Listening my way to success in the NCCAOM acupuncture board exam If you like what you read here, you may want to keep updated by using my RSS feed.

I passed my thesis defense! I have a few revisions to make - when I’m done with those and have final approval I will (a) breathe a big sigh of relief, (b) begin posting portions of my thesis for discussion on the blog. As I see the topic, particularly of the last half of the document, being the ground for the next decade or two of my intellectual work - it seems prudent to discuss it with as many people as possible. How else am I going to get good ideas? ;) The thesis process was a good one, overall. I know that most Chinese medicine students don’t have to produce something like a thesis - opting instead to do a final project or something of that nature. If you would have asked me six months ago what I thought about our writing a thesis, I would have given you a pretty negative answer. At that point, I was still pretty freaked out by the clinical aspect of things and I really felt like we should be focusing entirely on the clinic during our final year. I can still see the benefit and wisdom of that idea.

Health Benefits of Self Prostate Milking and Stimulation

The more people become comfortable about their bodies and the more assertive they become about taking care of their own health and sexual needs, the more they will look for safe measures to help them provide these benefits for themselves. Prostate milking is one of those measures that is becoming increasingly more common as a self-help benefit.

To understand what prostate milking is, you must visualize the male reproductive system. The prostate gland is a critical part of that reproductive system. It is about the size of a walnut and is located under the bladder, just in front of the rectum. Its function is to help in the manufacture of semen, the milky colored fluid which carries sperm from the testicles through the penis during ejaculation.

What is Prostate Milking?

The reference to “milk” in males refers to semen; and the milking of the prostate describes the stimulation of the prostate gland either for medical or sexual purposes. In other words, milking is the manual expressing of prostate fluid through direct manipulation of the prostate gland. The prostate may be stimulated internally or externally and it is the external stimulation that is often called prostate massage. It is an activity that can be self-induced or done with the help of a partner. Direct massage of the prostate gland can be highly relaxing and erotic and is a practice that some believe supports lifelong prostate health. Many men declare that prostate milking increases and lengthens their orgasms. For males without a sexual partner, this is a way to obtain sexual release.

Benefits and Risks of Prostate Stimulation

Prostate milking is generally safe for all healthy males and regular milking has been recommended as a preventative health measure. However serious health dangers can result in men with certain prostate and health conditions or even with men with healthy prostates if prostate milking is performed incorrectly. The prostate can be aggravated by disease, infections, swelling or prostatitis and prostate cancer is the second most lethal cancer in males today. There are many videos and products on the market or advertised on the internet that demonstrate how to do this practice safely and with intended effect.

For those men with health concerns, consult your physician: prostate milking may be better done by your doctor or medical practitioner. As an effective treatment for chronic prostatitis and benign prostate hyperplasia or BPH, this procedure can help drain the highly painful build up of seminal fluid in men with a chronically inflamed prostate.

While beneficial for many men in medical and sexually satisfying ways, prostate milking is not advisable for men with acute prostatitis, as prostate milking may allow the prostate infection to spread to other parts of the body. Another serious health danger from prostate milking could be the transfer of an already existing prostate cancer to other parts of the body. As with all even mildly invasive techniques and procedures, being informed about your body’s health will allow you to decide whether or not this procedure can be as safe and satisfying for you as it is for the increasing number of males who are now championing its use.

Listening my way to success in the NCCAOM acupuncture board exam

This includes the much lauded TCMTests.com. Don’t get me wrong, I think they offer a great service. If nothing else, they allow you to have some degree of comfort with the format and general content of the test. However, the specific topics covered in the real test were not touched on much by the practice tests on that site or on the official NCCAOM site. Others may not share my experience, I know.

As an alternative, I recommend you go through the list offered by NCCAOM (content outline) and read through the texts they indicate as sources for question writing. I found that these outlines were quite accurate, and I would pay attention even to those topics that seem less important. While some of the more minor subjects may not come up often, one really unexpected question can really throw you off your rhythm.

