Treatment Advice - Reflex

[Amber Mbing]

I am about to treat a new patient who has, in my opinion, a considerable amount of problems. She has Chronic Fatigue, Eczema, Polycystic Ovaries, Depression (because she cannot work and partner doing long hours and not contributing to income), short term memory, allergies to coffee. I dont know where to start. As she is on limited funds, I would like to treat her like a case study so just charging her a token amount. She has been treated by various complimentary therapists but to no avail and came to me yesterday for Indian Head Massage (which she found very relaxing). During treatment, she almost forgot to scratch her arms. Please advise.

 

[julie(:]

Hi Panicky,

Having first got her permission I would check with her doctor - if you haven't already done so - that Reflexology is not conra-indicated. If the O K is given then I would treat all of her - that is NOT symptomatically - and give her a gentle overall treatment not concentrating on any particular areas and see what develops.

Above all, do not panic.

I feel sure that you can do only good for her.

 

[Cyrus]

my tutor taught me that in life you sometimes meet people whom for some reason need a crutch to lean on, and sometimes that is the security of having an illnes; sounds silly but think about it . Dont feel 100% /tired/unsosiable/ fed up/ problem in a relationship - makes life a bit easier people are more caring /understanding.!! Thats not to say they dont have a problem its just how that problem presents itself...if the real problems are deeper(emotional/mental ect) and are to hard to face.Could this client have had some initial trauma before any illness? gently going into history may uncover an underlying problem that these conditions or in fact they could be Symptoms of another condition of body or mind. Assume with the ovarries she has had Hormone test? and seen gynae? you say depression because of lack of contributing? any children? housework all are a contribution.. sounds very much like a self worth problem, id go with the relaxation/hands on therapy and positive conversations. Are you aromatherapist? blend for confidence, uplifting, energising -what were you thinking off trying?

 

[kathy g]

Paul, can I ask why you advised to check with this client's GP? There is nothing in the history that Panicky told us that would seem like a contraindication to me, and we all know how GP's don't like their time being wasted [&:] IMHO I would go ahead and treat this client, weekly if possible, and look at their whole lifestyle (diet, excercise, stress levels, sleep patterns, etc). ANd don't worry about where to start. We should treat all clients the same and give thorough treatments of every part, therefore not missing anything that may be contributing to her state of health.

Sarah x

 

[Sleepy Jerry]

Hi Panicky,
What an interesting client to treat! I find most of my clients present with more than one ailment. What you may find most interesting is how these "Symptoms" are linked and the root cause. I would treat as normal, weekly if possible. Be prepared for a potential healing crisis as the emotional stuff comes up to the surface, which I suspect it will.... the emotional triggers in this client will possibly be very interesting to monitor.

If I can help as you go along please shout!

Lisa x

 

[hrpyase]

This ladies problems are probably all linked to her PCOS. Hopefully she has had full thyroid tests and for sugar intolerance, both of which seem common with PCOS. Her diet may need radical changes, ie lower carbs, sugar, milk, yeast.

Her Pit thyroid and hormones, pancreas, intestines and liver may benefit from extra attention.

Most of all though I think she will benefit a lot because you obviously are vary caring and your good intent will find the right places.

Jan x

 

[Euroccuff]

I say all her problems are caused by allergies and sensitivities.

We treat a lot of people with this kind of stuff with NAET which is an allergy elimination technique. It could take a long time.

There is a NAET website and a link on our website if you want to find a practitioner near her but there aren't many of us in this country yet.

If reflexology doesn't help then you might like to point her in that direction, hope it helps. PM me if you want more info.

 

[vveoeuvwiguieqepw]

Thanks to all of you for advice given. I forgot to mention but she also has an underactive thyroid and is on thyroxin. She has paid for numerous blood tests to find out about any allergies. When she returned from thailand, her problems started to surface. That was 2 years ago and since then has not been working. She has had a malaria test and nothing showed up, blood tests have proved inconclusive. She has memory lapses and as mentioned before went thru the whole gamut of complimentary therapies but now being on benefits she is unable to spend money. Lives with boyfried but no children. I would love to tell her to see a NAET practitioner as there is one in Twyford, not far from Reading, but again, the funds are not available. I am charging her £5 per week to have a full session, and treat her with reflex on all systems as suggested. In return, what I will ask her is to keep a little diary and that may bring things up to the surface. She is currently on a Candida free diet, although lapses at times. As I have only qualified in Reflex in June this is going to be a BIGGIE.

