Over the past five years, Diana Troeller's horrible
sinus headaches had gotten so bad that she was going through a bottle of
aspirin every week without experiencing significant pain relief.
“I literally lived on Excedrin and antibiotics,” says
the 44-year-old woman who started getting frequent headaches from sinus
congestion and inflammation (sinusitis) at the age of 28. “It runs in my
family,” she explains. “When I get one – and they come with any change
in weather
having to do with temperature, wind or humidity – I don't get a runny
nose with the congestion. It all just builds inside until my head feels
like it's going to explode. My teeth hurt. My cheeks swell. My right eye
hurts…”
Diana and her physicians tried a lot of things to
resolve the headaches including sinus surgery, medications, ice packs
and heat packs. She's had X-rays, CT scans, allergy testing and other
diagnostic techniques to get to the root of the problem but nothing ever
seemed to really make a difference… until last fall.
“Our health insurance plan added acupuncture as a
benefit and my husband kept encouraging me to give it a try,” she
recalls. “I resisted the idea until one day I was in so much pain and my
husband felt so bad for me. I asked him to go to the computer and try to
find an acupuncturist in our area. That's how I came upon Bo Kui Feng,
LAc at the Aurora Health Center in Waukesha. It changed my life.”
A licensed acupuncturist who brings years of experience
to his specialty from China, Bo Kui Feng initially put Diana on a weekly
treatment regime involving the insertion of very fine needles at
specific points of the body. Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners
believe that the human body has more than 360 acupuncture points, he
explains. These points connect with pathways called meridians. The
meridians conduct energy called “Qi” (pronounced “chee”) from the
surface of the body to the organs, glands and tissues. It is believed
that when Qi is blocked or out of balance, the flow of blood is slow,
says Bo Kui Feng. This can result in pain or illness – in Diana's case,
a sinus infection and/or headache. When acupuncture needles are
inserted, Qi is allowed to move freely throughout the body to restore a
balanced flow of energy and return to wellness.
“Bo Kui Feng would use the acupuncture needles on my
face, hands, feet and legs,” says Diana. “It was all actually very
relaxing. By the end of each session, I would have a calm sensation that
things were flowing more smoothly. If I had a headache when I went into
his office, I could feel it breaking up on my way out.”
After four sessions with Bo Kui Feng, Diana says she
began to feel real hope for the first time in years. It's now been 14
months since she first started acupuncture, and Diana can't even
remember the last time she bought a bottle of aspirin. “When I went
through all of last summer and didn't get one headache from the
humidity, I just couldn't believe it,” she says.
As a preschool teacher who's in charge of eight
one-year-olds, life without headaches is a whole lot nicer these days.
“I love my job,” says Diana, “but the headaches were so draining. They
wore me down more than the kids. With the success of my treatment, I now
have so much more energy and look forward to every day. It's wonderful.”
Diana continues to see Bo Kui Feng around once a month
for headache prevention and considers the visits essential to her health
and well being. “I don't know what I would do without him,” says Diana.
“He has been a miracle for me.”
For more information
For more information on acupuncture or an appointment
with Bo Kui Feng, LAc, at the Aurora Health Center in Waukesha, call
262-896-6000.