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Diverticulosis and Tobacco Cessation
As it was explained to me by my doctor, diverticulitis is the infection of small pockets or protrusions in the intestine which is the medical condition called diverticulosis. I believe my doctor would have a hard time determining when the diverticulosis manifested itself in my digestive tract; however it was readily apparent when the symptoms of diverticulitis occurred. The symptoms that I had were a throbbing, sharp pain in my lower left abdomen that would come and go; sometimes the pain was almost enough to make me stop me in my tracks while walking. This pain would subside and then I was fine for a while. The pain continued to occur and thinking it might be serious, I saw my physician as soon as I could. He scheduled a CT scan and when the imagery of my abdomen was available, I was diagnosed with diverticulitis/diverticulosis. I was prescribed two weeks of some pretty heavy duty antibiotics and told by my physician that if symptoms persisted beyond that period, I would be prescribed antibiotics for another two week period. I was also given a dietary guideline by my doctor and told that my condition would be with me for the rest of my life. When I left my doctor’s office with that prescription, I already knew that I would seek out the help of Abundance Acupuncture with my condition because of a referral to them by someone who was very familiar with Abundance and their success in acupuncture treatment. My treatment at Abundance started with a diagnosis by David and he soon had me on a treatment plan. Although I was slightly apprehensive at first, David and staff soon made me feel at home. The first treatment was interesting and although getting “needled” seemed intimidating at first, it turned out to be a pleasant experience. I had immediate results from my treatments and I was also advised on a better dietary course of action by David. From the first day of treatment until now, I have not had a significant return of diverticulitis symptoms and within reason I eat what I want. I have only made simple changes to my diet, such as including more fiber to assist my digestive tract in performing naturally. In addition, while being treated for diverticulitis, I wanted to quit a 13 year habit of chewing tobacco. Because I had a strong will to quit and was unable to take the full tobacco cessation program because of career time constraints, David worked out a “short course” plan for me that ran concurrent to my weekly treatments for diverticulitis. It took extra will power on my part to do it this way, but the acupuncture assistance was far superior to any cessation method I had tried previously. I believe that the short course worked well for me and have been chewing tobacco free for over a year. However, I highly recommend that someone who is determined to quit tobacco take advantage of a complete cessation counseling and treatment plan at Abundance Acupuncture to ensure their success. |