 

[Wesley Johnsen]

I can't wait to hear how this lady gets on with reflexology!

 

[CptnMorgansBeard]

Hi Sarah,

I thought the doctor's advice would be indicated because there was a distinct possibility that the person would be udergoing treatment/medication for some, if not all, of her conditions - particularly PCOS.

It would seem as if Panicky has already done this.

Keep at it, Panicky, and please let us know how it goes.

 

[dcfljoai]

Dear Paul,

I'm all for being cautious and not leaving oneself open for cases of negligence.

However, when you consider that most GP's are probably going to believe that Reflexology is no more than a foot massage, then they're probably not going to consider the wider implications. Other than if they say yes go for it, then they themselves assume responsibility of referral, so they may just say no to cover themselves and that would be unfortunate.

To Happy Soles, then unless you're qualified in the areas if Psychology or Psychiatry, then I wouldn't even go there and hazard a diagnosis. And certainly not suggest such things to someone with such serious physical problems. In my experience, these people get enough of that sort of thing from GP's. It's called 'patient blaming' - the 'it's all in your head scenario'!

Presumalbly your tutor has not had any serious problem in their life. Well they'll be in for a rude awakening if they do in the future and they get regarded as it being a psycho-social issue, stress, anxiety, psychosomatic and all those other 'dust bin' diagnosis, because they don't have the impetus or understanding to actually diagnose the problem properly.

I agree that there are emotional issues or trauma that can contribute to many conditions, but you'll find a whole lot more that are secondary to the condition.

ME/ CFS is a classic case that are still not believed by main stream medics to be a proper organic disease, so they continue to treat these peolpe for depression. This flies in the face of a Government enquiry and all the research that suggests that the depression is secondary to the condition, as is the case with most, if not all chronic conditions.

If you have a long term condition that impacts on your life and particularly involves pain, then, yes sooner or later it's going to get you down. [X(]

Sorry - Rant over - You stumbled on one of my soap box subjects on that one. [sm=soapbox.gif]

I would support Candie's suggestion of allergies and sensitivities as being a major underlying cause. She has known allergies i.e. coffee, known allergy related condition in ecxema and as for the probable auto-immune stuff.

If you consider that auto-immune diseases are like allergies to ones own tissues, joints, organs, systems etc, then it's worth considering that these too may well be helped with NAET treatment. Instead of using a sample vial of, say a food or environmental allergen to desensitise the person, you can use a sample vial of the tissue (hormone or whatever) in question. i.e. kidney, pancreas, adrenal gland, pancreas, thyroid, etc.

You'll, no doubt pick up from your reflexology work on them that there's a lot going on in many areas and not just the obvious organs and zones. And you may well get some good improvement, but if this plateaux's and then you may want to consider referring them elsewhere.

Andrew.

 

[Cherryblossum]

Panicky, it is tricky because of the limited funds and you are doing her a huge favour by treating her for virtually nothing and I am sure it will help her. But I think Andrew's point about referring her to somebody else is a good one and I was going to mention it myself.

Part of being a good therapist is the ability to refer to other practitioners when need be and it is likely that you may well need to do this. Limited funds or not, if somebody needs to get themselves sorted then they have to find the money really.

Have to echo the comments also about people using their illness as a crutch that Happy Soles made. Bear in mind that most of these people who arrive at our door have already had years of this kind of useless advice and that is why they have sought an alternative solution.

Yes there are those who are like this, but I have only met one or two and the rest are genuinely fed up with not 'feeling themselves' and they are desperate and have no idea about what is wrong with them.

If the client didn't have the conditions that have been mentioned, ie polycystic ovaries (which can't be self-induced) then it might be different, but this lady clearly has more than her fair share of ill health and no doubt she would love to be able to get it sorted.

