Success: Rheumatoid Arthritis - Clearwater, Florida

 

*My name is Melissa J and today is 2/26/13. I want to share with you how Dr. Dawn Balusik changed my life. I struggled with foot ailments since 2004, but they hit their peak in 2010. I had severe pain in both heels, Achilles tendon, big toe and and extremely swollen left ankle.

 

I went to the podiatrist and tried everything under the sun, for months, including cortisone shots, physical therapy, braces, etc. and nothing worked. I had to stop working as a waitress because it got to the point where I couldn’t walk anymore and I was desperate for a solution. I started working an office job so I could be off my feet.

 

Finally I had a blood test, and it was determined that I had severe arthritis and I would have to be on medicine that had a lot of horrible side-effects, for the rest of my life.

During the time I was on Sulfasalazine I began to lose concentration at work. I couldn’t think straight and I had no appetite whatsoever. I had to go on short-term disability because I couldn’t work. Luckily, after the medicine was out of my system, I was back to normal and returned to work. I was now on three pills a day of Indomethacin, an anti-inflammatory drug, along with medicine to counteract its harshness on my stomach.

 

I began my journey with acupuncture December 2011. I started feeling better by Feb 2012, and my pain was now at night mainly. With Dr. Dawn’s suggestions, by the end of February, I started changing my diet from fast foods and desserts to an elimination diet to rule out any foods that could be causing my flare-ups.

 

We discovered that refined sugar caused flare-ups, and I used to eat tons of sugar-filled foods each day. In mid-May my blood work showed my sed rate (which measures inflammation) went down from 1200 to 7! At the end of July, I started weening off of my medication and by the end of September I was off my medication completely. I wasn’t on any medication and I no longer had any pain.

 

I am so grateful to have found Dawn and everyday I am thankful to be walking around normally without pain. I strongly encourage you to try acupuncture with Dawn for a safe, healthy way to to get well.

 

– Melissa J., Clearwater, FL

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*Individual results may vary.

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