Also, it will help you to be a good test taker and - perhaps most importantly - to be lucky. ;)

Now, I’m studying for the “big one,” the exam about acupuncture and point location. I actually postponed the test once, because as I dove into studying the material I really found out how unprepared I am - at least by my reckoning. Why? Certainly not because my education has lacked quality. It doesn’t reflect on my ability to treat patients. It doesn’t reflect on some lack of scholarly rigor on my part. Quite the reverse is true, I think. Why?

Simply, NCNM doesn’t teach to the test. We don’t read Maciocia as a textbook. We learn TCM pattern differentiation, sure, but we learn so much more that is (in my opinion) far more compelling. So, as students, most of us choose not to focus much on the TCM stuff we are taught. Even those professors who might be thought of as “more TCM” on our faculty have a wealth of Classical information and clinical pearls they are constantly divulging - so the TCM stuff tends to get swept under the rug a bit. So, what’s a guy to do?

Ironically, now at the end of my education, I feel that I’ve finally settled on some winning learning strategies. As I studied for this test, I started to use every trick in the book to get the stuff to stick. I had huge pieces of easel pad paper taped up all over my house, I was using innovative mindmapping software, I was making flashcards, I was making diagrams… All of these strategies were definitely helping, but then I ran across an article discussing multiple intelligences, then through some web searching another one about the VARK learning styles theory. The particulars aren’t super important, but it got me thinking about how I learn most effectively.

For me, it’s all about the auditory. I learn very well from lectures - even better if I record them and listen to them a hundred times. I learn well from music, from silly songs, and also from speaking things aloud. It was a small insight, but when I really realized this - I went to town with it. I’d like to share some of the strategies I am using that appeal to my auditory learning style. I should mention that I feel that I learn quite well from reading and writing things as well - but I wanted to talk particularly about the auditory aspects today.

1. I am a big fan of Cal Newport’s blog, Study Hacks. Among a lot of other great advice, he recommends that students use a method called “quiz and recall.” Using this method, you collapse lecture notes (or other material) into “big ideas” with one sentence prompts. You then move through those one sentence prompts and give a pretend lecture to nobody in particular. I do this in the backyard, pacing through my living room and on my daily walks. You can follow the link above to learn more.

With the material I’m studying now, I’ve had to alter the method a little bit. Because I’m not really working off of any notes, I simply let my prompt be the name of a channel or TCM syndrome. With the latter, I actually break it down a bit - working off of a list of diseases and their differentiations. So, I might come to a prompt that says Gan Mao due to Wind-cold. Then I lecture passionately concerning the points involved, their categories and locations, the needling method employed and so on. This has been incredibly powerful.

2. There are a couple of commercially available audio products designed to help you learn and review Chinese medicine related information. I’ve tried Tunes for Tangs and Songs for Sans as well as the product I review below. I’ll talk about Tunes for Tangs in another blog post in the future.

Radioqi.com offers a set of MP3’s called AcutherapeuticA that are meant to be used in learning and reviewing the acupuncture points by channel. These recordings include a soothing female voice speaking over some repetitive trip-hop style electronic music. The voice lists the point designator (HT1, etc), the Chinese name and an English translation, any pertinent categories (Yuan source, etc) and finally some basic TCM actions. Sometimes, they will offer a little more - such as a particular contraindication (like LI-4 being contraindicated in pregnancy). They also include a two-file set of the 100 most popular acupuncture points set against more upbeat music. I have not tried the second product, but I own several of the channels set over the more soothing music.

It’s undeniable that this product has helped jog my memory about some of the less used points. Because I’m largely an auditory learner, the stuff goes in my head with the music and sticks there. There is something quite compelling about the ability to go on a walk in the dawning summer sun and be studying at the same time. As I’ve discussed elsewhere, and doubtless will again, I’m a huge fan of audio learning for that very reason. However, I’m very disappointed that Radioqi has not included location information! I also feel that the voice speaks a little too quickly through the action information. Because of these shortcomings, and also because I can’t afford the ~$100 it takes to buy all the channels, I hit on one final (and my favorite) acupuncture audio learning solution.

