Acupuncture has been used to treat illnesses in China for thousands of years. Now an Ottawa acupuncturist says he is having success treating a leading cause of blindness.
Linda Shannon was diagnosed with wet Macular Degeneration in 2006. It is an eye disease that can lead to blindness and affects roughly 1-million Canadians.
She says her doctor told her there was nothing to stop it and she would be blind within 5 years. She turned to the Sino Acupuncture Clinic on Bayview Road in Ottawa, and acupuncturist Zhaoqi Guo. Within 5 treatments she noticed an improvement.
Guo thought those results were too slow - so he suggested she try a vegetarian diet along with acupuncture.
Linda says, “I didn't want to change my diet but the eye specialist gave up on me and he in 5 days reversed it, which is supposed to be impossible. I’m going to give him every chance.”
Guo learned acupuncture from his father. In 1987 he came to Canada as a vising professor in the Faculty of Medicine at U-Ottawa. He opened his acupuncture clinic 3 years later, where he says, he treats some cancers, thyroid conditions, high cholesterol, asthma, migraines and much more.
Guo says, “When they come here I give them an assessment. If I am sure (I can help them) I tell them I guarantee it. If I'm not sure, I'll say, I'll try. So you decide yourself.”
Guo says he has treated dozens of people with Macular Degeneration with varying degrees of success.
"I'm supposed to be blind now.” Says Linda, “The only time in 5 years that I've even had to come back for a treatment is if I ate what he told me not to eat.”
Linda says not everyone believes her story, but she says she sees the proof. “He cured me and other people couldn't. Other people weren't even going to try.”
These claims have not been medically proven. A spokesperson for the Eye Institute at the Ottawa Hospital says there is no evidence that they are aware of that supports the use of acupuncture for Macular Degeneration. Talk to your doctor before using alternative therapies.
See the full story on CTV News tonight at 6pm.
