Scottish Institute of Reflexology
2003
Success out of the blue
After two failed IVF treatments and the news that she and her husband were both infertile, Catherine Rogers turned to reflexology.
Full article: http://news.scotsman.com/archive.cfm?id=966002003
Success out of the blue
Catherine Rogers
My hand shook uncontrollably as I stared at the blue line on the pregnancy test. My legs went to jelly. Nothing made sense; my husband, Andrew, 37, and I had been told we were both infertile. We had gone through two failed fertility treatments, which meant that two years of our lives had been spent in limbo, and we had been left feeling as if thousands of pounds had been flushed down the toilet. I couldn’t possibly be pregnant - but here, at last, was the proof.
Andrew and I had got married five years ago and waited two years before trying for children. I am 31 and had been on the Pill since I was 21, and before that I had always had very erratic periods - between 28 and 41-day cycles. When we decided I should come off the Pill, I made a vow not to become obsessed with having a baby; I was determined to be laid-back. Anyway, I felt confident that I would get pregnant quickly.
However, in June 2000, after a year with no success, my GP referred me to a specialist. By then, my calm attitude was disappearing. Andrew and I went together for the consultation and we were both given a series of tests
.
The day we were due to go for the results, Andrew had an important meeting, so I’d said I’d be OK on my own. This was a big mistake, as the news was devastating. The first blow came when I was told that, although I was ovulating and producing healthy eggs, an X-ray and scan revealed that not only did I have polycystic ovaries - which is linked to sub-fertility - but also that one fallopian tube was blocked and the other diseased, thought to be caused by a pelvic infection I’d had in my teens.
In other words, it was virtually impossible for the eggs to travel from the ovaries to the womb. Worse was to come. Andrew had a low sperm count, and most of the sperm that were produced were two-headed. There were a few normal sperm, but he also had "low motility" - none of the sperm was mobile enough to swim
.
The doctor was sympathetic but business-like as he explained that we were both classified "infertile". I couldn’t stop the tears as I struggled to take all this in. After leaving the hospital I called Andrew and asked him to come straight back to our home. The only scrap of good that we could find in all this was the dreadful irony that infertility affected both of us. At least we could go through this together as neither of us could feel guilty or apportion blame.
We were then referred to a fertility specialist. Conventional IVF - where eggs and sperm are allowed to fertilise in a dish without intervention - was not possible. As Andrew’s sperm did not have motility, our best chance was Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), where the sperm is injected into the eggs. This procedure, we were told, only has a 20 per cent success rate and a waiting list on the NHS of up to three years.
We were desperate. My body craved a baby; everywhere I went, mothers and babies haunted me. Why had this happened to us? There was a huge void in my life, one over which I had no control. We decided to have the procedure done privately, at a cost of £2,000.
In February last year, I started the four weeks of treatment. The whole business was horribly clinical. At the end of the month, I was in the hospital theatre waiting for my eggs to be removed and for Andrew to produce a sperm sample, which was rushed into the theatre. Then, my eggs were collected and injected with the selected "normal" sperm that Andrew produced.
Next day, we returned to the hospital and were told that only two embryos were of a good enough quality to implant. The whole procedure meant I was tense, anxious and unbelievably emotional. When the doctor said "Good luck", I was sobbing because no-one could help me at that stage. After 11 days it was apparent the implants hadn’t worked. A second course of treatment, costing another £2,000, was equally unsuccessful
.
A friend had recommended reflexology, to help with my stress and anxiety. I got in touch with a reflexologist, and booked my first session. From the start, I had a powerful feeling that this was helping my body function more efficiently. More than that, my reflexologist kept telling me that she could imagine me with a baby, that it was going to happen. She explained that reflexology - an ancient treatment first practised by the Egyptians 3,000 years ago and which then spread to the Far East - works by helping the body rebalance its energies via the hands and feet, although she mainly works with the feet
.
