Nothing sucks more than feeling bloated and gassy. It’s that crappy feeling when you can’t go. So, ask yourself are you constipated? I’m going to help you get going on knowing what to do to get going safely. What you need is constipation pain relief.
What Is Constipation?
Doctors and practitioners like myself call this gastric distress too. The whole colon or your intestines are blocked. In their opening statement, the 2018 Expert Consensus Document created by the International Working Group for Disorders of Gastrointestinal Motility and Function they said, “Disturbances of gastric, intestinal and colonic motor and sensory functions affect a large portion of the population worldwide.”
What is Causing The Slow Down In Your Gut?
That’s a mouth-full. They’re saying most people are constipated. They came away with many constipation pain relief ideas including prebiotics and probiotics. I’d could tell you this just based on over 29 years of being a licensed health provider! The key issue is the lack of frequency of bowel movements. Hey, many people are searching for constipation pain relief, and they want it quick. Not so fast though, what is causing the constipation?
Most people do not go poop often enough. If you think you’re the one, don’t be embarrassed! Most people have the same problem. It can be caused by SIBO or another digestion problem
Weight Gain and More
It leads to weight gain, feeling bloating, being tired, and can cause lack of focus. How? Waste or stool is toxic to you if it hangs around. Think of the lovely smell that you don’t want to hang around once you go. That’s inside you until you do! The action I like to take with clients is acupuncture and a ‘SIBO’ questionnaire. You likely don’t have SIBO; this rules that out.
Then we can formulate a natural treatment plan for you.
The National Institutes of Health or NIH, reports that people who have fewer than three bowel movements a week have an issue with motility or movement of their bowels. Taking just magnesium will not solve the problem.
Could It Be Your Prescription Medicine?
A big factor today is drugs that people take. These cause bowel problems making constipation pain relief a big product market. It’s impossible if you take drugs or have a compromised digestion to make it through a day without natural support for your gut.
Here’s a list of medicines that can make you constipated.
Antacids containing aluminum and calcium
Anticholinergics/antispasmodics
Anticonvulsants
Antidepressants
Antihypertensives
Antipsychotics
Bile acid sequestrants
Calcium channel blockers
Diuretics
Iron supplements
Opiates
Tips For Stomach Pain
Of course, most medical doctors recommend increasing your fiber and water intake. Many will suggest a constipation medicine with side-effects and long-term health problems. For many, this isn’t a fix at all. Maybe you just won’t eat more fiber because you live, breath and consume fiber all day. I have help for you that is natural.
What to take for constipation can be a natural solution. A 2017 Study published in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology showed that probiotics significantly increase how much you go poop. [It’s okay to use that word, honest]
SIBO Or Other Considerations
Knowing why your bowels aren’t moving is your first step. Taking probiotics if you have SIBO can actually make it worse. Back to magnesium. For many this is a safe bet until you either do my SIBO Questionnaire or lab work. Even if you suffer leaky gut, candida, or acid reflux with bowel motility problems you’ll need to have more information.
A 2007 study published in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, reported if you’re low in magnesium, you’re likely constipated. In doing micro-nutrient lab workups on in-office patients, I find 50% of the patients are indeed suffering from low magnesium. When working with virtual [phone] coaching clients we can use their whole symptoms picture to see if magnesium is a fit.
When asking yourself, are you constipated, remember you should have one to three bowel movements daily. What goes in needs to come out. If you’re looking for constipation pain relief give us a call.
It hit Susan like a train wreck she said. “I seemed to gain weight overnight, and I need help for losing weight after menopause.”
She is a regular for pain related acupuncture but we’ve never talked about menopause or weight gain. “My butt is as big as a caboose don’t you think?” Susan asked me turning around to show me where the fat had deposited itself. Like many women, her body had betrayed her. Why? Simple.
Menopause means a change. That’s what my mother called it. It’s right – a change in hormones. A change in your lifestyle. Particularly food and fitness.
Handing my patient a tissue I explained this.
