Patient Stories

I remember my ulcerative colitis symptoms probably starting about 10 years ago. They were mild until about 5 years ago, when stress from taking a promotion at work, having a second child, and my older daughter's health problems was more than I had ever had before. I had a flare up that eventually led to being diagnosed. About two years ago I had a flare that lasted two months, and several smaller ones after that. My worst one yet started early last year. Fasting and medication wasn’t helping and I had lost 11 lbs by May when my wife finally convinced me to go and try acupuncture with Jesse Peterson, LAC.

At my first appointment, I heard about diet strategies like protein rotation, and I was willing to experiment as what I was currently trying wasn’t working. I did a very limited rotation diet and went to acupuncture regularly. I noticed my symptoms improving and I started adding in more foods. Treatments also included stress management, as that was identified as part of the cause. Finally on July 4th I declared independence from colitis and had my first salad since mid February.

I've since settled in to a nice new rhythm with a different and healthier set of foods than I was having before and am happy with it. My sugar cravings are gone and my weight is stable. Included in maintaining the state of health I've been enjoying for the past 8-9 months has been the focus on de-stressing - making sure that I have consistent time during waking hours where I am not expecting myself to be solving some problem.

My GI doc had concerns that there was disease progression. Upon examination, they found "very mild, patchy inflammation surrounded by normal mucosa", which corresponds to a Mayo Score of 0-1. Most importantly, there has been no disease progression past the rectosigmoid junction. Thus it appears that the current regimen centered on stress and diet management, with some help from maintenance meds (mesalamine, generic) is enough to keep my condition stable and quality of life high.

After 20+ years of chronic back, neck and ankle pain I started seeing Jesse at Eastern Health for acupuncture early last year. My appointments with Jesse were twice a week and after the first two weeks, or 4 visits, it was amazing how great I felt and the considerable amount of relief I experienced. My pain levels were cut in half.

By focusing on diet and gut health I have lost over 40 pounds which has improved my overall health. I was prediabetic with an A1C of 6.3 and later that year my A1C was in normal range at 5.1. My cholesterol is significantly better with my LDL improving from 169 to 70, and my triglycerides improving from 105 to 69. Acupuncture has changed my life.

Honestly seeing you for acupuncture saved my life. And I will 100% vouch for that whenever, wherever. I sought out acupuncture as a final straw because of how bad my anxiety and panic attacks had become. My aunt swore by you and I’m glad I took her advice. The needling itself obviously is a giant part of treatment, but you definitely need to apply the other exercises you teach in order for everything to work even better.

Once I started adding in the nutrition and mental part of what you taught me is when things started looking up most definitely and I am still able to apply these things daily in order to continue improving my anxiety and mental health, as opposed to just getting temporary relief from needling.

I’d say the counseling and nutrition aspects of treatment was about 60-70% of the process. Like, it was most definitely needed. Needling being 30% - 40% if I have to list percentages.

I was diagnosed with AS by my rheumatologist. I had a severe episode of inflammation in my lower back which left me unable to walk or work. I received an injection in my back and was set up to start receiving a biologic.

The idea of taking a biologic really scared me and so I decided to try acupuncture. I started seeing Jesse Peterson and he did a thorough evaluation, explaining mind and body. I was advised to look at my eating habits and my emotional health. Through acupuncture, diet and using journaling I was able to identify when my flare ups were happening and able to adjust my diet and other behaviors.

After adjusting my diet accordingly, I was able to focus on my mental health too. Watching my stress levels by identifying emotional triggers has allowed me to reverse my pain. Instead of asking my rheumatologist for injections, Jesse has taught me alternative ways to stop my inflammation. I have not had an injection since starting acupuncture and have also never needed the biologic.

I have NSAIDs in my cupboard and have only needed to take them twice in the last year. I do yoga weekly and take magnesium to control my muscle spasms. This month was the first month since my diagnosis that I have not missed work because of my AS. I plan to continue acupuncture as needed but I feel prepared to handle this autoimmune disorder on my own too and only will need periodic acupuncture in the future.

In the last year, pain remains under control, and I only even needed to take an NSAID once.