Acupuncture and Sleep Apnea

There are many people who suffer from sleep apnea, "a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep" (www.nhlbi.nih.gov).

Such extremities like jaw surgeries are required to tame sleep apnea and most people do not know if they have the disorder because there aren't overwhelming symptoms. 

My boyfriend snores a lot, every time he sleeps so that made me think about sleep apnea. I've done some research for a previous community college newspaper last year which lead me to suspect that he is suffering from sleep apnea.

Doing some light reading, I came across this website called sleepdisordersguide.com where there was an article about sleep apnea and acupuncture. 

http://www.sleepdisordersguide.com/blog/sleepdisorders/acupuncture-an-alternative-treatment-for-sleep-apnea-that-works/

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Sleep apnea is a disorder that can seriously affect your health and quality of life.
Have you tired trying with all the treatments for sleep apnea?
Acupuncture is one of the best treatments for sleep apnea.
Acupuncture is one of the oldest alternative treatments for the treatment of many medical problems including sleep apnea.
Alternative treatment is preferred for sleep apnea treatment due to various advantages over conventional treatment. Acupuncture is well accepted because it avoids the risk of side effects as it includes natural treatment.
According to the assumption made in traditional Chinese medicine, your body is supposed to function properly. When all are in harmony, body will function properly.
You have to in certain way to make your body work properly. You have to consider diet, exercise, mental and spiritual well-being that contributes to harmony.
When something is out of order, there is a definite reason. It is the search of underlying cause rather than concentration on symptoms that make acupuncture recommended treatment for sleep apnea.
Acupuncture involves application of fine needles into the human body into one or more of the 2,000 acupuncture points.
These points link twelve main and eight secondary pathways. The channels or pathways are called meridians. The meridians conduct energy between the body’s skin and internal organs.
The energy conducted by meridians coordinate the balance between one’s spiritual, mental, physical and emotional state.
Acupuncture body parts have been identified that are related to sleep issues to such a point that a method known as acupressure is used to induce sleep. Acupressure is nothing but applying light pressure to the acupuncture body point.
This can be done by pinching the point mildly between the thumb and finger. Both acupuncture and acupressure reduce tension, increase circulation, brings down levels of stress and regulate breath so that the body is enabled and relaxes deeply.
Using acupuncture for sleep apnea can over time correct whatever imbalances are causing sleep apnea, minus any side effects. Apart from improved sleep, people who have used acupuncture for sleep apnea obtained a greater feeling of well-being and improvement in health.
Once you start use acupuncture, your sleep improves slowly. During the treatment, do not consume caffeine, stress hormones should be decreased, daily routines and diet should be modified.
After several sessions, there is no need of any treatments to help in getting sleep. Each type of acupuncture for sleep apnea treatment consists of a different combination of meridians or points. Treatment with acupuncture differs for specific needs of individuals to fit that person.

Utah soldier killed trying to save comrade in Afghanistan

This is an article that was emailed to me from my sister, he was her friend and trained with her. I just wanted to dedicate this article to those who had lost someone.

 

 

Utah soldier killed trying to save comrade in Afghanistan

Slideshow

Jordan Byrd

Written by: Dan Metcalf Jr.

Reported by: Kelli O'Hara
Reported by: Annie Cutler

Print Story

Published: 10/14 2:51 pm

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Updated: 10/15 3:21 am

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - A soldier from Utah has been killed in Afghanistan.

ABC 4 News has learned that 19-year-old Jordan Byrd was killed while trying to save a fallen comrade during a gun battle, according to family members.

Byrd's family says Jordan joined the U.S. Army and became a medic in order to pay for medical school.

According to Byrd's family, Jordan was trying to assist a soldier who had been shot by a sniper, and used his body as a shield to protect a member of his unit.

Byrd's wife recently gave birth to the couple's son. A month ago, doctors induced labor only two days before Jordan deployed to Afghanistan.

Byrd spent some of his childhood in Dugway, Utah.

He is the fourth Utah soldier to die in Afghanistan since August 2010.

Capt. Ellery R. Wallace  was killed August 29th, Sgt. Aaron K. Kramer was killed on September 16th, Chief Warrant Officer Matthew G. Wagstaff was killed on September 21st.

