Acute Case of Arthritis Pain Treated Successfully with Acupuncture

Total years in practice: 15
Melissa J shared her life-changing story when she came in contact with Dr. Dawn
Balusik. She had struggled with foot ailments since the year 2004. But the trouble
augmented in 2010. She had severe pain in both the heels to the point that walking
became a tough job for her. She suffered from, Achilles tendon, big toe, and an
extremely swollen left ankle. She consulted a podiatrist and tried every way of
treatment, which included cortisone shots, physical therapy, braces, etc. However, to
her utter disappointment, nothing seemed to work.
She worked a job as a waitress, but owing to the severe pain that had become a part
of her life, she had to quit.
Finally, she took a blood test that showed she had arthritis. Melissa was even more
shocked when she came to know that she will have to be on medication for the rest
of her life. These medicines had side effects, and as a result she started losing
concentration. Her judgments were cloudy, and her appetite low. She had to go on a
short-term disability, because working with all those side-effects was proving to be
too much for her.
She went back to work with three pills a day of Indomethacin and an anti-
inflammatory drug. She also started medications to counter the side effects. Which
was a lot of medicines to take in a single day.
Melissa began her journey of healing with acupuncture in December 2011. By 2012
February, she was already feeling better. I also suggested undergoing some dietary
changes that I think was essential in her condition. As I eliminated one toxic food
after another, I reached the conclusion that the main problem was her consumption
of refined sugar-filled food every single day. We put her on a diet regimen.
Melissa took another blood test to check her sed rate. It showed remarkable
improvement. Her rate had gone down from 1200 to 7.
At the beginning of July, I had Melissa discontinue the medications, slowly and
steadily. By September, she was completely off medication. She could finally walk,
roam and jog without a trace of pain.