AboutTamsen Staniford, L.Ac. Expertise Please ask me about acupuncture and oriental medicine, nutrition, dietary supplements, and herbs. I am always happy to answer questions about how any of these areas relate to your health and well-being, specific conditions, or simply if you would like some information. I specialize in acupuncture for palliative care, acute injuries, chronic illness, autoimmune disorders, bone health, and western supplements.
Experience I am a licensed acupuncturist in the state of California and hold a Master's degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine. This degree includes training for acupuncture, herbs, nutrition, exercise and bodywork. I have work for a decade in the natural products industry both at the retail and manufacturing levels. I have worked using acupuncture in private clinics, community clinic settings and in inpatient care facilities; including hospice and supportive housing residences. I currently practice in San Francisco in a private clinic, making house calls for home bound patients, and working on grant funded community acupuncture projects.
Education/Credentials Master's in Traditional Oriental Medicine, Certified Massage Therapist and Health Educator, Reiki Practitioner.
Past/Present Clients Everyone from the stressed out worker, to the detoxing substance user, to the dying, to the new mother. Acupuncture can help them all.
Question hello. i have a question but theirs a bit of a story behind it. thank you for reading.
im a 20 year old male. 2.5 months ago i woke up sick with a fever (100.5), heavy photophobia, sore throat, nausea, body aches, and the worst headache i had ever experienced. the next day all the symptoms were gone except i was left with massive head pressure everyhwere and pain sitting there behind the pressure. one month later the pressure finally improved. at the ER i was told it was viral meningitis, but every doctor ive seen says not likely due to the duration of my sickness and low grade fever.
now i am left with pains that comes and goes 24 hrs. i have pain in the temples, top of head, side of head, forehead, top half of the eyes, eyebrows, and sides of the nose. the pain will come on for a few seconds then start to disappear. other times it comes on and stays for 5 or 10 min then dissappears.
i recently had wisdom teeth extracted and was on 800 mg of ibuprofen. that covered up jaw pain but i could still feel the headpains.
ive seen my primary care, optamologist, allergist, neurologist (about to have an MRI in a few days), and dentist.
ive had a ct sinus scan, ct brain scan, and x-ray of the teeth. all show nothing wrong. im pretty sure the mri will also be normal.
due to the location of my pain i believe it is my trigeminal nerve being irritated. it is not a migraine. i took a maxalt the other day (dr instructed) and my pain tripled.
im a college student and ive been living with this for nearly 3 months. life has been very difficult for me and ive got nowhere else to turn to.
sorry for the long story but here is my question:
will accupuncture help me? can it relieve the pain and can the results be permanent?
thank you so much for reading. your opinion is highly valued.
Answer The answer to your question is "it depends". Acupuncture may help you, it may not. It should be able to relieve the pain but there is no guarantee to what degree or if it will be permanent.
What all of that depends on are a number of factors including the specifics of the condition itself, your body's overall health (including mind and emotions), your dietary and lifestyle habits, and the type of Oriental medical treatment plan your practitioner would provide.
The best way to get more specific answers is to find a qualified Oriental Medical practitioner (trained at an accredited school with a Master's or Doctorate in Oriental/Chinese Medicine and properly certified to practice in your area) to diagnose your condition and provide treatment options.
Generally speaking, acupuncture is useful for many types of pain, and shows promise in many conditions that western medicine have few or no options for treatment. Oriental medicine provides a different framework for understanding disease than western medicine, which is why each can complement the other quite well. Also generally speaking, acupuncture itself works on pain in a way analogous to eating a sandwich. With the first bite you notice a difference, but you don't feel full until you've eaten the whole sandwich. Acupuncture usually provides a relief in symptoms that increases in duration and strength over the course of treatment. Some people feel permanent relief while others come back in for maintenance treatments every so often to keep symptoms manageable. Practitioners of Oriental Medicine also use additional tools such as herbal formulas, dietary guidelines and bodywork techniques that work together with the acupuncture for a holistic treatment approach. Oriental medicine, including acupuncture, really works the same way any medical system does in that some conditions respond better than others and some people have better relief than others.
Once you find a practitioner that you can work well with, you will have a clearer idea of how well acupuncture will work for you and hopefully a better understanding of this mysterious disease process you're experiencing. I wish you the best.
