LYME Voice

Hello, my name is Mackay Rippey. I started my acupuncture training in 1989 at the Traditional Acupuncture Institute and graduated with a master’s degree in acupuncture in 1992.

As a 5-element acupuncturist I am carefully trained to understand the laws of nature, to diagnose in accordance with those laws and to work therapeutically to restore balance and harmony. 

By restoring internal harmony of body, mind and spirit, your body is able to cure the deep cause of the disease and not just silence the symptoms. 

If you have any questions, e-mail me at [email protected].

5-element acupuncture: my patients swear by it, and at it.
Let’s get the bad news out of the way up front. Acupuncture is not painless. Every so often, my patients will even use some colorful language. More surprising, however, is they will tell me to try again when they don’t feel a good jolt of qi (qi is the Chinese term for energy). My patients know that the one acupuncture point, needled at precisely the right spot, will have better results than a dozen carelessly placed needles.

Now that you know the “bad news” go ahead and make yourself a cup of green tea, relax, and have a look around my website. You'll find a lot of good information about acupuncture. After you look around, schedule a consultation and come see what 5-element acupuncture can do for you.

Meet the Acupuncturist
Hello, my name is Mackay Rippey. I started my acupuncture training in 1989 at the Traditional Acupuncture Institute and graduated with a master’s degree in acupuncture in 1992.

As a 5-element acupuncturist I am carefully trained to understand the laws of nature, to diagnose in accordance with those laws and to work therapeutically to restore balance and harmony. 

By restoring internal harmony of body, mind and spirit, your body is able to cure the deep cause of the disease and not just silence the symptoms. 

If you have any questions, e-mail me at [email protected].

Be well, 

Parenting and managing a household are often challenging for healthy parents. Join us as we talk with the Gamache household about trying to keep up with life within the “vortex of loss and grief” that often accompanies chronic Lyme. Lyme is referred to as the great imitator. It mimics the symptoms of over 250 diseases. Often, prolonging the diagnosis phase for years. The fatigue and pain many people suffer from makes simple household tasks almost impossible to keep up with. But life insists on moving forward even if our bodies don’t. Their are nuggets of wisdom throughout this conversation that may provide you with one piece to your health puzzle.

As I watched the man at the ER writhe in pain, I was deeply envious. His pain had an identity. The nurse was informing him how to prep him  surgery and they were flooding his system with pain meds that would make the next few hours fly by. Tomorrow it would be all over for him and he would be back at work in a few days. I was not so lucky. Even though my pain was just as extreme and preventing me from basic tasks. I would receive no meds, no hope, no plan. They were dismissing me once again. They tell you that once again they can't find anything on your blood work, they suggest that you reduce your stress levels, and wait to see a specialist. This scene played out several times a year. It was heart breaking, you no longer have a life, you exist from one appointment to the next. 

The problem is that people who are living with chronic pain think that they are patients. They are not. A patient has something wrong that is being treated, attacked, fixed or repaired. A plan exists to restore that patient to a person, and allow them to move on with life. 

If, you are continually using the ER to treat your chronic symptoms, it is time to start taking a broader approach. Instead of viewing yourself as a patient, try viewing yourself as a coach. You are the coach and the professionals you entrust your body too are your players. As the coach you need to assess the skills and strengths of each professional, and utilize those strengths for the overall good of the team, a.k.a your health.

It is up to you to organize the team. It is often costly both in time and resources, but someone must be in charge. Many insurance companies have nurses and medical social workers who can come alongside you to help you create a coaching strategy based on the effort and resources you are willing to commit. You have to fight for your health. Without it, much of life will be off limits to you...

Aaron & Sarah Sanchez share their Lyme journey!