She said that if the body is out of balance, then however hi-tech and clever the infertility techniques may be, they are not going to work. She described my feet as a "switchboard" which has points - channels of energy - and that these are mapped out to connect to all the systems in the body. By feeling these points, the reflexologist can tell where there is congestion of energy - in my case, in the reproductive areas. They then put pressure on these points to break down the congestion and free the energy.
People might imagine the treatment to be nothing more than a relaxing foot massage, but it’s nothing of the sort. As pressure was applied to various parts of my feet, I could feel considerable discomfort in the corresponding areas in my body
.
I learned how stress is actually a huge problem when going through infertility treatments because it throws the hormonal balance out of kilter. The adrenal glands work overtime to make the stress hormone cortisol from progesterone. As progesterone is the hormone the ovaries need to maintain a pregnancy, it’s perhaps not surprising that IVF procedures can fail - a vital hormone is being diverted from the ovaries
.
I was also told that diet was crucial. I was to eat only fruit and vegetables, freshly prepared food, plenty of complex carbohydrates and protein but no dairy products at all, as hormones from cow’s milk can interfere with a woman’s hormone balance
.
The diet should be supplemented with zinc, Vitamin E and C tablets and ginseng. I was also advised to take 45 minutes of aerobic exercise at least three times a week and told not to drink any alcohol or to smoke
.
It was encouraging to hear that my reflexologist had helped five women diagnosed infertile become pregnant in the past two years, and that although the length of treatment varied varied between four and 20 sessions, her average success rate was eight.
Andrew and I had thrown ourselves into our interior design work to take our minds off our disappointment. The last treatment had failed in August and in the following November I came back from a business trip to Hong Kong with what I imagined to be a nasty bug.
I hadn’t had a period for 40 days, but this was normal for me, so I don’t know what made me take that pregnancy test, as I was officially infertile. When I went to my GP for confirmation, I broke down in tears of joy, but also feared that this could come to nothing. We told only our parents, and waited for a scan at 13 weeks - New Year’s Eve - for news that we knew could either be fantastic or horrendous
Despite no alcohol, this was the most wonderful New Year we could ever have hoped for, and words cannot describe how Andrew and I felt when William was placed in my arms seven weeks ago.
I am sure conventional medical practitioners would disagree, but I honestly believe that the power of reflexology helped the "miracle" that is my baby to come into the world.
My reflexologist never once claimed this was the answer, but she gave me the strength to believe.
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Five months into the programme, Ian is certain that Core's approach and the people who work there have changed his life significantly. "We're a community here - it's very egalitarian, and I don't tend to think in terms of who's a volunteer and who's not, but I don't think the place could operate like it does without them. There should be many, many copies of Core all over the place - it's a little lifeboat," he said. Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to Alternative therapies win NHS backing Complementary treatments are widely used by patients with the progressive, incurable disease. Even this small step by Nice is a significant recognition of the avenues pursued by patients desperate to find relief from pain, fatigue and other symptoms. The MS guidelines, aimed at health professionals, still leave much of the onus and risk from complementary medicine - both medical and financial – on individual patients. As well as fish oils, massage and t'ai chi, the treatments include magneticfield therapy, where the patient lies on a pad fixed behind the spine and linked by cable to a computer-controlled bedside unit. The Multiple Sclerosis Society has two concerns about complementary medicine: that it is used safely and that patients are not overcharged. Such treatment is not usually available on the NHS, and patients often have to bear the costs themselves. The society's leaflet on the issue advises caution. "Trying everything can be very expensive and demoralising," it says. "If a therapy does not work for you, or you start to feel worse, you may end up feeling that it's your own fault." Much of the problem is that MS fluctuates and is unpredictable. The Niceguidelines do not mention cannabis-based medicines. Recently published results from a large trial suggested that these might benefit patients, despite an absence of objective evidence of improvement. Nice is to fast-track a review of The more mainstream advice in the guidelines calls for rapid diagnosis, preferably well within three months after first referral to a consultant, more specialised services and primary care by GPs to recognise particular problems faced by MS patients, including depression and sexual dysfunction. The diagnosis target will require a huge increase in neurologists