Guest guest Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 HI Charlie, and whomever else does acupuncture exams. I have a pt with chronic atypical face pain (jaw mainly), who has seen zillions of specialist, gone through gobs of testing, and still can’t figure out the etiology of her pain. Went to acupuncture (at my suggestion), and is having some relief. I was not prepared for the ‘exam findings’ of the acupuncturist, however. According to the licensed acupuncture therapist, my pt’s tongue (‘rigid’ was the term used) indicated she has stroke, or early stroke, while her pain with insertion of the acupuncture needle to the superior portion of her ear (occurred only on the first time, not on later treatments), indicated kidney problems. My pt is a worrier, and she was asking me what these findings meant. I could not appreciate her tongue being rigid, she had a nl neuro exam, and explained I was unaware of these clinical findings and their ‘indications.’ She has no risk factors for stroke (except controlled mild hyperlipidemia), ie, is non-smoker, no Fam Hx, no HTN, not on OCPs, etc. Her numerous studies included several head CTs/brain MRIs, and were nl. Labs (including serum creatinine, urine microalbumin) have been nl. So I can find nothing to support these concerns mentioned by the acupuncturist (nothing communicated directly to me, just via the pt). What do you suggest I do? Do I need to evaluate her further? Where do we draw the line (she’s already had a very expensive, unproductive work-up - driven by her)? A. Eads, M.D. Pinnacle Family Medicine, PLLC phone fax P.O. Box 7275 Woodland Park, CO 80863 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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