The Governor sent his condolences through a statement that says, "We are saddened to learn of the death of another young Utah soldier serving his country overseas. Private First Class Byrd has paid the ultimate sacrifice to defend our country and our American way of life, and for that he will never be forgotten.”

Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Acupuncture

How can it help?

Acupuncture is a part of traditional Chinese medicine. It works to restore the flow and balance to the qi (energy) in the body. Tiny needles are inserted along meridian lines to help achieve this. Acupuncture is believed by some to be effective in treating the symptoms of STDs and improving  immunity. Results of a recent research trial show that acupuncture can help to heal herpes lesions and reduce recurrence of the infection.

Here's the link:

http://www.wdxcyber.com/alternative-therapy-STDs.html

This is a sensitive topic and I thought it was interesting how Acupuncture can help the STD symptoms. Above is a bit of info on STDs and Acupuncture.

Here's an interesting article on Acupuncture and HIV, could it be that Acupuncture and naturopathic medicine will be the next big thing?

How TCM Works for the HIV Patient

So it works great. But how does it work? Chinese medicine can appear to be mystery. Behind the needles, smoking moxa sticks, and funky-smelling herbs that comprise the typical TCM experience is a complex philosophy that explains relationships between organs, blood, and Qi flow. All theories and diagnoses in this medical tradition, however, follow a very simple premise: that health is a balance or harmony of forces and properties in the body, and ill health a disharmony.

Disharmony can be caused by outside forces, such as cold or wind, and inside forces, such as emotions. But ancient texts also describe the existence of pestilences, called li qi or yi qi. These are diseases from the outside world, but they different from the usual suspects; they’re the external “evils” of wind, cold, heat, dampness, and dryness.

A pestilence is highly infectious and can bring about an epidemic. Since TCM understands epidemics, that knowledge and protocol can be brought to bear on one of the most devastating pandemics of our time, AIDS.

TCM vs. HIV

A small number of acupuncturists have been studying the AIDS virus and developing a TCM diagnosis for the disease since the health crisis first began. Misha Cohen, O.M.D., L.Ac, describes the specific diagnosis of HIV/AIDS as invasion by toxic heat pestilence, which eventually causes spleen/stomach deficiency inside the body. Once the body is depleted by the disease’s attack on the spleen and stomach, the disease can progress to cause additional disharmonies, such as liver Qi stagnation and blood deficiency.

Each individual will have a unique response to the AIDS virus, and different disharmonies will develop in each person. One AIDS patient might develop Kaposi’s sarcoma, for instance, while another might experience anemia or peripheral neuropathy. The versatility built into treatments — there are hundreds of acupuncture points to choose from and endless point combinations possible — ensures a targeted treatment that is tailored to each patient’s health needs.

How do Western HIV/AIDS doctors view the role of acupuncturists in treating AIDS patients? Charles describes his Western doctor as being very open to acupuncture — in fact, his doctor was the one that referred him to an acupuncturist. Andre’s doctor doesn’ comment when Andre describes his TCM involvement, and Andre senses that his doctor might not value TCM. However, both men find it easy to work both East and West into their lives. They regularly check in with their Western doctors to monitor the virus, and their acupuncturists are well versed in Western medicines and protocol for HIV/AIDS. In the view of many in the forefront of the fight against HIV and AIDS, Western and TCM doctors working in collaboration provide the best care to patients battling one of the most devastating health problems in recent history.

It is thought that more than 1 million people are living with HIV in the United States. Acupuncture has the potential to enrich the health and quality of life of their lives. 

Acupuncture and HIV: The "new" weapon in the fight against HIV/AIDS 

 Society have been studying this disease for decades and resulted unsuccessful in finding a cure to date. Now that Acupuncture is such a rapidly growing medical practice, it's getting some attention in the STD and AIDS/HIV department. This oriental medical practice was mocked and judged as a trickery for a very long time but is now a respected form of medicine and medical practice. Why is that so? I personally believe that it was because of the malpractice cases of western medicine and the deadly side effects of prescription drugs. 

Surprisingly, Acupuncture has started to join forces with the western medicine in hospitals across the country. Who knows? Maybe in the future, there will be Acupuncture hospitals and pharmacies dedicated to herbal medicines. All I know is, that's why I'm in college and that, my friend, will come true one day. Just watch me.