 

[LALA13]

I think it is courteous to write to a person's doctor, if that person IS currently receiving treatment form the doctor, because the doctor IS legally responsible for the health of all their patients.

It's NOT just a caution thing.

 

[jaden]

When this girl visits her docs for PCOS and menstrual problems (periods have stopped or very scant), I will request that she takes my GP letter to docs and get approval, just in case. She is coming to see me week after next for 1st session of reflex. She first came to see me for IHM so did a short form consultation form. This time round it will be lengthy consultation which hopefully will determine further info. I think for the first time, the approach will be very gentle, almost soft-touch reflex to help her and will cover all reflex areas with gentle stimulation. I will also ask her to keep a progress report and I will do the same. I can see this is going to be a long term issue so if its OK with all of you who so kindly has given advice, I will be keeping you informed and asking for further advice. If this is too big for me, I will refer her to a local kinesiologist. After all this girl has tried acupuncture, reflexology, aromatherapy, loads of blood tests so one more therapy will not hurt.

 

[Terra G]

I'm surprised acupuncture didn't help, that's a shame. Do you know about 5-element acupuncture? I think that would possibly help her, I have had it, it is fantastic.

Paul, have to agree with the others on this one. I wouldn't even think to write to doctor. I thought you only had to do this if the client had contraindications? Do you get replies from the docs when you do this?

Panicky, don't think for a minute I am saying that reflexology won't help her, I am sure it will. Good luck and yes, do keep us informed, I would love to get your progress on this one.

 

[audilky]

HI Candie,

Yes we do get replies form all of the doctors we have written to, but we do send them a form which only needs ticking in the appropriate spaces together with their signature with a stamped and addressed return envelope.

We have had all returned so far. One doctor always says that their patient has the Reflexology at their own risk because they know nothing about it, but all of the others have given their permission without reservations.

The only time we have had a refusal was when one client wanted Reflexology and Aromatherapy (NOT at the same time) and, because they were on blood-thinning medication, the doctor refused consent for the Aromatherapy because of possible conflict between the action of the oils and the client's medication, but did approve the Reflexology.

Our clients seem to appreciate this method because they have never refused consent for us to contact their doctor, when we feel it necessary - (because we don't always write to our client's doctors), and it shows that we are caring and have their welfare at heart.

 

[qseiluqfixbinveww]

Fair do's Mate and I suppose it helps to keep you up their in the doc's eyes which is always helpful.

 

[WILLIAM B]

Hi,
the post im putting is not to question you or your treatement or inded your clients problems it is purely as a prompt -questions I would ask,hopefully as with all post you may be able to take something from it or back up your own already asked questions. I thought I would make this clear as my last post was taken out of the context it was meant.

How long has she been taking the Thyroxin? Has it changed her weight or energy levels and how often is it monitored? -is there a link between these dates and the other problems presenting themselves? Pocs- and emotional /hormonal symptoms? how is this clients moral is she looking ahead or just day to day? depression tends to spiral, my brother is CD, could the low mood be helped with Aromatherapy ? what products are being used on the skin condition- you she nearly forgot to scratch, did you give her remains of product used to continue at home... Good luck with her im sure you will be successful as you are asking for as opinions and advice as possible, consider every avenue, keep clear and precise notes each session and go back and compare with her, as she improves just slightly show her, it will boost her positivity.- keep us posted .Be confident and follow your own judgement after all we are just a notice board and you are the therapist._Happy Soles'

 

[Frost Gothic]

http://www.pcosupport.org/

 

[cfvgsczg]

erks, settle down, happy soles.

i think the point being made, regardless of what your tutor may or may not have said, is that, whilst, yes, we all hold professional qualifications in our field, it is not a good thing to cross the boundaries of what we are qualified in.

your tutor may well have held a counselling qualification and passed on little pearls of wisdom to you, as mine did in fact, but you should only use that for your own information.

all clients talk and certainly our therapies are designed to unlock emotional upset... afterall, doesnt most if not all physical symptoms come from emotional causes? but always be cautious when listening to avoid advice giving over and above.