Why the long face? Another case complicted by conventional medicine....

Miss V: a 62 year old, very British woman complains of frequent trips to the loo.

Complicated cases are very common in Traditional Chinese Medicine (T.C.M.) practice.



And this for sure is one of them.


Miss V. went through years of heavy duty pharmaceuticals, surgeries, and cancer treatments.

Wearing her faith down in a system with way too many hiccups.

She remembers being told about how amazing acupuncture was and regrets not trying it before having two splints put in her heart years ago.

Miss V. seems sad about not talking to her children anymore, having wed three times and being alone but happily she enjoys her puppy English Setter and 3 cats.

What struck me was her grace. She seemed very proper and posh. Yet, I then started to feel this cold and finicky aire about her. She even made me feel a bit nervous too.

Maybe she's just English I thought.

But then she started to explain she was on serious medications for her heart condition.

Ahhh, of course.

The spirit (shen) resides in the heart and when it is disturbed or diseased it makes one feel nervous, anxious, and fidgety.

No wonder she was unsettling.

Her chief complaint is that she suffers embarassing, urgent and frequent episodes of rushing to the nearest goddamn bathroom.

This is one thing her western doctor said they could do nothing for.

So, now, she is giving T.C.M. a try finally!

I'm excited to tell Miss V. that T.C.M. is highly effective in treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

And plan once the I.B.S is under control, we can slowly change her heart medications like aspirin to a herbal alternative.

I assure her of using only evidence based herbal medicine. Commonly used in hospitals in China where they have practiced conventional western and traditional Chinese medicine along side each other for many, many, years.

She thinks the heart medications, statins and beta blockers might be a good reason why she is suffering so much from her I.B.S. in particular.

She knows without a doubt, her thirteen years of hormone replacement therapy caused her breast cancer.

Miss V. also complains of occasional acid reflux, migraines, rheumatoid arthritis with slight deformation and nodules in her hands.

She says she really hates her feet cramping and feeling cold sometimes even all the way up her inner thighs.

She recently twisted both her ankles adding injury upon insult.

When examining her, I was shocked to see her small belly with two big angry looking, 5 inch long scars, reminding her to say to me 'oh yes!', 'I've also undergone surgery to remove my gallbladder.' How on earth this women had all these scars puzzled me.

'Whew', I thought...that's one radical hysterectomy, breast cancer surgery, throw in a couple of god knows what nips and tucks here and there and viola...a royal mess.

The Queen's National Health Service at hand.

After the interview, I ask Miss V. if she is nervous about acupuncture for the first time.

She said she didn't sleep hardly at all last night because she was a bit nervous about the acupuncture.

Yet she didn't wince or squirm once when I inserted the needles.

Am I getting good Or is Miss V. made of steel?

DIAGNOSIS

Tongue:

Overall shape: long and pointed: typical of heart disharmony patterns

Texture: Cracks in the center: Stomach heat and dryness
(from her medications like aspirin I suspect)

Tongue coating: Dry white thick moss covering whole tongue except center stomach area.

Pulse: Wiry





TREATMENT

1. A few laughs: about men and children.

2. Acupressure massage: to relax her, on the forehead, temples, ears, and scalp.

3. Acupuncture:

Due to her chief complaint: Diarrhea
Acupuncture points used: St25, sp6, sp9, st36 and lv3

other complaint: spirit (shen)
Yin tang, du 23, du 20, and ear points shen men (spirit's gate)

Miss V. didn't really complain about her spirit especially, though, I heard her screaming with spirit disharmony.

She said she was severely depressed on a certain form of beta blockers her western doctor did later change and now feels very happy.

"Manic-Happy?" I asked her.

Which she said was quite possible but added it was much preferrable to being totally depressed.

After 25 minutes of acupuncture, Miss V. looked quite peaceful.

Unfortunately, I did notice her belly was hot lobster red from the infared lamp. Yikes!

She said she was fine, thankfully. No adjustment knobs on a TDP lamp! A world's best invention prize winning heat lamp could of added adjustment knobs, don't ya think?

Anyways, I helped her up from the table gently and she glowed.

She seemed very calm even after paying me.

Miss V. unusually British ended her first treatment with a spanish goodbye, a kiss on each cheek.

Aww.....so very sweet.