to deliver results. Patient groups welcomed the guidelines, arguing that thousands of people among the estimated 63,000 with MS in England and Wales suffered from a healthcare lottery, although examples of good practice are found in a number of places, including London, Merseyside and Newcastle. Which treatments are sanctioned? In T'ai chi Ancient Chinese form of body movement focusing on development of internal energy to promote physical and mental wellbeing. Long advocated for tackling heart, breathing and digestive problems as well as relieving stress Magnetic field therapy Treatment advertised by US companies as effective against all sorts of pain, including arthritis, osteoporosis and sports injuries. Also promoted as treatment for cats, dogs and horses Massage Stimulates blood flow round the body and helps relaxation. Can cause muscles to go into spasm, so not all patients will benefit Reflexology Foot massage to stimulate healing in other parts of the body Out Magnetic bracelets Sometimes used to prevent tremors by MS patients, but no conclusive research base, and when bought over the counter are not tailored to meet specific needs, according to MS Society Meditation Focus on the moment and clear the mind to counteract negative thinking. No endorsement from new guidance Breathing oxygen in pressurised chamber Available at some MS therapy centres, but can be expensive as well as potentially dangerous. It has some real fans, but some other patients report a worsening of symptoms Jury still out Cannabis-based drugs Helps feelgood factor and eases symptoms, according to patients in recent trials, despite lack of hard objective evidence that they ease muscle stiffness. However, signs are that the government will endorse their use if medicines watchdogs are happy about safety and effectiveness Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited Providing Core help The Core Trust relies heavily on volunteers to help with its holistic approach to treating alcoholics, and it has achieved remarkable results. Louise Tickle reports Monday June 02 2003 The Guardian Ian is, he cheerfully admits, a drunk. "Well, to be more precise, I'm an alcoholic. I've been abusing drink for years. I came to Core, like a lot of people here, when the pain of what I was doing was worse than the pain involved in trying to stop." The Core Trust's holistic approach to addiction, is, he explains, all about taking responsibility for yourself, through treating the body, mind and spirit. "It's emotionally gruelling, necessarily, learning to face up to extremely difficult issues that have never been dealt with," Ian said. "But you're given a lot of support. I feel listened to here - the people here know that you've had experiences that need to be taken seriously." Many of the people Ian is talking about are volunteers. There are 20 currently working at the charity's Lisson Grove centre; many of the group psychotherapy sessions and the complementary therapies central to Core's holistic approach are given by volunteers. As Jason Wright, the chief executive and clinical director makes clear, Core quite simply could not fulfil its mission without them. "Core's fundamental belief is that addiction impacts on mind and body, so approaching both seems sensible in order to facilitate change more quickly," he said. "Paying for all the skills we use to address different aspects of a person's problems - including ear acupuncture, shiatsu, qi gong, feldenkreis, reflexology, drama and art therapy and advice from a nutritionist and herbalist as well as different psychotherapies - would increase treatment costs by between 50-75%. That would significantly affect how many clients we could work with." He emphasises that all the volunteer complementary therapists are fully qualified, and any psychotherapy volunteers who are not are completing their final years of training. All are asked to commit to Core for a year; many volunteers are still there several years on and others have gone on to paid work with the charity. So how does Core manage to recruit, motivate and keep such highly skilled people who are offering their time for free? For a start, they are not simply flung into what many would find a highly challenging environment. All potential volunteers spend a month familiarizing themselves with the way the Core's programme works before they make a formal commitment. They also have discussions with staff to evaluate what skills they might bring and how their personal contributions can be shaped. Once part of the team, a crucial element in motivation seems to be that Core refuses to treat volunteers as free labour but values each person as an integral part of the therapeutic community. This means paid staff making time for regular meetings to support each volunteer. Miles Pulver gives two half days of his time a week, facilitating group therapy sessions and counselling two clients on a one-to-one basis. "I have weekly clinical supervisions with the director or senior therapist, and after each group there is a debriefing where we share knowledge about what has emerged and they check in with me about how I'm feeling around what has come up," he said. Most important of all perhaps is the sense of professional fulfilment and personal enjoyment volunteers report they get out of working with clients at Core.
