Holistic Health and hEDS
resources & thought-provoking ideas for flexible folk
Category: Uncategorized
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Acupuncture and hEDS: Getting To The Point
What’s more important, the journey or the destination? This is a bit of a clichéd question and most of us know the answer to it. In theory, the best part is the journey, or the process of learning and growing and experiencing. The destination, of lesser importance, is the goal or outcome. But if…
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Astragalus for Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and MCAS (Or… What is Huang Qi?)
Astragalus… you may have heard of it. If you have EDS and/or MCAS and are familiar with the supplement options popular within the community, you probably have tried it too. Astragalus grows in China, Mongolia, and North Korea and is a beloved herb in Asian tradition. Its Chinese name is huángqi (alternate spelling: huáng…
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Self-Care For Folks With Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (Yes, You Do Deserve It)
Self-care when you live with a complex disorder like EDS (especially if you have the usual add-ons like MCAS or POTS) is crucial…but what, for a person with chronic illness or pain, does this term actually mean? And how can a person create a meaningful program if they already dedicate considerable energy to making…
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Red Light Therapy and Vibration Plates: Are They Good or Bad for Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and/or MCAS?
Have you ever considered trying red light therapy (RLT) or were you wondering about whether or not a vibration plate might be beneficial? These are two popular tools used for mood support, skincare, wound healing, and pain reduction (RLT) and for lymphatic drainage, bone density support, and muscle stimulation (the plate). You can go…
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“Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Tui Na, and You” Revisited (Some Thoughts on the OG Blog Post)
It seems unbelievable when I look at it, but the first blog post I wrote about tui na and EDS went live in September of 2017. At the time, I was already a certified practitioner. I had started treating patients in a shared office space and was in the process of completing my second…
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How Chinese Medicine Treats hEDS (Where to Begin)
Acupuncture and other modalities of Chinese medicine can be an excellent resource for people with complex disorders, EDS and the common comorbidities included. But do you know how to get the most out of your treatment when you’re complicated? What happens when you are experiencing pain AND mast cells flares AND gastroparesis AND insomnia…
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Diagnosing EDS? (The Why & How of Complex Conditions)
***** Diagnosis. It should–at least in theory–be useful for treatment planning. Having an identified condition should also mean that the prognosis is reasonably clear, at least in theory. Not so fast. Anyone with EDS or MCAS or POTS (or MALS … or … or…) knows that diagnosis is rarely linear and you…
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Acupuncture & EDS: How to Find a Practitioner of Chinese Medicine When You’re a Zebra
~~~~~ My first blog post about finding an acupuncturist was in 2019, so it’s been a while. Besides, the original essay (linked here below) was for normies and I think we can all agree that there needs to be a version of this essay for people with complex conditions. Whether it’s EDS, MCAS, POTS,…
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Traveling With Hope: An Interview With Nicola of Earth Balance Tai Chi
***** Have you ever tried tai chi or qigong? So many of us get asked if we’ve tried yoga (to the point where some of us want to scream when we hear that word) but it seems to me that Chinese practices are not as common as they could be in the chronic illness community.…
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Lipedema: What It Is, What You Can Do About It
Do you have lumps and bumps or symmetrical pockets of fat on your legs? What about your arms, hips, abdomen, or buttocks? If so, you might have lipedema, a chronic condition that has no cure and that can, instead, progress and even lead to lymphedema, a similar (but not the same) disorder. Though there…
Holistic Health and hEDS 