March 2009 Archives

Stress could be good or bad.

Good example:

When fishers send living fishes from England to U.S.A. by boat, they found many fishes dead. Fishers who want to solve problems put another kind of fishes who can catch and eat them up into fish tanks. Fishers noticed that when this threatening fish shows up next to them, all other fishes try to run away from the threatening fish. When fish tanks arrived to the destination, most fishes were alive and fresh and strong.
Setting up a goal to exercise 40 minutes a day to loose weight is a good example.
Bad example 1: One daughter has an ailing parent. She has to take care of her father. She also works hard to support family. All these make her very tired and give her lots of stress. She could not be angry to her father as her father has been good to her always.

This daughter is offered for a promotion. This job requires long hours of working with lots of travels. The pay is also excellent. However she turns down the offer, as she can't leave her father alone.

She wants to have a good time with children or friends. She also wants to attend a party with co-workers once in a while. However she couldn't do that.
Now her symptom changes to depression.

Bad example 2: One female visited the clinic. She told she had a cancer surgery on stomach. After the surgery she did not have any more bad symptoms for first 3 months. She started to have a same symptom 3 months later. During treatments I explained about emotions. When mentioned thinking too much could damage stomach, she answered "yes, I am thinking and worrying very much about child's study." This example shows that the real cause is thinking too much and the manifestation is as stomach cancer.



How to cope bad stress and anxiety

1.                    All organs are related with stress. Good acupuncturists could find the related organ and make them do strong functions. For example anger depression is related by Liver according to traditional Chinese medicine. Thinking too much (spleen), looking for excitement (heart), sadness (lung), and fear (kidney) will cause stress, too. All these emotions will cause stress and have related organs like Liver mentioned.

2.                    All these emotions act together making original symptoms complicated. For instances, thinking too much tends to move to worry. This worry or anxiety such as I have to, but I can't, will change to fear. Fear will change to anger. Anger will change to seek some joy. Here is one example. I need money to pay the next month rent. How can I get money what I need for next month? If I can't bring up the money on time, a landlord will start to evict me. (thinking too much and worry) Then what am I going to do? Going to a shelter for homeless? (fear) But I can't go to shelter. What am I supposed to do? I have to prepare money, but I can't do. This fact makes me angry myself. All these cycles could make worse the situation and complicated to diagnose to practitioners. Birthdates could be important factors in many cases. We also can analogize conception time from the birth date. Some are born and inherited with weak function from the birth.

3.                    Acupuncture and herbs might be a big help for this kind situation. We will try to find which organ could be related with and adjust it accordingly, making a huge difference. When organ's function is adjusted, patient can encounter any kind of stress a lot easier.

4.                    Release anger regularly, but this anger should be short and must not continue to next day according to Bible.
Ephesians 4:26 : "Be angry, and do not sin" do not let the sun go down on your wrath.
One way to do this is to go to park and shout it out in the air.

5.                    It might be a good idea to discuss with psychologist or someone who really understands the issue and problem. Talking to a pastor or priest might be good, too.  .

Please visit the following website and find what acupuncture can do for you.

http://www.acupunctureforpains.com/


Chan Hur at Answers with Acupuncture in Forest Hills, NY spoke about treating stress with acupuncture on his website. He says that acupuncture can remove stress by removing blockages.

Gainning weight at low weight help!

hi everyone, sorry for the confusing maybe long post, but i really have a question, and i question this because it seems so weird and against medical science etc... and i was wondering if anyone can offer me their opinion.
For the last 2 years, i have been severely underweight, i'm about 90lbs and i'm 5 ft 6 due to a chronic digestive disease problem that I'm currently battling. I've been eating as much as i can for the last 2 years and NOT excersizing and pretty much have stayed at this weight.
However, recently, because i have gotten more ill, i have been eating WAY LESS, if not that much at all anymore, PLUS I have been walking more, about 40 mins extra a day (for other health issues) and I have been moving a lot more and I actually have been gainning weight. I'm 95 now and this all started about 3 weeks ago when i started to walk and gotten more sick and eat very less. Gaining weight is awesome for me, but I Just don't get how? can anyone offer me suggestions as to why this may be happening? i'm eating less, walking more and gaining weight?

anyhow, just baffles me so please if anyone can shed some light, i would appreciate it.
and no, no thyroid problems or anything like that..
thank you!

