Archive for January, 2008
Extremely Interesting PCOS/Acupuncture study
A Swedish/Italian controlled study from the Biology of Reproduction Journal, (date): involved inducing a state of poly cystic ovaries in rats, with injections of estradiol valerate. Increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system resulted, followed by increased concentrations of nerve growth factor in ovaries, and the adrenal glands. Within 60 days the rats developed polycystic ovariess. The control group received no therapy and maintained features of PCOS. Those treated with acupuncture showed a reduction in the hyperactivity of the ovarian peripheral sympathetic nerve fibers, reduction of the increased nerve growth factor concentrations within the ovaries to normal and reduced the weight of the poly cystic ovaries. This group of doctors then set out with the aim of reproducing similar results in women with PCOS. The study concluded, “We have shown that repeated electroacupuncture treatments restore regular ovulations in the anovulatory women with PCOS. In addition, acupuncture influenced neruoendocrine and endocrine parameters indicative of PCOS, such as LH/FSH ratios, mean testosterone concentrations, and beta-endorphin concentrations, which reduced significantly.”
This study illustrates the hormonal origin of this disease process, and the fact that it can be induced artificially. The induction of this hormonal trauma produces a physiologic state of stress which raises the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, producing a disease syndrome. Acupuncture treatments were effective at resolving this pathologic process because it reduces the level of hypersympathetic nervous system response, relaxing the whole neuroendocrine system.
Source: http://www.easternharmonyclinic.com/medart/marl06.html
the latest
well, I went for a run a few days ago. I went even though my body didn’t really feel like it that day. so I learned a lesson too. If your body doesn’t feel like it, then don’t do it. I went to a local park, for some reason thinking it was a dirt trail. It was a paved trail, which made it feel so difficult to pick my feet up and keep going. I went the whole trail which only took 6 minutes, meaning it was probably a half mile. It was dissappointing that it was tough, but I knew the pavement & the fact that I hadn’t really felt like doing it had a lot to do with it. I can’t believe people voluntarily run on pavement. And this was new pavement. Some neighborhood streets have some bounce to them because they’re worn in. This did not.
The yeast beast is back with a vengeance. I am going to try tea tree oil suppositories. I hate to think that this is all blood sugar related when I’m not even diabetic. It’s not a good thought.
I started the new job and it is so much less stressful. There is a lot of accounting/data entry type things to do which I will have to focus to learn since my mind is very abstract, but it’s nice not to feel like I’m being talked down to like I’m the dumbest person in the world all day. Ahh, a normal environment again. Although I haven’t been sleeping much since I have to get up earlier. I’ve also been stressed out about this guy I’ve been involved with for almost a year now. I adore him and wish we could at least date, but he seems content to see me once on the weekend, if that and not call me or anything during the week. This upsets me since I went on tons of dates this summer looking for someone who would want to be at least a little more serious, but I was never attracted to the guys that wanted that. I really think it is something about this town since all my friends only find these sorts of characters too. This is weighing on me heavily.
I know I need to balance out my life and not stress out about things, but I think at this age you want everything to be perfect NOW. I”ve thought about moving to my own place again now that I will be working full-time, because it seemed like I was happier when I lived alone before. I think living with my parents has cost me some feeling of freedom perhaps.
Sunday run – January 6th
Sunday I wanted to try out those new running clothes. See if they made me feel streamlined. I had stayed out the previous night very late and had 2 beers so needless to say I was tired and weak on Sunday, but still felt the urge to run. It wasn’t very cold outside. I didn’t have as hard of a time picking my feet up. I had more of a problem feeling like low-sugary and like I could fall every time my foot hit the pavement. But overall I was pleased with the run. It is still amazing to me to be able to breathe like a normal runner does. And if I recall I felt lighter on my feet. I was excited because my goal of doing a 5k in the future seemed a lot more doable. It’s like I can visualize myself getting back to that point.
I have still felt weak, or like it takes a lot of effort to walk up the stairs, or like it’s hard to sleep sometimes or my mind is racing at warp speed. But I can’t imagine my life had I not started with acupuncture. It’s amazing that she has gotten me back into running at all, even if I can’t run far yet. Absolutely amazing.
hmmm
- the last time I had acupuncture was aweek ago (December 28). I remember I had been kind of depressed and I told her that and now I’m not. Sleeping has been more of a struggle but not as much in the past few days. I have a hard time with being wired when it’s time to wind down during the week (and right now I’m physically spent but mentally not).
- I did get hired at a new job but haven’t started yet. It’s from 8-5 every day and I’m nervous that it will be a struggle to go to bed at a decent hour and get up. (Always has been a struggle). I tend to get stressed out when I know I have to get up early. Then I can’t sleep or am just wired wanting to read late at night and usually by the end of the week I’m dead. I’m also nervous about the eating at work/low blood sugar situation. To feel good I really need to eat every 2-3 hours, which always makes me feel like a lazy person or paranoid that I will get in trouble for it. But I will say that when I was doing acupuncture once a week my blood sugar was not as big a part of my life.
Hopefully the new job will also give me a little more money to get back into eating healthy and experimenting with new things. One of the things I wanted to try was wheatgrass powder. I guess you just pour it in water and make a drink out of it. If it tastes decent it could be a good way for me to get more greens.
I also ate little cups of applesauce this week in between breakfast & lunch at work and that was a catastrophe. My mom buys the kind with corn syrup added and I’m not sure if this is why, but both times after I ate it my vision was all blurry and I got hot and felt like I was getting closer to passing out. So I am steering clear of that from now on.
I’m hoping to have enough money to do acupuncture once a week again, but we’ll see.
Also tonight I finally went shopping for some running clothes. I got a few tops and a pair of sweat pants and the modern loose polyester equivalent of what used to be running tights. I’m excited about this new gear – a lot of it seems sleek and I’m hoping it will get me more enthused. I like the idea of feeling compact and streamlined when running. I’m thinking running could be an important part of me improving if it really will help my blood sugar problems. My goal of course is to get better to the point where I can run 5k races again like I used to in high school. I need some of those long-sleeve running t-shirts that you get at the races (always the main motivator for me to race, but now that I’m older I also like that the races benefit good causes).
Although I have felt NO urge to go running lately. I haven’t had the energy I had when I was going to acu once a week. But I think that even going every other week I am doing better than I was before I started ever going.
I think my outlook is way better. I realized that by constantly thinking about Graves disease, with it’s disease name I was feeding the beast. Now I think more about healing, or getting better, or the improvements I have had.
