. There’s a precision about his treatment. I understand that he’s well published. I recommended it to a couple of friends here.
What’s your advice to someone who is considering trying acupuncture for the first time?
To give it an honest try. I don’t think, personally, that I would go anywhere else for acupuncture. I think this is the one for me, anyway. One, it works for me. And two, it seems to make sense. The place works. The ambiance. The music. The assistants are consistent. The attention to detail in terms of decoration. The treatment of everyone.
It’s almost anti-instinctual to feel a little worse after treatment. But I guess if you think of it, it’s the same as chemotherapy. You do in fact feel worse for it so that eventually you will feel better. You have to trust your instinct and perception of the treatment.
I think they should give it a try. I didn’t understand at the beginning that the treatments induce “Mengen” and that it’s a process. I was looking for a cure that you could even take a pill or do something immediate. But this is a building process. It’s not a one-shot thing.
Thank you Steve. We are grateful that you agreed to share your healing journey with us today. We wish you good health and continual improvement.
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