Know the Facts about Alcohol and Prostate

Larry is a 42-year-old businessman with two healthy children and a very stable and lucrative job in a finance company. When he was studying in Harvard Business School in Boston, he attended many drinking parties to connect with alumni so that he could find a job right after he graduated. The business school parties always included alcohol. He was fortunate not to have any problems until he reached 35 years old. At that time, he started having pressure and a burning sensation in his lower abdominal area. Even sitting could aggravate his discomfort. His lower back also started bothering him. His finance job involved working in front of a computer, which made his symptoms even worse. He understood that he could not enjoy his luxurious if he had poor health, so he went to Boston Medical Center to get his bladder, kidney and prostate checked. Surprisingly, his prostate was not enlarged, and his PSA was within the normal range. His urologist at Boston Medical Center gave him a medication to reduce the pressure and burning sensation in his lower abdominal area, and his condition was quickly improved. He then continued with his wine and beer intake 7 days a week to reduce his stress after his work.

After a year, this magic pill did not work anymore. Larry’s pressure sensation came back, along with frequent nigh time urination, even though his PSA remained within the normal range. Without sufficient sleep, he also started to experience foot and shoulder pain. Interestingly, his foot pain was located around the Kid2 area, which is supposed to be related to urination and sexual function. He changed urologists to one in Needham and was told that he could try another medication. Although he faithfully started the new medication, it did not have any effect. Every day when he went to work, he hated to sit in front of his computer, and his attention span was not as long as before; also, his memory started changing. His boss noticed that his performance was not as efficient as before in his small financial company in Boston. He was afraid to lose his job and decided to find a holistic practitioner in Needham, where his big house and beautiful yard are located. He could not afford to lose his job.

Larry’s Boston Chinese acupuncturist examined his tone and pulse. She analyzed his condition and suggested that he may have developed inflammation in his prostate even though his prostate was not enlarged. Such inflammation will sensitize the pelvic nerves and cause the pressure and burning sensation that he was experiencing. She recommended acupuncture twice a week for 12 weeks, then once a week for another 12 weeks. She also recommended that he cut down his alcohol consumption to twice or once a week. In this way, he could still enjoy his alcohol without sacrificing his health. Changing habits is very stressful, but suffering pressure and burning sensations is more stressful. In order to relax after his work, Larry started to substitute herbal tea for alcohol. Usually he arrived home around 6 PM, had dinner and started drinking dandelion herbal tea. He also arranged to have twice-a-week acupuncture treatment for 6 weeks. His pressure sensation went away after 8 treatments. Surprisingly, he felt very happy after each treatment even though he had stopped drinking alcohol. However, he noticed that he still had to wake up to go to the bathroom around 3 to 4AM. His acupuncturist in Needham recommended that he move his herbal tea consumption to right after work, at least 30 min before his dinner. Then he could enjoy his delicious dinner with his wife and children. The herbal tea helped clear up the inflammation and reduces his daily stress. Now he can sleep through the night and has better memory and more motivation.

During the treatment for his prostate inflammation, Larry’s acupuncturist also inserted needles into his Kid2 and his shoulder area. By strengthening his kidney point, his foot pain went away, and his shoulder pain does not bother him anymore. He started playing golf with his business partner. By the time he finished 24 acupuncture treatments, he got promoted in his company in Boston because every day he went to work with a big smile on his face, and his work efficiency increased, along with good relationships with his colleagues.