Navigating Life with POTS and Pans

Hello everyone! I’m sorry it’s been a while, but life has been pretty crazy lately. However, I plan on regularly posting this summer every Wednesday. Today I wanted to talk about something that has really improved my quality of life in hopes that it can help you too! And that thing is…alternative medicine, specifically acupuncture!

When I first began getting acupuncture I was extremely skeptical of the entire process and wether it would even work. However, I decided to give it a try because I was tired of doctors throwing medicine at all of my health issues and making no real effort to fix the root of the problem.

However, I was pleasantly surprised the first time I walked in Dr. Fan’s door where I found out that not only was he familiar with POTS but he told me that acupuncture would help to regulate my autonomic nervous system, therefore fixing the root of the problem (something no other doctor tried to do)!

While alternative medicine attacks the source of the symptoms it can also help with symptoms as well. One example is that I don’t know about y’all but my coat hanger pain is horrible and my acupuncturist also offers cupping, at no additional charge, which has really helped to relive some of my upper back and shoulder pain. Previously, I had tried dry needling for this pain, but dry needling leaves you in SO much pain before you begin to feel better. Additionally, Dr. Fan pointed out to me how persons performing dry needling are not required to have a lot of practice (20-54 hours), while acupuncturists are required to have 2,160 hours, which includes 690 hours of clinical training and can take somewhere around three or more years to complete, which is crazy, but at least they really know what they are doing!

However, one big drawback that I have to mention that unfortunately acupuncture is not cheap and the key for acupuncture to work is consistency (I mean isn’t that really just the key to anything in life ;). I only began to see results when I was getting acupuncture 2-3 times a week for a couple weeks. However, the results have been that my body has finally been able to take a rest from being in fight or flight and I am able to live in a body that can more easily tolerate postural changes and all sorts of things that used to be triggers. Don’t get me wrong I still have bad even horrible days, but they aren’t as frequent as they once were.

Now, let’s talk through what an appointment at an alternative medicine doctor looks like. As I walk into the door I see a waiting room decorated with items and furniture that harken back to Dr. Fan’s Chinese heritage. He has many informational pamphlets and articles on the benefits of acupuncture and other practices of alternative medicine (that can really help with pain management). He also has some framed awards that he has received for work in the field.

After I sign in, I am shown to a room where I listen to the calming Chinese music play in the background. Dr. Fan comes in the room next, dropping some wisdom or funny comment while he puts a bunch of needles all over haha. He places one needle in my wrist and moves it around until I feel a shooting sensation to my fingertips, which is one of the practices he uses to regulate my autonomic nervous system. Then, he places a heat lamp on my core and I take a little thirty minute nap while the needles do their thing. After thirty minutes Dr. Fan comes back in, removes the needles and I am all set to go. I’ve included some photos (some very bad photos haha) so you can get a sense of what’s going on.

Okay so if you couldn’t tell my now my opinion of alternative medicine is overwhelmingly positive- alternative medicine is extremely helpful because it is focused not on managing symptoms (like traditional medicine), but on re-regulating the autonomic nervous system, thus attacking the root of the problem. It was so refreshing to finally meet a doctor who understood that I didn’t want to throw meds at the situation but actually wanted to see what I could do to minimize the effect that POTS had on my life, not just now but for the rest of my life. I’ve been doing acupuncture consistently since I cam back home and have already seen a big difference from how I felt at school!

If you have any questions about alternative medicine, please reach out to me I would love to talk about it! But, before I go there are many alternatives to meds that we can use as tools to treat POTS, and to re-regulate our autonomic nervous systems. The food we put into our bodies, the way we move our bodies, and the rest we give our bodies are all ways in which we can help regulate our autonomic nervous systems!

Goodbye for now and remember to have grace for yourselves and for others!

❤ Ashley