Ahhhhhhh the time change. Some despise it, some love it. I’m on team love because less daylight = less play time on the golf course = I don’t work as much…..or at least hope the boss loses my number until ProAm. Don’t get me wrong, I like my job, I just like not working more. 😉

So here I am, back in my element. Blogging, hiking, healing….basically just living my little life over here, without the stress of work, eat, sleep, repeat every day.

So that brings me to today’s topic: Acupuncture. I feel compelled to share my experiences with it because IMHO it is so underrated. Long story short, acupuncture + Chinese Medicine are the only things that helped (and are still helping) my husband recover from a spontaneous TBI from previous injuries that presented as a stroke earlier this year. PS We no longer believe he had a stroke as his scans show he has 100% brain function. We are happy to share more about his story, so if you’re interested leave us a comment below.

A kinda sorta brief background on my health: I have been doing acupuncture off and on for a few years now and it is one of the only things that have made a difference in my overall health. More specifically my gut. I have SIBO and a few co-infections of Lyme (though I have tested negative for Lyme several times) and food allergies + intolerances. Also since the end of September we have also been treating a stomach ulcer so that’s been a…..fun surprise.

The last few years I have been working with my doctor in the Bay Area who is an awesome blend Western Medicine and Functional Practitioner. I am currently on a 8 week round Xifaxan and Neomycin (just for the first 10 days). I did the same thing earlier this year and felt the best I’ve ever felt in my whole life on a regular basis. It was absolutely amazing. Unfortunately it was short lived because a month after getting off it, I had strep throat and had to take amoxicillin. Which wreaked havoc on my digestive system and I have never felt the same since.

I had the most stressful year with Mike having a spontaneous TBI, ProAm, the US Open, the death of a close co-worker (during the Open), 3 other co-workers being out due to illness, a close friend fighting pancreatic cancer (thankfully he’s doing well now) working tons of OT and not resting enough. Whew I think it’s safe to say I am so over 2019.

Circling back to the point of this post, I had my first official acupuncture appointment today aka heal J’s gut or else!

I am feeling so positive about it. We are going to continue with Xifaxan until I’m done with the 8 week course (about 2 more weeks) then transition into a full on Chinese Medicine approach. Basically we’re going to scratch every diagnosis and start fresh from a completely different prospective/treatment plan. I love fresh starts so I am very excited about this!

I should mention that while I feel amazing on Xifaxan and Functional Medicine has helped me function, heck my body held up {mostly} during one of the most stressful years and I am very grateful for that. Unfortunately I still feel like something is missing. My gut can not function without a lot of herbal support. It’s sluggish, painful, bloated….it just needs a LOT of support for me to be able to somewhat function every day. To be honest it has never functioned correctly on it’s own, but I truly believe it can with the right treatment + support.

Our plan is to restore the digestive system, control inflammation, relieve pain and restore immune system optimization. I think it’s genius to restore the immune system VS flood my gut pre or probiotics, as I have never done well with them.

So this is the beginning of a new journey and I am looking forward to sharing it with you. I’ll be back soon with a day in the life post because those are my favorite ones to read. In the meantime, have you ever tried acupuncture or Chinese Medicine? Has 2019 been kind to you or are you over it too?