Acupuncture: Interview with Dr. Nader Soliman

[Guest guest]

Interview with Dr. Nader Soliman

9:00 p.m. to 10:00p.m. (EST)

http://www.medicalacupuncture.org/acu_info/interviews/soliman.html

 

Nader Soliman, M.D., is a practicing anesthesiologist specializing

in integrated pain medicine. Dr. Soliman has his own private

practice and is a member of the American Association of Medical

Acupuncture.

 

lifetime_host: Welcome to our chat, Dr. Soliman.

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Thank you and thank you for having me...I'll be

glad to answer any questions.

 

Acupuncture is an extremely safe method of treatment. Some

complications or side effects can be seen occasionally. The most

common of them is bleeding at the site of the insertion of the

needle. That happens usually in those people who are prone to

bleeding. In general, this is extremely rare. Some people are afraid

of infections that could result from the needle. Again, this is

extremely rare as the needles are always sterilized. Another fear

about the needles is the transmission of diseases from one person to

another. However, this cannot happen as long as the needles are

sterilized and used only once.

 

shakenherthang asks: Could acupuncture help menstrual cramps?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Acupuncture is, in fact, an effective method of

treatment for menstrual cramps. And as we know this is a common

problem with many female patients and results from a variety of

reasons that are mostly hormonal imbalance. Acupuncture is known for

its effectiveness in regulating the female hormones. As a result it

can effectively decrease the menstrual cramps that are resulting

from such imbalance. In addition, this also will help in decreasing

the amount of bleeding that could also be resulting from such

hormonal imbalance.

 

dgeeee asks: Can acupuncture get rid of a psoriases skin rash?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Yes, acupuncture could help a lot, not only in

psoriases but also many varieties of skin problems. In alternative

medicine in general, as well as in acupuncture in particular, the

aim of the treatment is to eradicate the cause of the problem,

rather than treating just the symptoms. In the ma ty of cases, any

skin problem is in fact a projection of a deeper imbalance in the

body and acupuncture in its way tries to balance such energetic

disturbance and as a result all symptoms of this energetic

disturbance that might include skin problems will be corrected.

 

jdguay asks: How successful is acupuncture for weight loss?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Acupuncture has been used in the treatment of

weight loss. This could be done either through regular body

acupuncture or occasionally through inserting needles in the ear.

This is called ear acupuncture. This could be effective in cutting

down in the desire to eat but in general we have to understand that

excessive eating, or increase in body weight, could result from

other problems such as possible thyroid problems or other imbalances

in the hormones that have something to do with regulating the desire

to eat or the blood sugar. Acupuncture, when given, will try to

stabilize such hormonal imbalances and as a result this hormonal

imbalance will return to normal preventing an increase in body

weight.

 

good_hearted_woman40 asks: How effective is acupuncture for

Multiple Sclerosis?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Having acupuncture as a treatment for Multiple

Sclerosis (MS) in addition to traditional treatment as acupuncture

will help in strengthening the immune system of the patient. Adding

an effective measure to minimize the symptoms or even helping stop

the progression of the disease.

 

brownbeauty2709 asks: Is acupuncture covered by most insurances?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: This will depend on different areas. But the

tendency now is that many insurance companies do add acupuncture as

a coverage. And even some HMOs do cover acupuncture currently.

 

giraffegal2000 asks: How does acupuncture work?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: There have been many studies in the West since

the 1970s aiming at finding out how acupuncture [works]. And many of

these studies have shown that acupuncture stimulates the immune

system in the patient, especially those who have a weak immune

system. Also studies have shown that acupuncture increases the

amount of endorphins, which is a natural pain killer produced by the

body. This is a reason acupuncture is effective in controlling pain.

In general, all the studies seem to suggest that the needles work on

the central nervous system by stimulating the nerve endings in the

skin where they are inserted.

 

Chic_Hoosier asks: I recently had two sessions of acupuncture to

stop smoking. Both times, I was totally relaxed for two hours and

then the urge was so strong for hours. Any explanation for this?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Acupuncture treatment for cessation of smoking is

something that has to be done many times over a period of two weeks.

So we don't expect immediate results from the first few treatments.

But with the continuation of treatment acupuncture would be

stimulating the body to have less reaction to the withdrawal

symptoms.

 

giraffegal2000 asks: Can acupuncture be done on children?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Acupuncture could be done on children. Obviously

if they are babies they are not going to be objecting! However, it

would be a difficult method to treat children who are toddlers, or

even sometimes teenagers, by inserting needles in their skin.

However, acupuncture could be done in a different way on such

patients in which electrical stimulation of the acupuncture points

could be replacing the actual insertion of needles. And in most of

the cases, this electrical stimulation is rather painless. But the

method is a replacement to actual needling of the skin and could be

equally effective.

