Comments on: Why Your Chronic Pain Is All In Your Head

By: Sifu Anthony Korahais

Sifu Anthony Korahais — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 13:37:30 +0000

In reply to Conner. If I break my leg, PLEASE don't try to use acupuncture. Bring me to the emergency room! Generally speaking, I think that Western Medicine is better with acute conditions, whereas Chinese Medicine is better with chronic conditions.

By: Conner

Conner — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 02:16:29 +0000

This post and the previous have actually brought up a few questions I’ve had in the back of my mind since I started really looking into eastern medical traditions, though it’s kind of off topic. As a professionally trained practitioner of Chinese medicine, you obviously have many things you would advise people to seek eastern methods to resolve over western ones(this article being an obvious example). Are there any that you would say western medicine solves MORE effectively? Issues that have been solved in more recent western studies that work but aren’t addressed by or are more effective than Chinese tradition?

By: Sifu Anthony Korahais

Sifu Anthony Korahais — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 22:04:13 +0000

In reply to Inez.

Sorry to hear you’re suffering so much, Inez.

Trigeminal neuralgia is complex. Qigong will help tremendously, but honestly, you probably need someone like my wife to get to the bottom of it.

This happens to be her area of expertise. If you’re in Florida, then I recommend a face-to-face visit. Otherwise, a Skype consult would be a good idea.

She’s not going to give you the run-around like you’ve been experiencing.

http://www.doctorakemi.com/

By: Inez

Inez — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 21:10:31 +0000

What is your take on trigeminal neuralgia? I feel like I’m completely losing my mind. I have been to my family dentist four times, Family Dr three times, ER twice, cardiologist a few times, neurologist,and Endodontist twice,over the last three months it’s ridiculous and now I feel like a complete hypercondract. Not a very good feeling. All of the Doctors I have seen have prescribed some heavy duty drugs with to many side effects to jot down needless to say I refuse to take any of it. My pain remains. Today I did have another appointment with my endodontist who did a series of test and he played a little trick on me and he told me that I was in denial with my diagnosis because I was actually hoping I just needed a root canal as strange as that may seem my anxiety of having a very bad attack with this fifth cranial nerve disease scares me. because about a month ago it got really severe I did not want to live anymore and that’s what led me to all these doctor appointments. There has got to be some other way to deal with this other than heavy drugs or surgery that involves the brain. Please help if you know of any natural solution for me . Sincerely ,Inez Wilson

By: Sifu Anthony Korahais

Sifu Anthony Korahais — Tue, 27 Jun 2017 11:43:41 +0000

In reply to Stan. That's a good habit. Often, people feel better but don't notice it unless you point it out. Having them assess their own baseline at the start is smart.

By: Sifu Anthony Korahais

Sifu Anthony Korahais — Tue, 27 Jun 2017 11:42:23 +0000

In reply to Brenda Wordsworth. I've been saying something similar for years. I don't understand why we aren't celebrating the placebo effect. It's miraculous!

By: Stan

Stan — Tue, 27 Jun 2017 11:06:40 +0000

I ask groups that I work with “who wants to feel better?”. When they all raise their hands I continue with “I would bet that everyone here has their own definition of what feeling better is”.

One thing for sure, and on a consistent basis, is that people leave class feeling better than when they walked in.

Yes, Sifu, this “stuff” works.

By: Brenda Wordsworth

Brenda Wordsworth — Tue, 27 Jun 2017 06:53:32 +0000

I wish the placebo wasn”t dismissed as “unreal” or “just in the mind”. If it works it must be real, surely. I was a nurse and started training many decades ago. Like Bruce I remember giving saline injections for chronic pain if it was thought the patient was becoming addicted to morphine or exaggerating there pain in order to receive a morphine injection. I felt very guilty not telling the patient what was going on!

By: Sifu Anthony Korahais

Sifu Anthony Korahais — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 15:18:05 +0000

In reply to Bruce Major. Bingo, Bruce! And the best part is that in Chinese, the word for "mind" is "xin", which means "heart"!

By: Bruce Major

Bruce Major — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 15:15:28 +0000

When I worked on an orthopedic floor (many years ago!) it was still legal (and thought to be ethical) to give patients placebo injections without telling them you were doing so. I developed the habit of telling people, whatever I was giving them, “You’ll feel better in about 10 minutes.” What happened? Every patient, whether he or she received a placebo or a narcotic felt better in about 10 minutes. I realized then that pain relief had more to do with empathy and communicating that you care about the person than it did with the substance administered. A lot of the placebo effect has to do with the human interaction, I think. Not just the mind, but the minds. 🙂