MAKE OVER

Couple of days ago, I hurt my arm which caused me to take a bunch of pills and gave a whole lot of time to think. After I started to think, I've realized that I'm not writing about the things I want to write about.

I have always wanted to write about the two things that I'm passionate about; acupuncture and oriental medicine and writing. The mysteries behind acupuncture are endless and writing always enables people to communicate. My main goal in life was to discover new ways of pursuing healthy lifestyles that are not heavily dependent on prescription drugs. Personally, prescription drugs do not agree with my insides and makes me queasy. Herbal medicine on the other hand has helped me a lot over the years from stomach pains to tonsillitis. I don't believe that herbal medicine conquers western medicine, I believe that many people will benefit more from both medicines. I want to create a new form of herbal medicine that has the same healing effect and that's better tasting for those of us who are not big fans of the herbal taste. Which is why I have a strong desire to study herbal medicine and nutrition.

So I've had an epiphany, the Secret Garden has always been a place where readers can unwind and vent about their day or their problems. A place where the readers can relate to my writing in some way. Then I thought  that I've always wanted to write about how new perspectives can change people's lives. So I decided that it's about time the Secret Garden has gotten a makeover. I shall write about alternative medicine and my experiences with it. I've worked for an acupuncturist so I know what kind of things I would like to introduce to the readers and it won't always be about that. It'll be about anything and everything that has to do with mind, body, health and positive influences.

So now, the Secret Garden has a purpose and become a symbol of positive knowledge that's waiting for everyone to stroll on in to see the enchantments that's lying within.    

Savory Snack-age to Satisfy the Sweet Suspire

 

It has come to our attention that not many college students have the time to decide which cereal has the least amount of calories or what brand of frozen dinners are the leaner choice for a midnight snack. Times like these is when nutrition facts on the back of packaged food products come in real handy. Here's the list of five sinful store bought snacks that will satisfy the guilty cravings without the guilt.

5. Fruity Snacks

They are petite, mobile and incredibly chewy with an aura of fruity goodness glowing all around the packaging. Although the fruity snacks do not have a large amount of calories it's always a wise judgment to read the box before purchasing. Try Market Pantry's Fruit Snacks in mixed fruit flavors, they have 0 grams of fat, saturated fat, trans fat and only 80 calories per pouch, plus, the gummy fruits have 100% daily recommended values of Vitamin C.

4.Cereal Bar

Who said cereals were only meant for breakfasts? Try Kellogg's Special K Bar in blueberry and strawberry flavor. Each bar is filled with 90 calories, 1.5 grams in fat and 1 gram of saturated fat. Take it on the go to munch on during classes and it'll fill the body's nutrients to boost your brainpower!

Source: www.nutritiondata.self.com

3. Juice

It's not only for kids, Capri Sun 100% Juice is a spill-free juice drink with only 80 calories in each juice pouch and absolutely zero grams of fat. However, fruit punch and apple are the only flavors that are only 80 calories but the other flavors: berry, grape and citrus are 90-100 calories per pouch. As a kick, try sticking it in the freezer for 3 hours to turn it into a frozen treat.

Sources: brands.kraftfoods.com/caprisun/default.aspx

2. Ice Cream Bars

There's nothing like chilling out with a classic ice cream bar in front of the television, snuggled up in a fleece blanket. This probably isn't the most healthiest thing to do on a Sunday night but it can magically become a wise choice with North Star's Healthy Wise Fudge Bars. Each fudge bar is 40 calories with 3 grams of sugar and no fat. Did you get that? ZERO FAT AND 40 CALORIES! Every box has 12 fudge bars and just enough to go around the room with your fellow snuggle mates.

Source: www.northstarfrozentreats.com

1. Cookies

Who doesn't love cookies? It's sweet and doughy bites are something that we all can't get enough of. Murray's Sugar Free Chocolate Bites are tasty and not so heavy on the thighs. Murray's cookies come in 6 pouches per box and 80 calories per pouch. It's total fat levels are 2.5 grams and 3 grams of dietary fiber.

Source: www.murraysugarfree.com

So, sit back and hang loose with these 5 impeccably scrumptious treats that leave you feeling blissful and not obligated to hit the gym right away. 