 

giraffegal2000 asks: Someone told me acupuncture can help carpal

tunnel syndrome and tendentious. Is that true?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: That's quite possible, especially if acupuncture

is introduced early enough in the disease. And in more than half the

cases, the symptoms will disappear after two treatments. However, if

they do not disappear within six to eight treatments, other

intervention methods should be sought.

 

lowspark95 asks: Has acupuncture ever been used successfully to

treat endometriosis?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Yes acupuncture could be used for endometriosis,

unless the [it's] not severe or extensive. So it is certainly an

alternative method to try before seeking surgical intervention.

 

lookin4therightman asks: I have fibromyalgia. Is acupuncture the

right remedy for me?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: I am a personally a pain management specialist

and I see a lot of patients with fibromyalgia. From my own

experience acupuncture is certainly one of the most effective

methods of decreasing the pain and induce muscular relaxation

without resorting to a lot of the pain medications that these

patients are put on. In fact, acupuncture can effectively decrease

the flare-ups of the disease compared to those who are on

medications alone.

 

giraffegal2000 asks: How can I find a qualified acupuncturist?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: They could either be physicians or non-

physicians, and it will be necessary to look for the certifying

boards in every state in order to obtain the names of some of the

practitioners in these areas. In addition, there is the American

Academy of Medical Acupuncture that has members who are physicians

only who practice medical acupuncture. And the Academy could be

contacted to find out the name of the physicians wherever the

patient is residing. You can reach them on the Web site,

www.medicalacupuncture.org. From there you can find the

practitioners in your area.

 

sugarbabe48146 asks: Can acupuncture really be effective for

[treating] asthma?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Yes, in many cases but not all of them. Again, I

would advise people who have asthma problems to seek acupuncture

treatment in addition to their regular medical treatment and try it

for from six to eight treatments and judge if that is going to help

them to feel better and even decrease their medication. And if that

is the case, I would advise that they will continue having

acupuncture on an intermittent basis to minimize the symptoms and

minimize the amount of medication needed.

 

toobusytothink2001 asks: Does acupuncture hurt?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: No! Most people think that acupuncture hurts

because it is done by needles. But we have to understand that we

think of needles having in mind the needles we are used to in

hospitals or doctors' offices. But there is a big difference between

those needles and acupuncture needles. The regular needles have a

cutting edge because they have to transmit the injected medication

into the patient. And because they have a cutting edge they do hurt

as they cut the skin. However, the acupuncture needles do not have a

cutting edge, and they have an extremely thin and pointed end. And

as they are inserted they simply push the fibers of the skin away

and do not cut them. As a result they don't cause any pain. In the

majority of cases patients don't feel anything at all as the needles

are inserted or removed. However, a very small percentage might

experience some discomfort. But it doesn't reach the level of pain.

 

giraffegal2000 asks: What conditions respond best to acupuncture?

That is, what conditions are most successfully treated by

acupuncture?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Acupuncture, in general, can treat a large number

of medical problems. But mostly we know that treatment of pain is

one of the most common indications for acupuncture and that has been

recently supported by the NIH [National Institutes of Health].

However, it is known that acupuncture can treat a wide variety of

problems apart from pain, and that is supported by the World Health

Organization who advise having acupuncture for other problems, like

muscular problems, gastrointestinal problems, as well urinary

problems and problems related the genitals and reproductive organs.

So in fact acupuncture could be used essentially for any medical

problem, except for those cases that need surgical intervention.

 

giraffegal2000 asks: Can acupuncture help your sex life? For

example, impotence? Or libido problems in women?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Yes, I think as I mentioned in answering one of

the above questions, some of the libido problems in women are

usually resulting from hormonal imbalances. And acupuncture being

capable of regulating these hormones is a good tool to seek in the

treatment of these conditions. Also libido problems in men and women

could result from some psychological problems, as in depression, and

acupuncture can be extremely effecting in treating or minimizing

depression and as a result correcting the impotence or libido

problems.

 

lowspark95 asks: Can pregnant women get acupuncture?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: They can get acupuncture, but we have to

understand that certain points, if needled, might cause miscarriage

or pre-term labor. So it is advisable that if a woman is pregnant to

seek real good medical advise before attempting acupuncture. And if

she is having acupuncture that the physician is well aware of the

points he has to avoid.

 

hilgartb asks: How effective is acupuncture in treating tension

and/or migraine headaches?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: As a matter of fact a large percentage of my

patients have migraine headaches, and I see them after they have

gone through all the regular medical channels seeking treatment. And

I would say that about 70% of them would respond very satisfactorily

to acupuncture treatment in the sense that their attacks might be

diminished medically and the attacks become less severe and more

responsive to simple pain killers after receiving acupuncture. Once

the symptoms are controlled, they might just come for acupuncture on

an infrequent basis to make sure that there will be no recurrence of

their symptoms.

