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Dear Brian,
My 12 and half yr old child, Jake, has been suffering from migraines
since the age of 8. As he is approaching puberty, they seem to
be getting
worse. I suffer from the occasional migraine, mainly hormonal,
and my father
has since he was a child (they have just now stopped at the age
of 63). I
know that they can be hereditary but I'm hoping that this is not
the cause
of Jake's. We have been to our pediatrician who put him on Imitrex
the day
he turned 12 and that worked so-so then just stopped. I gave him
one
Excedrin and one Sudafed and this seemed to help for a while and
then he
started with the rebounding headaches. I took him back to the
pediatrician
and he ordered a CAT scan and put him on Propranolol 3 times daily.
This
didn't seem to have any affect whatsoever. Our pediatrician referred
us to
an osteopath and he thinks that his headaches and migraines are
stress
induced (although he wakes up with these a lot) and he has been
doing some
pressure point therapy with him (still no relief).
I became desperate this past week and started asking around for
a good acupuncturist and was given the name Dr. J.A. He is semi-retired
but still works 2 days a week. We saw him this past Thursday and
he studied Jake over and immediately noticed that the back of
Jake's neck was extremely tight. He showed me where the back of
my neck is smooth and somewhat curved, Jake's has two columns
and a ridge down the center. These muscles are in a perpetual
state of contraction and spasm and pinching a nerve. His C1 vertebra
was out of line.
He said that his was one of the worst necks he had seen on a
child. He did
some further "energy" testing and discovered that his
spleen (too low),
liver (too high), lung and pancreas (both too uneven) were some
problematic
areas and needed acupuncture. He used the "laser" on
him for this. He also
manipulated his neck and realigned him. He wants to see us twice
a week for continued therapy. Although I do think that he diagnosed
Jake correctly, I was and still am uncomfortable with the eastern
philosophy and religion that this doctor practices. Every inch
of his office, hallways, waiting room, and patient rooms were
filled with awards, writings and pictures that felt so
new age to me.
My husband and I both were saved about 5 yrs ago. I too was dabbling
in the new age movement after reading the book "Embraced
By The Light" by Betty Edie. It was all about her near death
experience. I opened a door that should have never been opened
when I "embraced" this new religion. To make a very
long story short, I went through the darkest period of my life
and one day while having suicidal thoughts (I was in the pit of
depression), Jesus met me in the bottom of that pit and rescued
me.
I am concerned that if this physician is relying on these so
called
"energies" and his higher power to heal, then I could
be subjecting my child
to something "not of God". I had our pastor and very
close friend of ours
who teaches all the precept bible studies in our church, come
pray over Jake
yesterday and while we were praying I felt tremendous amount of
guilt for
exposing Jake to a form of healing that I didn't "talk to
God" about before
taking him. I was desperate and wanted his pain to be relieved
immediately
and I didn't pray for guidance before I went. How do you feel
about this? Am I overreacting? Do you know of any Christian acupuncturist
in Phoenix,
Arizona? Thanks for your time. I look forward to hearing from
you and "yes" I will make a donation to your calling.
Grace Overflowing,
(Name withheld)
ANSWER:
Unfortunately, the pattern for males with migraines is usually
that it is inherited from the mother. I got it.... it's ok because
there are solutions. But the best thing for it is personalized
raw/power herbs. The patent (performulated pill) herbs haven't
worked as well for me as the personalized ones. I've written an
article about this for patients:
http://www.pulsemed.org/migraine.htm - I'm going to write
another one for practitioners soon.
It's true, a lot of acupuncturists are into taoism and buddhism.
They're not fully committed to it. In a new age way, many of them
take what they want and leave the rest. The hippies did this in
the 60's. I did that myself, before I got saved- I call it the
'spiritual buffet.' Problem was, it didn't work. I was still miserable.
Spiritual Miscommunication
Some acupuncturists are not spiritually-oriented at all, but
they use words
that their peers or teachers used, like "energy." In
this case, it's simply
a miscommunication. We always have to use analogies to talk about
Chinese
Medicine. Qi is a metaphor. Saying that Qi is energy is not exactly
accurate. But patients have questions and we want to give them
answers.
The real answer is: it's a long story. Do you have a couple of
years? No?
Then, it's energy. But it's not a spiritual mystical satanic force.
It's a
metaphor. It's better not even to translate the word!
More on qi/energy is in my
answer to the Christian skeptic. There is also a quote there
from the former Secretary of the Christian Medical Fellowship.
Even when they say "spiritual," they often mean "essential"
(the basic character of a point, or herb, or organ), or "emotional."
They just think the word "spiritual" sounds better.
They don't know that turns Christians off. Indeed, most non-Christians
have no idea how we view the world. They live in the post-modern
world of moral relativism, where it's good to be spiritual, but
not in a specific way.... where truth depends on the person.
David Jeremiah (minister on the radio- "Turning Point")
has done a lot of research on the whole new-age movement. He was
positive toward acupuncture, which in my view will not be considered
new age for long... if it still is! Listen to that here: See
7/17 through 7/19/02. If it's not there anymore, you can probably
get a tape from them.
I don't know anything about the "laser" acupuncture.
I've heard of it. and I've heard it's effective. It's not traditional
Chinese Medicine, but preliminary research is promising.
Your Doctor's Philosophy
As for what philosophy the doctor holds, that might influence
your mind - if you let it. But as a strong Christian you can recognize
error and ignore it, re-affirming the Truth you know. Many of
the MD's you've seen may have philosophies you disagree with,
but that has nothing to do with the treatment they prescribe.
Speaking of which, Paul warned against pharmakos (pharmaceuticals).
so there is more Biblical basis for staying away from that! More
about that in the free e-book from Mark Virkler, Restoring
Healthcare as a Ministry.
Your Doctor's Religion
Would you feel differently if he was Jewish or Muslim? Just wondering.
As Focus on the Family concluded, it's the doctor, not the medicine
that matters when Christians consider Alternative Medicine. The
question for the practitioner is: "Are you doing any kind
of non-Christian prayer or ritual toward me?" If not, then
fine. How can their religion affect you? It's false religion with
either no substance, or satanic roots.
So the real question for you is, "Is Satan stronger than
your God?" I believe, as the Bible says, that God works all
things for the good of those who are called according to his purpose.
I went through a stage as a Christian where I was so afraid of
Satan. I respect his craftiness and subtlety (see Screwtape Letters
by C.S. Lewis), but I decided to have faith in Jesus rather than
to fear Satan. Then I was much less miserable!
From Fear to Witnessing
Another important thing to remember here is what Jesus said when
asked why
he hung out with the tax-collectors, lepers, and prostitutes.
He said, ""It
is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who
are sick"
(Mat 9:12). Has it occurred to you that as a Christian, you might
want to
witness to your unsaved doctor? You are coming from a place of
fear, not of
strength. Get the strength from God. your doctor needs the Great
Physician!
So, I think you are over-reacting just slightly. Your concern
is warranted-
you should ask him that question about his religious practices
toward his
patients. but you're not as vulnerable as you think if you rely
on God.
Many Christians would be more comfortable with a Christian acupuncturist,
and I wish I already had a resource for that, but I don't! If
you do find
one (I would call the bigger Churches and ask them if they know
of any),
please let me know so I can tell the next person!
All the best, and love and grace through Jesus Christ,
Brian Benjamin Carter
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