Start Before It Happens
First thing is don’t wait until you notice symptoms. Start in your 40’s by being proactive. Use acupuncture for wellness care. In my office, we can do acupuncture through health insurance even when you don’t have acupuncture as a covered benefit. Acupuncture is one of the leading ways to reduce stress a major factor in weight gain.
Vary your exercise from walking to cycling. Do weight lifting and some yoga.
Start removing grains, pseudo-grains if you haven’t already.
Losing Weight After Menopause
Susan like many other women I work with in my practice had done an exercise routine for years. She explained that she did these videos at home and then walked every lunch hour for 10 minutes. Yet her belly and butt got bigger. The scale showed a gain too.
Two sizes bigger she felt that losing weight after menopause would be impossible. Not true!
As an acupuncturist, I know that acupuncture will boost the metabolism. I know as a functional medicine practitioner that certain supplements, food, and exercise will help you with losing weight after menopause.
Change Up Your Eating and Exercise
Begin a move toward a Paleo eating lifestyle if you haven’t already. Remove grains, sugar, and dairy from your diet for a while. Work with someone like myself who is an acupuncturist and a health coach.You’ll need to plan the changes in your eating habits. Cleaning out the kitchen, learning to cook or new ways to prepare tasty yet easy meals. You don’t have to do this alone.‘ Food is the most abused anxiety drug. Exercise is the most underutilized antidepressant.’ Unknown
Exercise[1] is about to change. Yes, you can still walk daily but the 10 minutes is now 45-60 minutes – daily. If you’re open to it, try other forms of cardio. Going to a spin class or a dance class for women. For Susan, we needed to add strength training. I suggested weightlifting. She preferred to try Yoga and Pilates. It all works.
The point is you have to change some things up. What worked when you were 40 doesn’t work when you’re 50. It will not work when you’re 60 either. You may move from high-impact to lower impact.
Mix it up at any age Susan did. She found a “spin room” on her way home from work and a Yoga place nearby. She still walks just further outside for longer.
She donated her exercise videos and bought a few light weights. On some days, she lifts weight in front of a mirror in her home.
Expected The Unexpected
Let it be fun. Your acupuncture treatment should be relaxing and a special time for you. Enjoy it. If you get your nails or hair done professionally then invest in your wellness and longevity through acupuncture care too.
Think about finding new recipes with our website.. Aren’t you tired of the same old thing? It’s exciting to eat new flavors and try old favorites with a new approach. A lot of women have gotten away from cooking. Using a health coach helps you find what fits your professional and personal lifestyle.
Susan resisted the idea of anything other than walking. Her busy schedule interfered with fitness classes. Deciding to give it a try she chose the “Spin room”. Indoor cycling helped to relieve stress more than walking. She began to sleep better. Losing weight after menopause became easier.
‘Let exercise be your stress reliever, not food.’ Unknown
Not everyone will have Susan’s amazing results of returning to her old dress size and have a shapelier body yet it’s possible for you too.
Losing weight after menopause always works if you apply my 2 tips. Susan latest comments about her body to me this past week, “Look! My butt looks better than it did when I was 40!”
Restless legSyndrome is downright terrible. I can’t remember when I didn’t have it. It may have started when I was pregnant for the first time over thirty years ago. That’s a long time to suffer.
There are times when I feel it creeping up my leg like bugs walking on my skin. My leg flies in the air with a jerk. Then there’s the tingling feeling on the back of my thigh. Little prickly pins move down toward my knee most often on the back of my leg. Recently my ankle will just all of a sudden get a twinge and my foot jets out kicking whatever is in front of me.
What is your restless leg like? Does it affect both legs like mine did before I got Plantar Fasciitis? Are you just living with it – hoping for a cure? For me, the cure came in the form of the Pure Wave Massage unit.
Why Doctors Can’t Fix Restless Leg
So what is this thing that doctors can’t fix? What causes it and why do more women than men get it? All great questions still answers are elusive.
If you have it then getting sleep is tough. How do you do at the theater, a long movie or concert? For me, I fill with dread when the audience [me] return to the theater after an intermission. The poor person in front of me is in for a treat as my leg begins to kick their seat out of control.
