Many people think of Chinese Medicine as a "feel good" therapy—providing better sleep, more energy, relief from discomfort and stress—but many may be unaware of how powerful this medicine can be. In my clinical practice I've had to work against a ticking clock a few times, a deadline that a patient's doctor has imposed under the threat of more extreme measures—often surgery—for that patient. Here are three of my success stories which illustrate a small slice of this medicine's potential.
CASE #1: A 25-year-old woman woman came to me, having already had one entire ovary removed because of large and painful cysts. After the surgery she was put on the pill to keep her hormones—and therefore the cysts—in check. But the side effects were bad, so bad that she decided to go off of them after a couple of years. As soon as she did, however, the cysts returned on her one remaining ovary, blowing up to the size of a grapefruit. Her physician recommended that she go back on the pill, which she did; but when the cysts didn't go away, her doc gave me three months to reduce the ovarian cysts or they were going to operate. For this patient, though, surgery wasn't an option as she was young and wanted to get pregnant one day. In Chinese medicine, her cysts were due to cold and phlegm stagnation, and herbal supplementation and weekly acupuncture with moxibustion were prescribed. Moxibustion is a form of heat therapy used in Chinese Medicine to warm areas or acupuncture points with the goal of dispelling this cold stagnation. After 2 months we began to see some changes in the size of the lump in her abdomen, and then the rest happened very quickly. The patient was given a clean bill of health at her 3-month evaluation, and sent on her way with no need to return.
CASE #2: A 45-year-old woman with hard breast lump was about to undergo a biopsy (tissue sample) just to be sure nothing alarming was going on. This was a calcification and didn't appear to be a cancerous tumor, but calcifications can become cancerous if not treated—or at least watched closely—and biopsies are often done to get a baseline. But any kind of surgery can be painful and invasive, and this woman didn't want to go through that unless absolutely necessary. More than that, though, a breast lump is a form of stagnation that requires "breaking" and blood "moving" agents, but surgery by nature is going to create even more stagnation from the scar tissue. Again, a three-month deadline was given. The nice thing about acupuncture is that it automatically increases proper circulation of the blood. Add to that the help of herbal therapy to help dissolve the lump, and she was given an "all clear" after three months.
CASE #3: Some women come to me with a skipped period and a single acupuncture treatment gets them right back on track. But this one was a more difficult case. She was a 30-year-old woman who hadn't had a period in nine months. The typical course of treatment given by a Western doctor is to prescribe oral contraception to regulate the cycle, since amenorrhea is diagnosed after three months of having no period. In Chinese Medicine, however, the pill forces your body to do what it doesn't have the capacity for. And in this patient's case, her blood was weak and therefore had no extra to give during her period, and she wanted to get at the root of the problem. After two months of blood-nourishing herbs, she felt a twinge during ovulation and felt premenstrual, but no bleeding came. But at her third month, she had a full period which became regular thereafter. She was also given dietary recommendations to enrich her blood, and did not need to return for treatment.
FINAL THOUGHTS: For women's health it is often considered standard practice to allow three months (generally three cycles) to see a change in a patient's condition. But depending on the strength of that woman's constitution, her condition may resolve more quickly, but it may also take longer than three months, especially if she's been dealing with it for her whole life. Make an appointment today for a consultation and treatment and find out what's possible for you. The Vital Compass has practitioners seeing patients seven days a week!
John Servilio is one of the newest member at The Vital Compass, and is on the clinical faculty at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. His specialties include painful and chronic, difficult-to-treat conditions due to any number of causes, and ranging from auto accidents to autoimmune conditions.