This is a health story I've wrote for my health column for SMU. I just wanted to share it and it hasn't been edited. 

The Secret

Basically, in life we always desire things that we don't need and things that we only want because others have. But look here! This mystical book and documentary has me believing that whatever I want; I can get. This bizarre and beautiful "law of attraction" is what our mind and heart attracts into our lives.

The more I kept thinking about it, I could totally agree with what it was telling me. Whatever we keep thinking about, constantly thinking about, we attract. If I kept thinking about donuts then eventually, I'll get myself some donuts. If I kept thinking about negative things, I'll bring myself down therefore only attract negative situations because I'll be putting myself in my own mess. It's kind of like how a drug addict behaves. Once the drug addict get a hit, he feels relief and the feeling of satisfaction when he lets out his anger. So evidently, he's going to want more. 

Honestly, from personal experience I can confidently say that this thing, this "law of attraction" really works. I've always wanted to get off of the island and experience new environments that were totally different from home. I did that.


I wanted to attend college in the states, somewhere that was totally different from home. I did that.


I wanted to get back into cheer. I did that.


I wanted to merge my two extremely opposite career goals. I did that.


Nothing is impossible. For God's sake, we went to the moon right?


Get out there and engulf the world. See what you need to see, do what you need to do. Dreams are there so we can fulfill them and we only have a short amount of time here on Earth so why not suck every bit of happiness and enchantment out of it? 


Don't talk about it, just do it. 

I've always thought that we have such big obligations that kept us from doing what we wanted to do. So many of my friends have had babies at a young age and those who were 4.0 GPA students ended up living in a broken down shack with their baby daddies. That's why I always thought that it's impossible for us as human beings to truly live because we can't live and fully experience life without being tied down.

But that's when I was wrong. 

We have truly lived when we have seen everything that our little hearts most desired.  We don't have to lose ourselves along the way. It's so short and precious. 

There's nothing else left but to live. 

The Secret Garden of Ballsy Decisions

Fact 1: Ballsy indeed is a legitimate word, look it up.
Fact 2: Ballsy actually means--  

adjective, balls·i·er, balls·i·est. Slang: Usually Vulgar .

boldly aggressive or courageous: a ballsy gal who isn't afraid of anyone.

Fact 3: One of the most important tools we need to acquire in life.




Here's the thing, there are times where we as humans, make really big mistakes and most of the time it's because of ballsy decisions. For example, I was watching Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory on MTV2 and Big Cat (Rob's cousin) was riding on a skateboard while hanging on a motorcycle and decided to skate up a ramp. Unfortunately, he fell tragically and fractured his spine. This got me thinking; that was a very bad ballsy decision.

Some of us who are not so concerned with skateboarding might say, "We won't do anything dumb like that". But in reality, we probably make bigger and dumber ballsier decisions, only that it's outcome is not so catastrophic but more so on the subtle and everlasting death of our hopes, dreams and the rest of our lives. A good obnoxious example of a ballsy decision is jumping off a cliff into the clear blue ocean. You could die, but what the heck, let's chance it. Then there is a good example of what I call a "slow death of all deaths" ballsy decisions, which is to sign a loan contract without actually reading the material or committing to one person for the rest of your life. 


Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of love and life long happiness with a soul mate and whatever but there are times where deciding to commit can be categorized into a "slow death of all deaths" ballsy decision. Basically, to commit, two people must bend a wee bit for one another and sacrifice something in order to make their relationship work. Not so surprisingly, most of the time, it's usually one person bending a whole lot for the other person in order to make things work so the person whose doing the bending is basically giving up everything so that the other person can go on living and fulfilling his/her dreams. 

Unfair. Totally unfair. 


Who said that this must happen so that the world can be a happy place?
The world of physics? 


Whatever it may be it's total bullshit. 

Drifting away from current subject, let's retrace our steps and get back on track with ballsy decisions. Luckily, my recent ballsy decision had landed me an interview with an LFL player from Seattle Mist. This is a HUGE deal for me because I'm a big fan of Lingerie Football and it was an amazing opportunity for me to expand my genre of writing. Score!