Recently we saw Hamilton. I used the Pure Wave Massage unit before we left for Denver Performing Arts and had no restless leg syndrome!
Leg Spasms
RLS, as it is known, is a disorder of the nervous system. Western medicine calls it a disorder. I call it a pain in the butt – literally at times.
While only about 10% of the population get it, more women have it. There’s no age that it effects. Western medicine will try to tell you that it might be in your genes. I doubt that. What I do believe.
Three Factors Play A Role In RLS
Pregnancy like with The problem is for many it doesn’t go away. In Asian medicine, it is believed to be because of blood changes to the mom during pregnancy. This means hormones go wacky. Also, it is likely due to blood loss during delivery and the hormone changes.Many women become iron deficient, giving birth, and there is strong research pointing to anemia as a temporary cause.
Chronic illness like diabetes or peripheral neuropathy often involves Restless leg syndrome is associated with other diseases such as Parkinson’s, Kidney issues, or autoimmune.
Tight muscles. This is the most common. There can be vitamin deficiency too. Vitamin D and all B Vitamins can greatly help a person. So why muscles.When our muscles stay tight, they limit the flow of blood, nerve responses, and create tension in that part of the body. Have you ever experienced tight, stressed shoulders? It’s the same thing with legs. They get tight and unless we do deep massage daily restless leg syndrome with lessening or be gone for days. I prefer the Pure Wave Massage unit because I can do it myself and it has several different attachments.
As an acupuncturist and online health coach it’s so easy to treat my patients. Simply the process of acupuncture and my Pure Wave Intense Massage gives a better and deeper treatment with better success.
I hope if you have restless leg syndrome this article is helpful. If you are looking for what to do at home to eliminate or lessen your RLS try the Pure Wave.
Have you had mornings like this? You dread getting out of bed because of foot pain. Recently I had the ‘opportunity’ to experience Plantar Fasciitis. Man, it hurts like Heck. I stupidly rushed out the door before the holiday for gifts. Guess what you can’t wear two different boots on your feet even if they look almost identical. The slight difference in the heel killed my left foot.
Not All Foot Pain Is Plantar Fasciitis
Yes, a silly thing that has created lots of pain. I can’t go barefoot though I never did. I can’t wear flip-flops. That’s okay because I only used them in the gym sauna. But the worst is when I get up in the morning. It hurts to run to the restroom. It’s like stepping on tac’s or hot coals do you know the feeling? Yeah, I gave myself Plantar Fasciitis.
Sure I can do acupuncture on it. I do. I have many patients getting better because of my Plantar Fasciitis treatment. The key though for me in my personal experience is the vibration tool, called Pure Wave I use in the office and my foot rocker. Plantar Fasciitis is one of those things you have to be aggressive with daily. Yes, daily you have to treat it at home. Acupuncture weekly gets to the deep inflammation, and it promotes healing. Keep it up if you have Plantar Fasciitis.
Plantar Fasciitis And Stretching
When I think back to the day, I messed up. I spent six hours on my feet. Then I didn’t stretch out my feet or legs at all. Preventive is one of those hindsight things. But you bet, that as I get better, it’s part of my day – every day.
Runners And Plantar Fasciitis
Are you on your feet a lot? Maybe you’re like me. I run. I love to run, so I do it outside when the weather is good. I’m one of those fare-weather runners. It’s not about a race. It’s that thing to stave off age and keep me moving. When I can’t run outside, I’m in the gym. I try to run and lift weights three times a week. This is a lot of time on your feet. Wearing the right footwear made the difference for me. I have taken to wearing an old pair of Hoka Stinson ATR’s for errands or with jeans.
Finally. My feet love my low heels once again. I tried a pair Sunday, and my feet didn’t hurt. I still came home and used both the vibration tool and the foot rocker. It’s been almost ten weeks, and I can run three days in a row. Put on a pair of heels for a few hours.