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Government watchdog breaks new ground by giving cautious endorsement of some complementary medicines in treating multiple sclerosis
James Meikle, health correspondent
Monday November 24 2003
The Guardian
The role of complementary therapies such as fish oils, reflexology and t'ai chi in treating disease are recognised for the first time in official NHS guidance published today.
The cautious and still only partial endorsement of the possible benefits from such treatments in easing the symptoms of multiple sclerosis comes from the goverment's clinical watchdog for England and Wales, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice).
It is understood that another clinical guideline expected soon - for treating depression - will also acknowledge a place for complementary therapy.
However, it will mean that doctors raise the issue of alternative treatments with patients early on.
It says patients should be informed that there is "some evidence to suggest" that some might have benefits, even if there is not enough evidence to make firm recommendations.
Neural therapy, involving local anaesthetics to clear up "electrical interference", is another option that might work. So is massage and multi-modal therapy, an educational and psychological approach.
But there is no endorsement for other non-orthodox treatments, such as acupuncture, yoga, herbal remedies or aromatherapy. And in all cases, patients should be encouraged to tell doctors if they decide to pursue complementary treatments.
these if such drugs are granted a licence by another government body which controls use of medicines.
Scotsman 21 Jan 2003
Achieving balance with both feet
Tested: Reflexology.
Therapist: Georgie McCulloch at Energetics.
Price:
£25 an hour
What is reflexology?
Various parts of the body correspond with different reflexes on the feet. When pressure is applied to these reflexes some areas may feel more tender than others, indicating stress in the relative body area. The reflexologist aims to rebalance the body to restore mental and physical wellbeing.
Is reflexology suitable for everyone? It should not be used by women during the first trimester of pregnancy, as it can cause miscarriage.
What happens? Before the treatment begins, I am asked some questions about my general health. I then lie on a massage table and my feet are wiped with cleansing cloth. Georgie applies firm but gentle pressure to each reflex point, working on one foot at a time. She identifies tension areas in my shoulders, lower back and hips.
How does it feel? Reflexology is not painful although some areas do feel more sensitive than others. It is quite soothing and I soon relax into it.
Any after effects? I feel less stressed than usual but very tired. I frequently suffer from insomnia, but that night I sleep very deeply - which was a bonus.
The verdict: Definitely worth a try, but it’s probably best to have more than one session to see the benefits.
Evening News Mon 1 Sept 2003
Tackle that pain head-on
Michelle McGinty
IF you are a migraine sufferer, then you will know how difficult an affliction it is to shake off - and how hard it is to find the best cure.
People prone to this unpleasant phenomenon are struck down for all sorts of reasons, and conventional treatments won’t always work.
But there are all sorts of weird and wonderful ways of tackling a migraine - here are some of the best recommended by Edinburgh experts.
l Firstly, the conventional family doctor who will exclude other causes of the headache before recommending treatment. Once diagnosed, a GP will recommend avoiding possible provoking factors such as lack of sleep or alcohol.
Simple analgesics such as paracetamol or ibuprofen would be a first line of treatment. Another migraine treatment available without a prescription is Migraleve which has two types of tablet, one for the start of an attack and one for a persistent headache.
The next option would be a prescribed drug in the "triptan" family such as sumatriptan. These drugs act on receptors in the brain and are helpful for treatment of an established migraine. They come in the form of tablets, self-administered injections or nasal sprays.
If migraines are very frequent, preventative treatment may be introduced and will be taken regularly. This would be in the form of drugs such as a beta-blocker, sodium valproate or pizotifen.
l Homeopathy says that it is not the migraine which needs curing, but the person who has it. The whole rationale of homeopathy is based on the principle of "like cures like" - in other words, someone suffering from a migraine will be given a microscopic amount of a single drug that in healthy people, and in larger quantities, would actually cause a migraine. A homeopath has thousands of substances, or "remedies", to choose from. Choosing the right one depends on the migraine - its onset, location, frequency and duration and the quality and sensation of the pain. It also depends on the symptoms that precede or accompany the pain (such as visual disturbance or nausea).
