ED Success Story: Acupuncture
Raleigh Acupuncture Associates Case Study
A 53-year-old man came to our clinic complaining of sexual function issues. He was not able to be intimate with his wife, even with the use of prescription medications. This erectile dysfunction acupuncture case study describes how acupuncture dramatically improved his condition.
Our patient was otherwise healthy. He held a high-powered job with tremendous responsibility. His doctors had assured him that there was nothing wrong with his heart, kidneys or liver. He exercised three times a week, ate well, and was in a happy relationship with his wife of 24 years. The only problem he had was his inability to sustain an erection during intimacy.
The problem had developed over the past two years, slowly getting worse. Medications like Viagra had worked early on, but now even they were not helping. Our patient was feeling desperate, hopeless and frustrated with his situation.
Acupuncture Improves ED
When our patient in this erectile dysfunction acupuncture case study arrived at our clinic we conducted a Chinese medicine intake exam. This involved asking him questions about his overall health, looking at his tongue and feeling his pulse. While his overall health was good, our patient was under a tremendous amount of stress. His job was quite demanding, requiring him to work 60+ hours a week, often through the weekend. While he was not bothered by long hours of work, he admitted that the stress was affecting him more than it did in years past. His sleep was not as good as it used to be. He often woke up between 1 and 3am, having a difficult time falling back to sleep. When asked why he thought he was waking during the night, our patient attributed it to work stress - looming deadlines, upcoming presentations, and the like. In addition, his low back had been giving him trouble the past few years, often being sore upon waking, and feeling better after a hot shower and stretching. His tongue was pink, with a thin white coating, which was a normal, healthy presentation. His pulse, however, was surprisingly weak, considering his overall good health. In particular, the Kidney yang position of his pulse was especially weak.
Chinese Medicine Diagnosis for ED
Based on this information, we concluded that our patient's ED symptoms were being caused by one primary factor. Stress and overwork were taxing his kidneys. As the Kidney in Chinese medicine are the root of sexual function, overtaxing his kidneys over the past many years had affected his sexual function. The treatment principal to address his ED therefore required nourishing his Kidneys, particularly his kidney Yang.
Signs of weak kidney function were evident in his weak kidney pulse, his chronic low back soreness, and his intense work schedule. In addition, stress had caused his Qi to stagnate, which acted to further weaken his Kidney function. Our acupuncture treatments focused on boosting his Kidney Yang Qi and Smooth his Liver Qi to reduce stress. In addition, we counselled him to cut down on his workload, as this was damaging his kidney function.
Quick Turnaround
After just four treatments, once a week, our patient in this erectile dysfunction acupuncture case study could tell the difference in his sexual function. He was thrilled to report that he was able to be intimate twice in one week. Also, he had taken our advice and reduced his workload. This entailed taking time off on weekends to relax and delegating more to his assistant.
Our acupuncture treatment included acupoints to relieve his back pain, which served double duty boosting his Kidneys.
He felt the difference immediately, waking with less soreness in his low back.
After eight weekly treatments he was ready for maintenance mode, scheduling acupuncture once a month to tune up his Kidneys. Six months later he was feeling the best he had in years, still with normal sexual function. Importantly, he was managing his workload better as well, making sure not to overtax himself with work.
You can reach Mark at Raleigh Acupuncture Associates.