 

Dangie515 asks: How expensive is a treatment?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Again, that really will vary according to the

geographical area that individual is living in. My advice is that if

you are seeking acupuncture you might shop around and find out what

the prices are in your area.

 

jdguay asks: Are the needles reused?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: The needles could be reused, [but] I think there

are a very small number of practitioners who use reusable needles.

And I believe that more than 95% of them use only needles that are

used once.

 

ramblin_too asks: Can acupuncture help my feet? I've been to several

doctors over 10 + years for calluses on the ball of my right foot.

No relief. Would your methods help me?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: I think acupuncture is certainly worth trying. We

have to understand that we use our feet all the time and because of

that we injure them quite frequently. If there is a problem in the

feet, it is usually difficult to treat because of that. However, if

the regular medical treatment has failed to reduce the pain, I would

advise giving acupuncture a trial of something like six to eight

treatments to see if that is going to help in reducing the pain. And

if it does, the patient should continue with that for awhile until

the pain is reduced to the maximum. However, if acupuncture does not

give results within the six to eight treatments, it is unlikely that

it will help.

 

cherish1955 asks: Who discovered acupuncture?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: It is not really a discovery in that sense. It

has developed throughout the centuries, about 4,000 years ago in

China. We believe that this is the first place to use acupuncture.

It is something that people have gathered knowledge about by

experience, by watching and by treating. And finally we have the

system that we have today.

 

youngcdldriver asks: What is the difference in acupuncture and

acupressure?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Acupressure is simply using the fingers or other

machinery to produce pressure at the site of what we call

acupuncture points. But acupuncture itself, as the name implies,

means that we use a needle to puncture that area. So the difference

is simply putting in a needle versus simply putting pressure on that

area. And even though acupressure is helpful, putting needles in is

certainly the method to get the maximum benefit.

 

toobusytothink2001 asks: What is " medical " acupuncture? Is it just

that it is administered by an M.D.?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: The term " medical acupuncture " refers to

acupuncture performed by physicians in order to identify them from

non-physicians acupuncture.

 

youngcdldriver asks: Can acupuncture work on a pinched nerve in a

foot?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Yes, generally with any pinched nerve, if there

no great mechanical pressure causing the pinching. Acupuncture would

be one of the methods to consider in treating that nerve. However,

if considerable mechanical pressure is suspected, surgical

intervention would be preferred.

 

giraffegal2000 asks: Is acupuncture ever used for vision problems?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Acupuncture has been used but I do not think it

is quite effective in treating conditions like glaucoma and

cataracts, or improving the visual acuity. Other methods should be

sought for such treatment.

 

txpeech asks: How effective [is acupuncture] on allergies in

general?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: There are certain techniques in acupuncture that

could be very effective in treating allergies. And if patients are

seeking such treatment, they should really ask for people

specializing in the treatment of allergies. And generally it will

give them a very good result if you go to the right people.

 

toudi_tank asks: Can you briefly explain any of the theories of the

science in laymans terms?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Acupuncture, in general, is a balancing

technique. And I would like persons who would like to imagine how

acupuncture works to visualize a simple canal full of water and all

of a sudden we have obstructed the flow of water in this canal. The

result of that will be that one side of the canal will have too much

water and the other side will have none. This is basically how the

Chinese have visualized acupuncture. Considering that there are

channels of energy flowing in the body and obstructing them will

cause the energy to either increase on one side of the blockage and

decrease on the other side. And either one of them will cause

symptoms because they result imbalance of the energy flow. And

acupuncture in these cases will help to allow the flow of energy to

go back to normal as much as possible. By doing so, the symptoms

resulting from the imbalance will start to disappear. So in effect,

acupuncture treats the cause of the disease rather than just

treating the symptoms, as is the case in traditional Western

medicine.

 

lowbug64 asks: Are the needles applied in the area where the pain

exists or are they applied to a different area as a form of pain

deferment?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: As a matter of fact, it is usual to insert the

needles away from the site of pain with just a few needles to where

the pain is.

 

corinnacj asks: Could acupuncture help arthritis?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Yes. I would very much recommend that patients

with arthritis, regardless of the kind of arthritis they suffer

from, seek acupuncture treatment as a complementary method of

treatment in addition to their usual medication. It does help

tremendously in decreasing the severity of the pain and does help in

decreasing the swelling of the joints, naturally without resorting

to much of the medication that they are on. So it is certainly

something that patients should seek, number one to minimize their

symptoms, and to improve their functional abilities, and at the same

time decreasing the amount of medication that they are on.