The homeopath will also aim to have a good understanding of the mental and emotional state of the patient.
l Practitioners in bio-energy believe that disturbances in the bodies energy system that are left untreated can result in the manifestation of illnesses, including a migraine.
They work to restore the body to a balance on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level.
Bio-energy healing is reported to have helped countless people suffering from migraine not only get relief from their physical symptoms but also help balance the underlying energetic system. An initial block of four sessions is usually recommended. Sessions tend to be around £60 for one hour.
l In traditional acupuncture, the practitioner looks for the root cause of the problem. The acupuncturist would begin by asking questions to see whether a change in diet would help, or if there are stresses in the patient’s life which set off an attack.
He or she would also feel the pulses on the wrist of the patient - of which there are 12 - as they are the most important diagnostic tool for an acupuncturist. Each pulse relates to a different organ and so can give an indication of what is going on inside the body.
Acupuncturists deal with the balance of yin and yang, and if they are harmonious, the patient has good health. But if he or she suffers a migraine, yang tends to be in relative excess.
l A migraine is primarily caused by hyperactivity of the nerves in our heads. This triggers constriction and dilation of blood vessels, which is when the headache starts. Key triggers for migraines are intolerance to certain common foods such as cow’s milk, chocolate, eggs and cheese.
A patient may be asked to keep a food diary to try and identify what is triggering a migraine. And supplements such as magnesium and vitamin B6 might be recommended.
l In addition to an intense headache, sufferers may experience nausea, vomiting and visual and sensory disturbances. A migraine may last several days.
Reflexology can be used in the management of migraine. Reflexes in the feet are worked, bringing balance to the whole body. The relaxation experienced reduces the effects of stress, relaxes the spine and neck, balances the hormones, stimulates the elimination systems and reduces toxicity, which can help reduce the symptoms of migraine.
l CranioSacral therapy is a very gentle way of working that encourages the body to let go of tension and helps it to normalise body movements. There are many different causes of migraines, so the therapist would work with the whole body.
l Migraine Awareness Week runs until September 7. More information is available from Medicalternative, a medical practice run by three GPs in Hawthornbank Lane, Edinburgh
"For me, it's a pleasure to work with people who are genuinely interested in exploring their own internal world," Miles said. "I'm working with clients who aren't simply dealing with some aspect of their life that disturbs them, but people for whom this process is potentially a life or death decision. Because the nature of what we do here is very real, it's also very inspiring."
Jacqueline Mangold is an acupuncturist who volunteered at Core before starting a paid job there, and points out that therapists working in private practice can feel somewhat isolated. "I travelled down from Oxford once a week for two years to volunteer. It's a valuable chance to talk to other therapists from lots of backgrounds and find out different ways of treating the same person," she said.
"This is also a very special group of clients. It's the kind of opportunity that you don't often get in private practice, to work with individuals over a long period of time."
Can such a heavy dependency on volunteers, qualified or not, really work when trying to treat recovering addicts who rely on the structured, supportive environment Core aims to offer?
It is difficult to compare any one addiction-recovery programme to another, because there are so many different approaches, including the simple medically supervised detox, residential and non-residential programmes of differing lengths, some where lapses are tolerated and others where they are not.
However Core's programme lasts a year, is non-residential and more than one relapse results in clients having to begin again. Of people who start the programme, 60% go on to complete it, and of those who do, 33% are now employed, and 54% have gone on to some form of further education.
Once someone has completed the year, there is a weekly "leavers' group" available for as long as they want to attend and, in the last 18 months, 95% of successful Core "students" have not relapsed.
Mr Wright knows that these results are good, but emphasises that clients who come to Core are very highly motivated. "We accept people who we feel are ready to move on in their lives. Also, those who drop out tend to do so at the very beginning," he said.