3. I have a MacBook, which has a great built-in microphone. I also own the excellent free audio editing program Audacity. Sitting here, frustrated with my limited choices as far as audio learning of acupuncture goes, I hit on a natural solution. Make my own MP3’s! I simply recorded myself reading out of my favorite text for studying for the acupuncture exam, adding commentary as I thought of it. For instance, when talking about a Yuan source point, I might mention everything I know about that category of point. In a couple of instances, I played the excellent Yi Ching Music for the Health CDs, in the background, using the element corresponding to the channel I was studying. I then exported these as WAV files from Audacity, and added them to my iTunes library, converting them to MP3s in the process. Finally, I loaded these onto my iPhone for listening to on the go.

While it’s a bit weird listening to myself talking about acupuncture channels, it has been very helpful. The points are sticking in a way they haven’t before. I’m going to try this technique for syndrome differentiation as well. After this exam, when my time opens up a bit, I plan to use some version of this technique to continue learning about formulas.

Saffron Health Benefits

Saffron is a delightful, yet expensive spice that seems to offer more than fragrant flavoring to recipes. Nutricraze describes saffron as a possible remedy for a number of different conditions, including fatigue, sore gums, heart disease, and it can help promote mental clarity. Although these claims appear to be excessive, a new international study has looked into the spice with eye-opening results.

Saffron and Vision

Professor Silvia Bisti led the study at Italy’s L’Aquila University. The professor conducted the study through the university’s ARC Centre of Excellence in Vision Science. It appears that saffron may protect and correct vision in individuals who have retinitis pigmentosa or muscular degeneration related to age.

The study found that saffron is a powerful antioxidant, affecting the genes that manage fatty acid levels in the membranes of the cells. Vision cells become stronger and more apt to heal with the support of the antioxidant. The effects are impressive, with human subjects with age-related muscular degeneration experiencing restored sight with the help of saffron.

The researchers suggest that the next endeavor resulting from the promising study is to determine which components in saffron contain the vision-repairing elements. The specific ingredients are not readily apparent, but the spice has enjoyed much acclaim for many centuries.

Saffron Health Benefits

The health benefits of saffron are not necessarily the first thing fans of the exotic spice think of. The spice is very difficult to harvest, making it an expensive ingredient. It takes more than 4,500 flowers to yield a single ounce of the spice. The expense and painstaking efforts may be well worth the effort considering the possible health benefits the spice offers.

Saffron is full of surprises, including its medicinal purposes. Health problems that have been treated with the spice include:

• Digestive problems
• Asthma
• Insomnia
• Menstrual problems
• Common colds
• Inflammation
• Depression

Saffron and Depression

A recent study suggests that saffron may be as effective as Prozac in treating mild to moderate depression. More research is necessary in order to determine the effectiveness of saffron in the treatment of depressive disorders. The approach is promising, but it may not be prudent considering how expensive the spice is.

Saffron Supplements

The spice is pricy, making it a poor choice for many people. Some people may be tempted to try saffron in supplements but this approach may not yield very good results. The supplements are notorious for having inferior ingredients and additives. Pregnant women should not take saffron for medicinal purposes, and anyone considering the approach should consult their physicians.

It is always a good idea to purchase any spice or food product through a reputable source. If the price seems too good to be true, chances are that the spice isn’t really saffron. Some suppliers try to sell safflower to people looking for the spice. Unfortunately, there is no real replacement for saffron. Some suggest turmeric is an adequate replacement, but it is certain that the replacement will not offer the same medicinal benefits.