 

slacker_95926 asks: I developed tendentious...while backpacking last

summer. Can acupuncture help me?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Yes. I would very much recommend using

acupuncture for this problem. As it's usually very successful in

treatment such conditions.

 

lilbit_islandgirl asks: What about acupuncture and the treatment of

fungal sinusitis?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Fungal sinusitis is a major problem affecting the

sinuses. And doing acupuncture is certainly advisable in those

patients, as it does improve the drainage from the sinuses and it

does improve the immune system, allowing the body to fight the

fungus. In contrast to regular medical treatment that tends to

surpress the secretions and thus aggravating the condition in the

long term. So I would advise people to seek acupuncture treatment

for their sinus problems and by doing so their sinus problems will

decrease in both intensity and frequency and might even disappear.

 

mdcowherd asks: How long have you been an acupuncturist?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: I have been an acupuncturist for the past 10

years.

 

lowspark95 asks: Can acupuncture help migraines?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Yes, we discussed that earlier. And it is

certainly a method that should be tried by every patient who has

migraines. In the majority of cases their symptoms will decrease,

their need for regular medical treatment will also decrease.

 

ITeachGr3 asks: Last year I started acupuncture for RSD [reflex

sympathetic dystrophyin] my left foot. It worked wonderfully at

first, but since another recent trauma to my foot, it hasn't done

anything. Can you possibly explain why? I am SO frustrated!

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: RSD is really a very complicated problem that

involves many parts of the central nervous system and acupuncture

may help with such conditions. But not necessarily at all times. My

advice is to continue for a longer period of time doing acupuncture

to assure that it will help at least to some extent. As traditional

medical treatments are usually also ineffective.

 

outlaw393 asks: Does acupuncture stimulate certain nerves or what?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Yes. The theory that we hold right now is that by

inserting the needles at certain points in the body which we call

acupuncture points, certain nerves or certain nerve endings at these

points seem to respond to either putting pressure on these areas,

which we call acupressure, or respond to the insertion of needles in

these area. As a result the central nervous system is stimulated.

And accordingly will respond to the problems that the patient is

having.

 

lowspark95 asks: Can anyone get acupuncture? Are there any

restrictions?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: There are certain restrictions, and as we

mentioned earlier, one of them is pregnancy. Another one is patients

who are on anti-coagulant medications. Also patients who might be

having such electrical equipment in their body - like pacemakers for

example. If you have acupuncture in these situations, we should

avoid stimulating these needles electrically. But acupuncture itself

is not contraindicated in patients with pacemakers. Finally,

obviously, in patients who have a fear of needles, acupuncture is

not recommended.

 

nuttydevil asks: Is acupuncture good for stress?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Oh, certainly! This is a very good method in

reducing stress and anxiety. It is quite effective with immediate

results after the treatment.

 

vinoo2k2001 asks: My brother's son [is] 18 years old [and] has

[neurological] problems. He's [been] in coma [for] the last 16

months. We are giving him acupuncture treatment [and consulting a

doctor]. Please guide us.

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: My advice is certainly to continue giving him

acupuncture as this is a method of stimulating the central nervous

system. And it is a known fact that patients in comas need to be

continuously stimulated by various methods. In order to keep their

brain function working at a high level. Acupuncture, no doubt, is an

excellent way of stimulating the brain.

 

dreaming_in_tx asks: Can acupuncture help with depression?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: I personally have treated many patients who

suffered from depression and they have improved to a great extent

and have been able to cut down their medications, even stopping

them. So I would again recommend acupuncture for patients with

depression at least as a complementary therapy.

 

rndebra asks: What are the chances of getting [Hepatitis] B or C or

HIV from the reused needles?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Equipment and instruments are sterilized after

each patient. However, in order to avoid any fear about transmission

of diseases, you may ask the practitioner doing the acupuncture to

use needles that are not reusable.

 

nuttydevil asks: Is it possible to have too much acupuncture?

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Yes, you can have too much acupuncture which is

not recommended. Acupuncture is a method of treatment that works on

and manipulates energy in the body. If it's used excessively, it

could have some reverse effects by depleting the energy of the body

rather than stimulating it. So it has to be done at a frequency

suitable for the patient and that will defer from one patient to the

next and it should not be used excessively.

 

lifetime_host: Thank you for joining us, doctor.

 

Dr. Nader Soliman: Thank you very much. It was my pleasure!

 

lifetime_host: Our time is up. Thank you for all of your questions.

We're sorry we couldn't answer all of them, but please check

the " Strong Medicine " Web site for more medical information and

resources at www.lifetimetv.com/shows/strongmedicine/patientfiles.

Thank you for joining us!

 

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