Your case is not common in western medical field, but is common in acupuncture field. Your chronicle digestion problem might be from spleen deficiency which is less appetite or no appetite, loose stool (originally, sometimes change to constipation) and cold limbs. Sense of taste is flat or sticky. Lips may be pale and dry. When this condition lasts without good treatments, lung function will be weakened, causing short of breath, easy to catch cold, phlegm in the throat and possible pneumonia. 

This concept of spleen is difficult for most readers to understand. Stomach is to receive food and bring downward. Spleen's role is to separate the usable from unusable part of food and direct Food-Qi upwards to the lungs to combine with air to form gathering Qi and to heart to form blood. This upward function is not discussed and known in the western medical field. If you have a tendency to think much, your spleen function would be damaged more.

You don't have enough energy to exercise at this moment. You try exercise and hope you recover your symptom. In the long run, it is good to exercise, however in the short run it could damage your system without enough energy. Spleen function is easily damaged by dampness. You are allowed only moderate exercise, not making you tired. Someone who lives in damp basement usually suffer with this symptom, of course inheritance is also one of main causes. The reason you gain might be that this dampness begins to accumulate in your body.

I had a patient who was 65 years old, 70 lbs, 5' 6''. His condition was a lot worse than yours. He was hospitalized 4 times a year. All hospital could do was to give oxygen to him. After 2 and half months treatment with me, he gained to 90 lbs and started to work as a part time. He wanted a full time, but only pare time was available at time. He looked 10 years younger after the treatment. Please seek the alternate solution.

I thank you for taking the time out to write that, but I don't truly understand-in your opinion= on what could be gaining weight? spleen? body temperature? I do have energy and I've been walking a lot and eating less, actually getting sick a lot as well, meaning not being able to hold food down. So all these things into account, I should be completely losing but its doing the opposite. Would you mind breaking down what you said and I guess make it simpler? Call me stupid, but I thank you and hope you read this and reply!

One of main function of spleen is transformation and transportation. Our ancestor, more than 2000 years ago called spleen, so we still use this word. Spleen function is very similar with pancreas nowadays. Pancreas produce insulin and glucagon helping digestion and transforming food to be absorbed for nutrition as you understand. Food must be transformed to be used in the body making food Qi (nutrition nowadays). I hope what transformation means. Our ancestor didn't know this internal secretion, so they called body fluids. What they did was to find which body points could be used to stimulate or suppress this secretion. We still use these points to make better function. It works very well. Many might experience that eye lids trembling. That might be also spleen deficiency.

When spleen function decreases, stomach would be affected. Spleen and stomach are pairs. Everyone knows that weak stomach function brings decrease in food intake, retention of food, gastric distention, nausea and vomiting, which are the same with western view. 