Psychedelic medicine: Mind bending, health giving

OHN HALPERN clearly remembers what made him change his mind about psychedelic drugs. It was the early 1990s and the young medical student at a hospital in Brooklyn, New York, was getting frustrated that he could not do more to help the alcoholics and addicts in his care. He sounded off to an older psychiatrist, who mentioned that LSD and related drugs had once been considered promising treatments for addiction. "I was so fascinated that I did all this research," Halpern recalls. "I was reading all these papers from the 60s and going, whoa, wait a minute! How come nobody's talking about this?"

More than a decade later, Halpern is now an associate director of substance abuse research at Harvard University's McLean Hospital and is at the forefront of a revival of research into psychedelic medicine. He recently received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to give late-stage cancer patients the psychedelic drug MDMA, also known as ecstasy. He is also laying the groundwork for testing LSD as a treatment for dreaded super-migraines known as cluster headaches.

And Halpern is not alone. Clinical trials of psychedelic drugs are planned or under way at numerous centres around the world for conditions ranging from anxiety to alcoholism. It may not be long before doctors are legally prescribing hallucinogens for the first time in decades. "There are medicines here that have been overlooked, that are fundamentally valuable," says Halpern.

These developments are a remarkable turnaround. Scientists first became interested in psychedelic drugs - also called hallucinogens because of their profound effect on perception - after Albert Hofmann, a chemist working for the Swiss pharmaceutical firm Sandoz, accidentally swallowed LSD in 1943. Hofmann's description of his experience, which he found both enchanting and terrifying, spurred scientific interest in LSD as well as naturally occurring compounds with similar effects: mescaline, the active ingredient of the peyote cactus; psilocybin, found in magic mushrooms; and DMT, from the Amazonian shamans' brew ayahuasca.

At first, many scientists called these drugs "psychotomimetics" because their effects appeared to mimic the symptoms of schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. However, many users rhapsodised about the life-changing insights they achieved during their experiences, so much so that in 1957, British psychiatrist Humphry Osmond proposed that the compounds be renamed "psychedelic", from the Greek for "mind-revealing". The term caught on, and psychiatrists started experimenting with the drugs as treatments for mental illness. By the mid-1960s, more than 1000 peer-reviewed papers had been published describing the treatment of more than 40,000 patients for schizophrenia, depression, alcoholism and other disorders.

A prominent member of this movement was Harvard psychologist Timothy Leary, who among other things tested whether psilocybin and LSD could be used to treat alcoholism and rehabilitate convicts. Although his studies were initially well received, Leary eventually lost his reputation - and his job - after he began touting psychedelics as a hotline to spiritual enlightenment. Leary's antics helped trigger a backlash, and by the late 1960s psychedelics had been outlawed in the US, Canada and Europe. Unsurprisingly, clinical research ground to a halt, partly because obtaining the necessary permits became much more difficult, but also because few researchers were willing to risk their reputations studying demonised substances.

But to some brave souls, psychedelic medicine never lost its allure. One of them is Rick Doblin, who in 1986 founded the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in Sarasota, Florida, and who earned a doctorate from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government after writing a dissertation on the federal regulation of psychedelics. For nearly 20 years MAPS has lobbied the FDA and other government agencies to allow research on psychedelics to resume. It has also persuaded scientists to pursue the work and raised funds to support them. A similar body, the Heffter Research Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico, was founded in 1993 by scientists with an interest in hallucinogens.

In the past couple of years their efforts have begun to pay off. Doblin is optimistic that psychedelic research is back for good, and this time it will do things right. "This gives us the chance to show that we have learned our lessons," he says. Halpern, too, is anxious to lay to rest the ghost of Leary. "That man screwed it up for so many people," he says.

With this in mind, Halpern says the first task for him and others is to evaluate the safety of psychedelics. And they are up against an entrenched orthodoxy: a 1971 editorial in The Journal of the American Medical Association warned that repeated ingestion of psychedelics causes personality deterioration. "Only a few of those who experience more than 50 'trips' are spared," it warned.