You see folks, ballsy decisions can work out for the best or for the worst. The funny thing is that we all know this, it's elementary and yet we keep making the same damn mistakes. Why? Because we are human and humans are not perfect and we are not perfect because we act on behalf of our emotions. That's why life is filled with mysteries, folks.

 

SnapIt Screen Capture Version 3.7 Review

Designed for Microsoft Windows XP, 2000, ME and 98, this is handy helper makes uploading pictures simple and stress-free! 


Basically, SnapIt allows you to take a quick snap shot of anything that's up on your screen, whether it's a web page or your desk top background, the possibilities are endless. The software itself is easy to download and takes a surprisingly short amount of time to set up. It's objectives are pretty straight-forward, the SnapIt Screen Capture is designed to eliminate the precious time you waste trying to copy and paste an image to a Word Document or ineffectively upload a hyper link to show your designated audience a specific section of a website that is incapable of the copy and paste method. 


The SnapIt Screen Capture is a great tool to have-- as a blogger myself the software is ideal for blogs-- especially if you struggle with uploading and cropping. To begin your snap shooting adventure, complete your download and a camera icon will appear on the bottom right corner of your screen next to the shown current time. Press the Prt Scr button on your keyboard and the your mouse arrow will turn into a plus sign and then just click away.   

 The Snapit software goes for $17.99, which is a fair deal for this product. The website, Digeus.com has a free 14 day trial period so you can play before you pay. 

  

******(SnapIt Screen Capture) ****** 

http://www.digeus.com/products/snapit/snapit_screen_capture_3_5.html 

After snapping the photo, right click the camera icon to save, if you don't want to keep saving after each photo, click on properties to change your saving preferences.



So here comes the bad part; as a first time user the actual snapping of the photo can be tricky, after pressing the Prt Scr button the mouse arrow turns into a plus sign to signal that you are ready to snap your shot. However, there aren't any boarders to show you what you are taking a photo of. You could be aiming at a certain paragraph of a website but the photo would be couple inches to the left of the desired paragraph, catching only half of it.  

The single flaw of this product is nothing compared to it's fast and painless approach to introducing a whole new way of photo uploads. It's wonderful features and easy to use guides will surprise you like the effectiveness of multivitamin gummies. Soon, it'll become an essential part of your daily life.  

Here's a tip! Digeus.com is giving away freebies if you create
a review in any blog/forum/twitter/facebook, etc, about SnapIt! Contact them and get your free SnapIt!

The Secret Garden of the Secret Garden

I write these thinking that no one is really reading them, I mean there are so many blogs out there, no one is going to read mine. Actually, I think that's what makes it easier for me to write because I feel like I'm still venting about whatever I'm upset about or what thoughts I have and it wont cause any damage.

Most of the time I'm at a loss of words, it's like everything that I was thinking about, everything that I wanted to write about just disappears from my mind. Totally.Blank.

What is the purpose of The Secret Garden? It was so that people can read about things that happen to me or people around me.Then sit and think "Huh, I think something like that happened to me earlier" or maybe even, "i so know what she's talking about." Then they'll contribute their ideas, thoughts, crappy things that has happened to them that they never really got over or something amazingly awesome that has happened to them that they feel like they need to share with the whole world or they'll burst into tiny molecular pieces in .9754 seconds.

I guess there really isn't anything "secretive" about The Secret Garden, just the fact that it's called The Secret Garden. Maybe it's kind of secretive.. I don't know. But just imagine, how awesome it would feel that whatever you are going through, the tough times, the embarassing things that happened to you at school, all of that were happeneing to someone else. And the way they handled that situation was much better than how you handled it.
Cool huh?

The Secret Garden is not an obligation, it's always going to be here. I'll feel the need to visit it once in a while and catch up with Old Reliable.

Black Hole

Everyone has a black hole, whether it's a big one or a fairly small one it's implanted in their heart. It's something that can't be healed but only replaced with other some what meaningless, materialistic objects. It's temporary.
What's your black hole?

What about the time you realized that your father bailed on you just before you were born?
What about the time when you first met him when you turned 8?
Was it everything you expected it to be?

What about the time when all the men in your life have done everything else except treat you the way you should be treated?

