Recovery is a Journey

The Wonders of Acupuncture

How can thousands of years of Chinese medicine be wrong? Acupuncture has existed for centuries, yet many discount the power it possesses. With all of our manufactured prescription painkillers, anti-anxiety, and anti-depressant drugs; it is difficult to believe that something else, other than medication, might work just as well or even better. It is my personal belief, based on my own results, that acu-detox can be as, or more, effective than conventional medicine.

I have been a struggling heroin addict for almost eight years of my life. I have been receiving methadone maintenance for the last three years. I even tried Suboxone for a few months, until it began interacting poorly with my seizure medication. It was at this time that I found myself waking routinely with what I can only describe as terrible withdrawal symptoms. At three a.m., like clockwork, I would awake with searing pain in both of my legs, arms, and my back. My equilibrium would become off-balance, while nausea kept me in the restroom until I'd arrive at the clinic for my next dose. Restlessness consumed me and the thought of what I knew was to come every morning did not keep me very motivated. Just when I was about to give up hope of remaining clean and sober, I was saved.

Sitting in Rick's office one day, I reported the ongoing discomfort and all around frustration I felt about my predicament. It was at this time that I found out about acu-detox. I did not even know it existed! Rick explained to me that he had wanted to get certified for this treatment and that he was finally doing it. I became curious, intrigued, and hopeful. Maybe I did not have to give up so easily. We arranged for me to begin the acupuncture treatment as soon as he became certified and I became the guinea pig. As I sat in the cushy black chair I prayed that it would work. I began with clean my ears with sterile alcohol pads. The only place on the body where tiny stick pins are placed is on the ears. There are five pins placed on the ears. There is one for each energy channel, the sympathetic and the shen mein, and one for the kidney, liver, and lungs. Some might think, "Needles, yuck!" However, if you are a patient of this fine facility, nine times out of ten you have already been poking your body with syringes for years. What is the big fuss over a few pins? The fact is that it just feels like a little prick of the skin, then it is gone. The more often you repeat this procedure, the more your ears get accustomed to the sensation and the less you feel. All that is left to do is close your eyes, relax your body (never crossing your arms or legs), and wait for the pain to recede. A little music always helps me relax a bit, and Rick is more than happy to oblige. The pins are left in for a minimum of thirty minutes. Personally, I also take this time to meditate. You notice your breathing slowing down and becoming steady. After the process is completed there is a sense of peace, balance, and clarity that was nonexistent before. You might also notice that one ear may feel the pins a bit more. This is in correspondence with the side of the body certain organs, muscles, etc. are hurting or I need of therapy. Neat, hugh?

You might be wondering how you can tell if acu-detox is working for you. It really depends on your level of discomfort and pain. After trying this treatment for the first time, I went home with none of my body aching. Later that night, I slept the entire night through. There was not one incident of waking in the middle of the night with those terrible withdrawal symptoms I was experiencing before. When I awoke, not one spot on my body was sore or uncomfortable. I know that acupuncture did that. One must not think that this procedure is a cure all and end all. The treatment works best when done on a regular basis. I get acu-detox once a week, sometime two or three times a week, depending on how I feel. The cost is only seven dollars a session, about one tenth of what it costs at a conventional acupuncture clinic. The benefits greatly outweigh the cost. I urge each and every one of you to try this treatment at least once. What have you got to lose, except the pain, the craving, and the anxiety? If you don't like the results, you will never have to do it again. Take it from the guinea pig, it works!!!

Give the World the Best You Have

Sometimes we feel lazy or bored, and then we don't do our best work, if we do any work at all. Perhaps we are daydreaming instead of listening closely to what a friend is trying to tell us, or making "pie to the sky" plans for our lives without a hint of how to accomplish those plans. It could be we are in a relationship that we are halfheartedly dedicated to, or a job that we only work at as hard as we have to without being fired.

Is it any wonder that we feel bored when we act so lazy. Vincent Peele said, "Enthusiasm is the essence of life." How true! A passive recovery, just like a passive life, will be boring and doomed to failure, or unhappiness, or frustration, or fear, or disgust, or hopelessness.

Please don't wait for an engraved invitation to become an active member of life. You will be waiting, forever.

Online Prescribing Results in State Criminal Charges

More than half of the country's state medical boards have disciplined a physician for Internet prescribing. Rarely does a state's law enforcement agency charge a physician with a crime related to prescribing via the Internet. Federal officials file most criminal charges for Internet prescribing. But states could find criminal charges a more attractive option for reining in largely unregulated Internet pharmacies. Medical boards continue to crack down on the practice of Internet prescribing, especially of controlled substances.

"The mind has great influence over the body,and maladies often have their origin there."

"Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they're yours. "

"Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves."

HERE NOW
The procedure is called auricular acupuncture. It is helpful for a variety of issues that affect those with addictions.
Please see your counselor.

Youth Who Drink Before Age 15 Increase Chances of Developing Alcohol Abuse or Dependence

Early alcohol use increases the likelihood of developing alcohol abuse or dependence at a later age, according to an analysis of data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). In 2003, 74 percent of adults aged 21 or older reported that they had started using alcohol before the current legal age of 21. Those who first used alcohol before the age of 15 were four times as likely to meet the criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence than those who started using alcohol at or after age 18 (16 percent versus 3 percent). These findings support previous research indicating that delaying the onset of alcohol use may prevent or reduce alcohol abuse and dependence in adulthood.

It is tough to make predictions …
especially about the future.