What I treat
Diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine identifies an energy imbalance within an individual. Irrespective of the disease or the symptom, once we can identify and correct the cause of the imbalance the symptoms will likely recede and heal.
However, it is helpful for patients to identify, and understand how acupuncture can help them with, the symptoms which they might be struggling with. This list is not exhaustive:
Anxiety
Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear, that can be mild or severe. Everyone has feelings of anxiety at some point in their life – it is normal to feel worried and anxious about sitting an exam, or a job interview. But some people find it hard to control their worries. Their feelings of anxiety are more constant and can often affect every aspect of their daily lives.
Depression
Depression is more than simply feeling unhappy or fed up for a few days. Most people go through periods of feeling down, but when depressed they feel persistently sad for weeks or months, rather than just a few days. Depression is deemed a real illness with real symptoms: it isn't a sign of weakness or something you can "snap out of" by "pulling yourself together".
Insomnia
Insomnia is difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep for long enough to feel refreshed the next morning. Poor sleep can be caused by many things including stress or irregular sleep patterns, and can result in poor concentration and irritability. It's a common problem, which can seriously effect our quality of life, and thought to regularly affect around one in every three people in the UK.
“My energy remains crazy, not gym type energy, just a flow of positive feeling through my body at such a high level… like a hose has been unblocked.”
— Charlie, 31
Trauma
Trauma symptoms can develop immediately after someone experiences a disturbing event, or it can occur weeks, months or even years later. PTSD is estimated to affect about 1 in every 3 people who have a traumatic experience, even apparently minor but persistent abuse can trigger this response, but it's not clear exactly why some people develop the condition and others do not.
Addiction
If you have an addiction, you're not alone. According to the charity Action on Addiction, 1 in 3 people are addicted to something. Addiction is defined as not having control over doing, taking or using something to the point where it could be harmful to you. It possible to be addicted to just about anything, alcohol, drugs, gambling, but including work, internet, solvent and shopping.
Eating Disorders
Beyond just our physical survival, food plays an important part in our social and cultural well being both of which are also essential to a balanced, happy and healthy way of life. However, the ease with which we can secure and consume the processed foods we eat today, their appeal to our senses of taste and smell, the chemical nature of many ingredients, have distorted our body’s ability determine what it needs and when we have eaten enough.
“I was having great difficulty sleeping and my sleep patterns were erratic. After treatment by Nicky I was able to go to sleep before 11pm and sleep right through to 7am. An amazing transformation! ”
— Sally, 61
Anorexia
Anorexia literally is loss of appetite and this can occur in anyone as a result of illness or especially during periods of stress. However, when the condition becomes extreme Anorexia (or Anorexia Nervosa) is a serious mental illness where people are of extreme low weight due to limiting their energy intake. It can affect anyone of any age, gender, or background.
Bulimia
Whilst we might all overindulge at times, people with bulimia are caught in a cycle of eating large quantities of food (called bingeing), and then trying to compensate for that overeating by vomiting, taking laxatives or diuretics, fasting, or exercising excessively (called purging).
Diabetes
Diabetes is a condition that causes a person's blood sugar level to become too high because their insulin production is compromised. Many people have blood sugar levels above the normal range, but not high enough to be diagnosed as having diabetes. This is sometimes known as pre-diabetes and increases the risk of full-blown diabetes developing. It’s very important for diabetes to be diagnosed as early as possible because it will get progressively worse if left untreated and other secondary symptoms can occur too.
“Definitely the most I’ve noticed a difference straight after treatment. A real feeling of grounding and calmness with a boost of happiness.”
— Jon, 27
Over or Under Active Thyroid
The thyroid gland is a small butterfly-shaped gland in the neck, just in front of the windpipe (trachea). One of its main functions is to produce hormones that help regulate the body's metabolism (the process that turns food into energy).
Menopause
The menopause is a natural part of ageing that usually occurs between 45 and 55 years of age, as a woman's oestrogen levels decline. Most women will experience menopausal symptoms. Some of these can be quite severe and have a significant impact on our everyday activities. In the UK, the average age for a woman to reach the menopause is 51. Premature or early menopause can occur at any age, and in many cases, there's no clear cause.
Allergic Rhinitis (Hay Fever)
Allergic rhinitis is inflammation of the inside of the nose caused by an allergen, such as pollen, dust, mould or flakes of skin from certain animals. It's a very common condition, estimated to affect around 1 in every 5 people in the UK. It causes cold like symptoms such as sneezing, itchiness and a blocked or runny nose. Some people are sensitive to seasonal allergens, such as tree or grass pollen (known as hay fever). Other people get allergic rhinitis all year round. For some people symptoms can be severe and persistent, causing sleep problems and interfering with everyday life.
“The circumstances in my life were difficult and I was feeling overwhelmed by them, to an extent that was undermining my efficacy. After a few treatments I got my old competent self back and also rediscovered the pleasure of life.”
— Angela, 60
Eczema
Eczema is the name for a group of skin conditions that cause dry, irritated skin. The most common is known as atopic eczema which causes the skin to become itchy, dry, cracked, sore and red. Although atopic eczema can affect any part of the body, it most often affects the hands, insides of the elbows, backs of the knees and the face and scalp. It is usually a long-term (chronic) condition which starts in childhood, although it can improve significantly, or even clear completely with age.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a condition that causes joints to become painful and stiff. It's the most common type of arthritis in the UK. The main symptoms of osteoarthritis are joint pain and stiffness. For some people, the symptoms can be mild and may come and go. Other people can experience more continuous and severe problems which make it difficult to carry out everyday activities. Almost any joint can be affected by osteoarthritis, but the condition most often causes problems in the knees, hips and small joints of the hands.
Post Cancer Treatment
In the past five year’s western medicine has made significant breakthroughs in treating cancer and new, highly targeted treatments are emerging, but still the majority of cases are treated in the traditional way with surgery, chemotherapy and or radiotherapy which can leave the patient feeling very depleted and with a range of unpleasant side effects.
Grief (Heartbreak)
A “broken heart” is considered to be the experience of some kind of shock or blow to the “heart”, like a loved one dying or our partner or friend suddenly disappearing. Equally it could be a long term emotionally painful situation that wears away at us reducing our ability to feel confident, secure, and hold on to a sense of our own value and love ourselves.
Fertility
Despite our scientific understanding the magic and mystery of baby making is still one of the most awe inspiring aspects of life. With the extraordinary complexity of all the systems that need to work harmoniously it is a wonder that it happens at all, and perhaps not surprising that 1 in 7 people may have difficulty conceiving and in a quarter of cases it is not possible to identify the cause, despite the advances in modern medicine.
IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
IBS is a frequently diagnosed disorder (or collection of symptoms) that affects the bowel (colon) and produces symptoms like cramping, abdominal pain and bloating, alternating diarrhea/constipation or one or the other. It is considered a chronic condition because in most cases it doesn’t go away but can and needs to be managed carefully.