많은 분들이 발톱의 색갈이 변하면 곰팡이가 생긴줄 아십니다. 의사에게 가면  라미실(Lamisil)을 처방해 주십니다. 인터넷을 아시는 분들은 라미실이 어떤 약인지 부작용은 없는 것인지를 확인해보고는  약을 복용하기를 꺼려하는 분들이 많이 계십니다. 여러가지 부작용중에 간의 손상을 경고하는 문구가 나옵니다. 실제로 라미실이라는 약을 사용후에 나타나는 증상이라고 하는 분들도 계실 수 있습니다. 그러나 제 개인의 의견은 조금 다릅니다. 한의학의 모든 교재에는 간의 기능이나 상태는 손톱이나 발톱에 나타난다고 되어 있습니다. 간의 기능이 좋지 않기 때문에 색갈이 변하고 곰팡이가 나타난 것처럼 보이기도 하고 어떤 때는 정말 보기 흉할 정도로 심한 경우도 있습니다. 증상이 과히 심하지 않은 경우는 손톱이나 발톱이 얇아지기도 하고 잘 부러지기도 하는 것입니다. 실제로 곰팡이일 가능성도 있습니다. 정말 곰팡이라고 한다면 양말을 신고 하루종일 구두를 신고 다니는 분들도 발톱 하나만 그런 분들도 많습니다. 곰팡이는  번식을 잘 하는데 왜 한곳에만 있을 수 있을까요? 많은 분들이 간이 손상되어 가고 있는 것은 꿈에도 생각지 못하고 곰팡이라고 착각을 하고 있기 때문입니다. 라미실이라는 약을 사용하여 곰팡이는 치료할 수 있겠지만 간의 기능은 그대로 방치하기 때문에 간에 관한 질병이 나타나게 됩니다. 구안와사, 중풍, 언어건삽(말을 잘 못함), 어떤 경우는 당뇨로 나타나는 경우도 있습니다. 발톱이 허옇거나 까맣거나 얋거나 잘 부스러진다면 빨리 치료를 받으시라고 권합니다. 앞으로 큰 일이 일어날 수 있다는 경고이기 때문입니다.

Many people believe that it is fungus when urgly toenails are shown. The truth is that that is not fungus most of time. All horror stories you read could be a side effects of Lamisil. One of main side effects is liver damage. According to Traditional Chinese medicine, liver dysfunction manifest on nails. What a coincidence. Someone who has dysfunction of liver will have fungus toenail. As most people don't understand the cause, they blame Lamisil. Original cause is not taken care of. Then they believe side effects of Lamisil caused. Of course there could be some side effects as most medicine has. Liver function is related with stroke very much. Good example is my relative. He doesn't want acupuncture treatment as he had so much painful experiences when he was young. At that time needles were very thick and painful. No matter what I explained he refused to get treatment from me. When he got a stroke, he didn't have any choices. I gave him treatments. I found he had fungus toe nails. His all toenails were yellow and looked very dirty. When I gave needle treatments, he said there was no pain at all. Needles these days made of stainless steel, hair like thin making no pain when inserted. My relative is 87 now and he doesn't have any more fungus toenails.
Some pink toenails change the color to yellow or black. Some become thin and crumbling. Some has only at great toe. Some has fifth toe. Why do you think fungus stays only on one toe even though we wear shoes for a long time?. Fungus is supposed to spread fast to other toes, but rarely happens. If you don't treat this on time, bells palsy, diabetes, stroke and/or even cancer might follow. Every toe location involves different organs. When treated well, brand new ones will grow back after 6 months. Sometimes it takes one and half year, as growth rate is different with different person. Old person like my relative took longer time. Younger person takes less time.
Unless original cause is not treated, all are temporary. Cream or vinegar is not an answer. Now you understand the fact. Treat original cause, then fungus nails will be disappeared. There are only a few people who understand this fact. Good luck.

It is natural to be cold in the wintertime. The problem is other people can cope with cold well, but some can't stand coldness at all. Let us think about how to make warm or hot. We need kindling to light a fire for firewood. There is a case of no lighter to make a fire. There is also air tight space. Even though there is a fire, this fire is extinguished because of lack of oxygen.

Our body equals to this. When we have weak function lungs, we can't breathe in enough oxygen, making less energy to burn and body cold. When we have more oxygen, meaning more energy to use will make body warm. As lung is weak, we are exposed to cold easily and experience short of breath. Bronchitis, bronchial asthma and bronchopneumonia including allergy might follow due to weak lung function. Acupuncture treatment will help patient to breathe better. There is no better way to treat acute symptoms than acupuncture. There is almost no side effect with acupuncture compared to most medicines. If there is phlegm, acupuncture will remove phlegm. We also distinguish what make breathing difficult between breathing in and breathing out.