Insomnia & Headaches for Decades

Background

59 year old retired female who never had acupuncture before; originally came in for recovery from a shoulder surgery. She was on several medications; indicated she didn't sleep well and drank diet soda everyday. She had been on antidepressants and sleeping pills for several decades. Client reported that for as long as he could remember she he has had persistent headaches almost everyday or at least several times a week. They are usually worse after visiting friends and family with lots of laughing and stimulation. The headaches were sometimes debilitating and lasted for several days. She took Excedrin to manage the pain but it would sometimes cause shaking. Every night she woke at 2 a.m. and stayed awake for several hours. 

Health Concerns

At her initial visit, she reported that her head pain was 6 out of 10. Headaches were spread from the back of the head, over the head all the way to the eyebrow. Her most recent headache was severe and was worse with head movement. 

Treatment

After starting acupuncture treatment, she pledged to stop drinking diet soda and drink more water. She reported the headache did not hurt anymore with head movement. After five weeks and seven treatments she did not experience a headache for six days. That was the longest period of time without a headache in memory.

After six weeks of treatment, she reported sleeping much better than she ever had before. After eight weeks, she traveled by plane and had 'lots of stimulation' without a single headache. After five months of care, she began to reduce her sleep medication that she was on for as long as she could remember. 

Results

Following 8 months of treatment she continued to slowly reduce sleeping medication while sleeping well and waking up rested.  She started to clean up her diet, eat less processed food and cook more. She experienced no headaches in the two to three weeks between sessions. She also began a light exercise routine. After 13 months she was sleeping great and feeling refreshed. She continued to slowly improve her diet, eating less bread and drinking more water. She is now sleeping as well as she ever has with no more headaches. She has become more social and visits with grand kids without having to worry about debilitating headaches.