Oriental Medicine Helping Many Patients Considered Untreatable

and Getting Results
You feel sick and tired all the time. You don�t know why. Worse yet, your doctor doesn�t know why either, much less what to do. You may have a life threatening illness and you are taking drugs with such intense and terrible side effects that your life is hard to live. Starting to get disheartened about ever being taken seriously or feeling better? Your solution may be a look into Oriental medicine, including Chinese herbal medicine.
The scope of Oriental medicine is vast and often provides hope for the hopeless. Most people in this country are only familiar with acupuncture. Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, nutrition, meditation, and exercises are also vital aspects of Oriental medicine.
The California Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (CAAOM) is the oldest and largest of its kind in California and seeks to awaken Californians to the benefits of the wide array of Oriental medical practices. The CAAOM also seeks to alert Californians that licensed, trained, skilled acupuncturists are the only health care professionals licensed to prescribe herbal formulas and perform the highly sophisticated acupuncture techniques. "I think one of the most important roles Chinese medicine has to play is in helping people whose problems are simply not detectable by conventional X-rays, blood and lab work, examinations, or CAT scans," explains Dr. Matt Van Benschoten, Doctor of Oriental Medicine and member of the CAAOM. "Many of my patients are considered to be undiagnosable or untreatable or both. This is where we go to work and help them. "
Woody Daniels, a San Diego insurance professional diagnosed as HIV positive in 1987, is an enthusiastic supporter of Oriental medicine. "Without acupuncture and Chinese herbs I would have been a dead man a long time ago, " he said. He began acupuncture treatments and Chinese herbal medicine in 1989.
"I have a solid triangle of healing, " he explained. "My primary care medical doctor is one solid part of it. Chinese herbal medicine is another, and acupuncture completes the triangle. "
Woody started both acupuncture and Chinese herbs in 1989. �The acupuncture and Chinese herbs help to offset the side effects of AZT, 3TC, and Crixivan I am taking to combat the HIV. My doctor describes this regime as having the same side effects of doing three different kinds of chemotherapy simultaneously, every day, without a break.
According to Daniels, the herbs and the acupuncture offset the damage to his bone marrow from the drugs. Additionally, they treat and help lessen the side effects of nausea, vomiting, chronic diarrhea, and hot and dizzy spells, and strengthen his digestive system. "And, I am getting better. My T-cell count is up from last year. "
Daniels, a San Diego resident, visits Dr. Van Benschoten�s Reseda, California, clinic every four months for a new evaluations and prescription of Chinese herbs. More than 20% of Van Benschoten�s patients are HIV positive. Daniels also sees his acupuncturist in San Diego every other week.
"The Chinese herbs allow me to take time out, take a break, and let my body heal. "Daniels�s approach to the blend of Eastern and Western medicine is aligned to Dr. Van Benschoten�s.
"I think it is absolutely critical for patients to understand that Oriental and Western medicine are complementary, and are cooperative with each other. Oriental medicine is not an 'alternative' medicine. I never want my patients to abandon Western medicine, which clearly has so many strengths and can provide us with a lot of beneficial information," said Dr. Van Benschoten.