Andy Rosenfarb Interview

We are excited to host Dr. Andy Rosenfarb‘s seminar about “Chinese Medical Ophthalmology“ in Amsterdam from October 6th-7th 2018. For this occasion we took the time to ask him a few questions about his method of acupuncture called MicroAcupuncture 48.

Q: First of all we are really excited to host your seminar in October this year in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, very few practitioners (in Europe) actually know how powerful acupuncture is in treating degenerative eye disorders. You are running one of the largest acupuncture clinics in the US focused on Ophthalmology. Can you maybe tell us a little bit how you got into this field?

AF: My interest in studying degenerative eye conditions and helping people with them began in 1994 when I was an acupuncture student at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego, California. As a result of the intense reading, writing, and studying, my eyesight was noticeably deteriorating.

I began a series of self-treatment using acupuncture, followed by a routine screening by my optometrist. The eye exam revealed that the astigmatism in both of my eyes had been corrected. The optometrist was astounded and questioned me about what I had been doing. I explained that because my eyes had been feeling tired and blurry and I had been getting regular headaches from studying, I had begun using acupuncture to try to improve these symptoms, and the health of my eyes had noticeably improved as a result.

As I started my professional practice of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, I took on a few patients with cases of degenerative eye conditions, including glaucoma, cataracts, optic nerve atrophy, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, Usher syndrome, Stargardt macular dystrophy, optic ischemia, and macular degeneration. Some cases were mild, and some were severe (legally blind). I became rather disappointed that the conditions of most patients were not improving with our treatment; although a few patients showed some minor improvement, nothing I did led to significant improvement.

Frustrated, I sought the aid of colleagues who had reported success with treating eye conditions. For the most part, everyone seemed to have the same classic acupuncture point combinations, herbs, supplements, and eye exercises, all of which I found to have minimal effect.

One day while reading a health magazine, I found a report about an acupuncturist in Arkansas who was claiming excellent results in treating people with various degenerative eye diseases. Of course I called to find out his method. Finally, after three years of relentless pursuit, he allowed me to train with him.

I traveled to Per’s clinic and was amazed at the success rate and the overwhelmingly positive responses given by all patients I spoke with. Wow, I thought, this is incredible! This form of acupuncture [Micro Acupuncture 48 (MA)] is really helping a lot of people regain their lost vision. After learning the method, I went back to my practice in New Jersey and started working on myself, friends, family, current patients, and more. The results were nothing short of amazing!

A few years into clinical practice, I took a sabbatical to Mainland China, where I did postgraduate work at Zhejiang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in a city called Hangzhou. There, I trained and worked alongside Chinese doctors who had been trained in both Chinese and Western medicine, in various specialties. I had the opportunity to learn a few effective methods for treating eye conditions, from masters in the “heartland.”

Once back in the United States, using MA and other methods that I had learned in China, such as ophthalmic electro-acupuncture, I had a great deal of success treating complicated and untreatable eye conditions. The success of the treatments varied from patient to patient, depending on health history, compliance, and individual variations, but the only patients who seemed not to respond well were those with severe head and eye traumas, extremely advanced cases, etc.

The more people we educate, the more we can help. There are no other known safe and natural methods to offer people with degenerative vision loss conditions. Through the information and applications introduced in this training, safe and natural healing of vision can be achieved, without drugs or surgical procedures.

Q: You are practicing Micro Acupuncture 48. People have been asking what the difference is between that and the eye acupuncture that you practice. Can you maybe elaborate a bit. I use MA48 every day in clinic with most of my eye patients. I average 40-6- patients treatments per day, 5 days per week. The foundational classes I teach on TCM Ophthalmology that are also covered in deal in my book Healing Your Eyes with Chinese Medicine,” and “Ophthalmology in Chinese Medicine.”

AF: Micro Acupuncture 48 is a modern, hybrid acupuncture system that I developed. I was shown the map of points and a “one-size-fits-all” protocol by Per Otte, created by Freddy Dahlgren in the 1980s. Since, 2002, I have been researching, developing and advancing the MA48 system for broader clinical use and specificity for individual eye conditions, rather than just the one protocol.

MA48 is rapidly becoming the Gold Standard for Ophthalmic Acupuncture and we will give an overview of this system in our training this fall in Amsterdam. I have found that combining TCM with MA48 seems to get the best clinical outcomes.

One great thing about the MA48 system is that it integrates very well with any other acupuncture system and can also be used exclusively. My book on MA48 called, “The Black Book of Micro Acupuncture 48: Unleashing the Power”, is available on Amazon.com. We also have training and certification classes for those who want a deep dive training into this amazing new acupuncture system.

Q: Degenerative eye disorders are on the rise. Which eye disorders do you find you can treat particularly well with your method of acupuncture?

AF: More and more people are seeking acupuncture for these kind of eye conditions.

This is a new industry inside of our profession that I have been relentlessly committed to creating. When I graduated in 1997 from acupuncture school no one was treating eyes and there was no TCM books on how to treat eye conditions. I had 3 sides (1.5 pages) of notes for treatment of ALL eye conditions – which just says how little information there was on this at the time.

I specialize in degenerative vision loss, acute and chronic conditions. Some of the more common conditions that responds extremely well include:

• Macular Degeneration (wet and dry)
• Cataracts
• Retinitis Pigmentosa
• Glaucoma
• Diabetic Retinopathy
• Eye Stroke
• Detached Retinas
• Optic Nerve Atrophy
• Optic Neuritis
• Retinal Edema

Q: What does a typical eye acupuncture treatment look like? How many needles do you use and how long do you leave them in?

AF: It really depends, I will use anywhere from 8 -20 needles on average and most are left in for 20-40 minutes with an average of 30 minutes.

Q: We are really excited about the bonus lecture about building up a niche practice. As a little preview, in just one sentence: what does it take to be a successful acupuncturist?

AF: First, and foremost it takes a strong Desire. People have to want to succeed and believe that they can.

Second is that people need to tell the truth about where they are currently and what is not working that needs improvement. Third, people need to know what they want.

Success means different things for different people and we need to rise from the Competitive strategies to Creative. It’s best to learn from those who are successful and follow strategies that are proven (not theoretical). At the same time we need to tailor those methods to create our own personal desired outcomes, not copy someone else’s.

We have to know what we want and acquire the mindsets and skillsets that will get us there.

Lastly, we need ruthless commitment to achieve that desired outcome.

This special bonus training will help people to see where they are, where they want to go – and how to get there!