It's unfair.
It's all in the past yet you can't forgive, therefore it still posseses you, controls you and brings you back down to that miserable self you once were before. Is it your fault that these memories haunt you at night or maybe it's no one's fault at all. Maybe it was meant to happen to make you stronger, to prepare you for all the good that are meant to come your way, or maybe you are just that unlucky.

Does all of this make you a weak person?

Is that why you can't sleep at night?

The Secret Garden of being a college student

What's the deal with FAFSA anyway?
The fact that there are so many damn papers to fill out is just mind blowingly annoying. I'm sure every student knows that picking a major is a pretty tough thing to do because if you are undecided and just taking random ass classes, then obviously your tuition money was for nothing.

One of the tougher scenarios is when parents pressure their kids to do what they want them to do. Just because their occupation is a doctor doesn't mean their kids are meant to be one too. For example, my mother swears that I was born to be an acupuncturist and I have a "talent" or a "gift" or whatever, it's kind of hard to understand her in English because I have no idea what the hell she is saying. When it's fricken obvious that acupuncture is something that I don't wanna do, I mean I guess it's cool to stick numerous needles in people but after a year and a half of working around it, I'm sick of looking at old people's asses. Seriously, it's not even about the elderly's asses, it's just asses in general.

My ideal career would be to write for a health magazine or some sort, in my home office, the snow piling up on my windowpane, a cup of awesome, kick ass coffee next to my laptop and a dog. Okay, scratch what I said about the dog, maybe a cat. Or just no animals in general and my sweetheart in the kitchen making me breakfast. End of story.

Not to fucking look at bare, wrinkly asses for the rest of my life.

The sad part about this is that it's totally possible for me to do this, but I'm way too scared to disappoint my mother.

Ah..


Rats..

The Secret Garden of crap that girls do to torture their men

Yes, things have been rough and I was gone for a while but I'm back. Still marching on whether people read this crap or not. Well, I won't necessarily call it crap because it's my thoughts and beliefs that I share in this blog.

I've recently resigned from the Kapio and is not currently just filling the spaces in this blog with stuff that happened to me in between those times. Make sense? For fun, I guess?

There is something that I want to share with all of you and it's connected to the huge earthquake that happened in Haiti not too long ago. I was driving to school one morning with the radio on, I heard a super romantically sad story of an American woman who went to Haiti couple years ago to do volunteer service work. She was trapped under couple feet of concrete and to her surprise she was rescued by her husband. Talk about knight in shinning armor. Seriously.

Only if our everyday lives were like that, right?

Listening to that made me think about my boyfriend and how I should cherish him more because one day, Oahu will have a gigantic earthquake and I will be trapped under couple feet of grass and mangoes and I won't be able to see him ever again. That's a really sad thought.
OK, for real this time. It made me realize how easily we take our loved ones for granted and how short and cruel life can be. Fortunately, this woman was rescued but thousands of others were not.

Even something small that people do for us, like when our boyfriends hold our purses during sidewalk sales. Those acts of kindness are rarely thanked for and vaguely remembered because we are programmed to believe that when people reach a certain level in a relationship or just because they are this or that, it's their responsibility to do such things for us. Another example; toilet seats. Who made it a rule that they are meant to stay up? Who made it a rule that guys have to put the seat down for us girls? Maybe the girls should stop bitching about the toilet seat not being down for their convenience and put that shit up once in a while for the fellas. Just a thought.

It's understandable if the boyfriend is an asshole and expects way too much from the girl, then yeah, fuck em and don't do shit for him. But when your guy is a sweetheart, it doesn't hurt to watch ESPN once in a while with a fatty homemade chicken salad sandwich to keep him company.

OK, I know I'm defending the guys way too much here but maybe girls screw each other over by sticking with these rules and shit that apparently is like "the law" in relationships. Women feed each other with useless stereotypical analysis of the "different types of men" and we screw ourselves over by listening to it and believing that all [fill in the blank] guys are all [fill in the blank]. Then when women "take a chance" and date these men, in the back of their mind they feel like they have to be in control of the relationship and be aware of what those kind of men are known for.

That's why men say that we are crazy.


In reality we are just too bloody brilliant for our own kind.

Therefore giving off the image that we are crazy.

When you think about it, it all makes sense.





It's it funny?

 
All of these thoughts came to mind just because of that 45 second news break on the radio.