| While most people are familiar with acupuncture,
a similar technique, one also based on stimulating nerve pathways,
is gaining popularity these days. Auriculotherapy uses a small electric
current applied to specific points on the outer ear to treat a variety
a variety of ailments and addictions.
Smoking and eating are very complex issues, adds Richard Campana,
a partner in the Leslie-Cam® Stoop Smoking program. "The
hypothalamus of the brain, its 'happy center,' releases dopamine
in response to nicotine. When a smoker stops cold turkey, he goes
into withdrawal as the body depletes itself of nicotine," he
explains.
"The auricular electrical stimulation works as a transfer to
the happy center and simulates dopamine release, making the body
feel like it just had a cigarette," Campana says. He has fine-tuned
some of the trigger points in his treatment, he notes, and by trial-and-error
has come up with a proprietary combination that he maintains increases
effectiveness on smokers.
Campana is passionate about the treatment because he quit smoking
with auriculotherapy 14 years ago. He says he wasn't even trying
to quit; he just wanted to be able to breathe. Now, 200 physician
offices refer patients to Leslie-Cam®, especially those scheduled
for surgery. "One of them is a periodontist who won't do implants
or bone grafts on a smoker because they won't take," Campana
says.
Weight loss with auriculotherapy takes longer. It speeds up the
process of getting the message to the brain that the stomach is full,
but the therapy is complicated by the body having to eat to stay
alive. "Smokers stop smoking. As long as they don't have a cigarette,
they are fine. Dieters still have to eat, so they need more treatments,
generally once a week for eight weeks in conjunction with a healthy
diet and counseling to change their lifestyle," Campana notes.
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