Why Acupuncture For Plantar Fasciitis
If you have Plantar Fasciitis, you might want to try acupuncture. It’s important though to invest in both the Pure Wave and the UltraFlex PowerStep. I did try a few other things and found they made my foot worse.
The bonus for me is my restless leg is almost gone too! Both Plantar Fasciitis and restless leg are about inflammation and tightness. Acupuncture and the right home care solved these for many of my patients and me.
You know I’ve done acupuncture now for over twenty years now, and few people come in saying, “Hey can acupuncture help my high blood pressure?”
Hypertension Meets Acupuncture
It’s more the other problems you think about when you step into acupuncture. You try it for things like knee pain or a migraine, right? So have you ever thought about the fact it might work for other things? Guess what pain can raise your blood pressure leading to chronic high blood pressure.
While research is important, I want my blog to be fun and light. Health can get so serious and complicated. I think it’s smart to love your body and care for your health.
You probably want a little science and a recent study which appears in the presents the first evidence of the molecular activity behind the use of electroacupuncture’s high blood pressure lowering benefits. Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine[1] in California did the study.
Their research is pretty impressive too! When they treated patients with certain acupuncture wrist points their patients’ high blood pressure decreased. It’s more exciting when the patients had repeated treatments weekly their hypertension lowered long term. The client was able to reduce their western medicine with their doctor’s approval.
Choosing Acupuncture To Treat High Blood Pressure
All I know is that when you reduce pain or stress, blood pressure goes down too. It’s good news for you.
Our bodies are amazing, and it does this thing called inflammation when we’re in pain. The purpose of inflammation is to eliminate cell injury and allow your body to repair itself.
Inflammation can cause migraines, and it can raise the pressure in our veins. The simple act of reducing pain helps the physical stress of discomfort.
Blood Pressure and Your Body’s Chemistry
So what did the study tell you in real people language? If you try acupuncture for high blood pressure is can reduce blood pressure for about two days. The electroacupuncture boosts these genes in your body called enkephalins. It’s really cool because these peptides are one of three major opioids produced by the body. What the heck are peptides you’re asking? In super simple terms, they’re a compound of amino acids, and your brain needs these things to be healthy.
Your body creates Opioid Peptides[2], and the opioid system controls pain, reward and addictive behaviors. Electroacupuncture lowers your blood pressure stimulates your body to make more enkephalins one of these Opioid Peptides! Kind of neat huh.
There’s more to chemistry, though. How tired are you? Do you sleep and dream at night? What kind of stress are you experiencing?
All these things can affect or indicate a vitamin deficiency. Just being borderline in vitamin D[3] can increase your risk. Again more studies for you in case you love research suggest you need to have higher vitamin D than once thought if you’re hoping to protect your heart and brain.
Wondering what to do when it comes to hypertension? I was too. Mine was a combination of a D deficiency, stress, and pain. Who knew! Yes, healers have health problems too.
I couldn’t fix it by eliminating my pain. That helped but didn’t get me in the range of healthy heart. I take my health very seriously. High blood pressure is a sign of something, and I like to investigate do you?
Meditation And ElectroAcupuncture Effects Blood Pressure
Adding daily meditation and checking my vitamins did the trick for me. Really I didn’t think I had stress in my life so maybe it’s just starting my day in a better way that worked. When my blood work [lab tests] came back, it was a simple tune-up of my vitamins and nutrition.
The idea of taking drugs with all their fillers and chemicals was scary to me; it is scary to you? I mean many prescriptions contain Aluminum[4], and that’s bad for your brain so why risk it?
Yes, it’s exciting acupuncture does lower hypertension. The better news is that most times it’s not a genetic thing and a few easy changes can help you keep your blood pressure in good shape.
[3] Ullah, M. et al. Does Vitamin D Deficiency Cause Hypertension? Current Evidence from Clinical Studies and Potential Mechanisms. International Journal of Endocrinology 2010;579640;1-11.
We are in network with most insurance providers, but because of Covid-19, not all plans cover benefits, even if you have insurance. The VA and Tri-West are covering acupuncture and light therapy.
