Blood Sugar and Acupuncture

One patient was born in China and moved to Boston when she started college at Boston University. She loves sweets and found out that ice cream in Boston is much cheaper than in Beijing. Whenever she had ice cream, she became so happy that she wanted to eat more. She never gained weight even though she ate a lot of sweets. After she graduated from college, she found a teaching job at Wellesley College where she could get many different flavors of ice cream for free. She had one small bowl of ice cream almost every day for the past two years. One day, she felt so dizzy that she was rushed to Boston Medical Center. The ER doctor found that her blood sugar was 300 (normal should below 130 after a meal). She was diagnosed with type I diabetes in Newton-Wellesley Hospital later by her regular PCP. She started injections of insulin and was told that she needed to control her blood sugar below 120 in the morning. She was shocked that she developed type I diabetes even though she was in good shape and was very upset. Her parents told her to find a Chinese acupuncturist in Wellesley so she could get treatments three times a week.

When she first talked to a Boston acupuncturist in Needham, she was told that she needed to stop eating all processed foods and instead, eat more vegetables and tofu. She had acupuncture treatment every other day in Needham, and her blood sugar became normal, although sometimes her blood sugar dropped too low if she skipped meals and had acupuncture treatment at Boston Chinese Acupuncture. She stopped eating all kinds of sweets, including sodas and juices. Now, she is using the lowest dosage of insulin and her blood sugar is under control.

Case Study:

Mr. Marcus was bone in needham as a single child in his family. He went to Needham high school and worked as a caddy during all his high school years in a golf court in Wellesley. He grew up in a Jewish family with very strict rules: no alcohol, no drug and working hard to get what you want. He played in Wellesley golf court when he was in the Needham high school because he was surrounded by the rich player when he was working as a caddy boy. He developed such passion for golf that he got the golf scholarship and went to a college in Boston area. He continued to play when he was studying hard and play hard in Graduate School in Wellesley College as one of the few male students.

He loves eating sweets since he was a child. The high sugar diet finally compromised his pancreatic function and he was diagnosed as type II diabetes in Newton Wellesley Hospital when he turned 40 years old with his successful business in greater Boston area. He started metformin, a medication to lower his blood sugar and continued with his high sugar diet. When he reached 60 years old, his business grow so successfully in Boston and Weston area that he decided to retire earlier. The wealth he gained does not help improve his health; he finally started insulin injection when he turned 62 years old. After retirement, He moved to Weston with a big golf course close to his home, hoping he can play more golf to fix his diabetes with lowered stress level. Nobody told him that he needs to change his diet from 40 to 65 years old. Due to his diabetes, he developed cataract in his early forties, his kidney function was compromised and his coronary arteries were block in his fifties. The stents were put into his coronary arteries 10 years after he was diagnosed as type II diabetes in Boston, but his kidney function declines so fast that he soon developed kidney failure. He finally decided to seek acupuncture and Chinese herbs to change his diabetes condition.

His Boston Acupuncturist told him to change his diet: very little carbohydrates, no processed food, and more vegetables. He also started the green juice which is made of kale, spinach, lemon and other vegetables to help his body repair the blood vessels and nerves. He started acupuncture twice a week to improve his circulation to his feet, hand and heart. After two year of acupuncture treatment in Boston Chinese Acupuncture clinic, his blood sugar dropped 100 from 200 in the morning, his A1C is below 6 and his cholesterol becomes so low that he has to ask his PCP in Boston Medical Center to stop the Lipitor because he is afraid that the Lipitor will make his muscles and tendons too weak to walk. His left side vision is also improved due to the electrical acupuncture every week. He lost the right eye vision when he had cataract surgery in a hospital in Boston.