Traditional Chinese Medicine & IC

Okay, I gave in.  While I really enjoyed my session at the Beach Community Acupuncture Center,  Id decided that I needed more of a one-on-one session to address the specific nature of my pain through acupuncture. Today, I had my first appointment at the Pacific Center of Health , a highly recommended acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinic. Excuse my writing, as I am still in a bit of daze after my session and I'm trying to get out all the information I can before forgetting.  Many people tend to think that TCM and Eastern medical treatments are a crock of shit for hippies and loonies who dropped a little too much acid, but I beg to differ.  There is a reason that TCM has existed for thousands of years and why people in Eastern cultures tend to have many less health problems than Americans.  But, I won't get into an argument over who is right or wrong.  However, I will say that what I really enjoyed about my visit to the Pacific Center of Health  is that all of the acupuncturists strongly believe in incorporating TCM along with Western medicine practices in the healing process, and don't preach choosing one over the other.

I knew I would like this place once I saw this rad fish tank in the waiting room.

My acupuncturist Tom was incredibly kind and informative, and it helped that he was quite familiar with IC, as he and his wife had treated many patients before me with the same illness. He even let me ramble on and on about all of my symptoms, my IC experience and why I'd chosen acupuncture.  This was a nice change from doctors cutting me short as I tried my best to summarize the past year of my IC life. I also found out that Tom began practicing acupuncture after it cured him of painful, debilitating headaches from a serious head injury.  Because of his success, he wished to bring the same relief to others who were suffering.  Tom discussed what he thought was going on with me in terms of TCM, and what issues he believed were adding to my IC symptoms.

The first issue is spleen chi deficiency.  Tom says this is incredibly common in the United States. It is commonly believed in TCM that all organs have both a physical and energetic function. In TCM, the spleen relates to the flow of energy in the entire body, as well as in the entire digestive system.  Spleen chi deficiency results when there is not enough "qi" energy flowing to the spleen, which inhibits the body from generating "qi" energy from food.  Spleen chi deficiency can cause symptoms such as fatigue and weakness, disturbances in digestion, and abdominal pain. Tom began his acupuncture treatment to address my spleen chi issues.

The second issue that Tom believes I am experiencing is heart-fire.  Typical symptoms of this include insomnia, heart palpitations, restlessness and thirst.  Heart fire is common in individuals who have experienced strong suppressed emotions or high stress levels in their lives.   An individuals suppressed emotions and stress turns into "fire." Acupuncture works to clear the fire and the heat it produces in an individuals body.  Tom also began addressing this issue during today's treatment.

Not only will acupuncture help balance out my body, but acupuncture helps boost our bodies natural painkillers! This is great for me, as I am trying to ween myself off of the painkillers that have served as a crutch for the past couple of months.  Anyone who thinks taking painkillers is enjoyable- try taking them everyday for two months and see how much you love them. Over a series of session, the acupuncture treatment works to turn off pain receptors in parts of the body where one is experiencing discomfort.  Tom will also be providing me with certain herbs that will help regulate the energy in my body and my pain levels, but we won't get to that until our next session.

Overall, I'm excited to see where this treatment takes me. Today, I had needles placed in multiple acupuncture points all over my body, and also was given electro-stimulation to my lower legs.  I am mildly uncomfortable after today's session, but I was told that a slight increase in pain is common in the beginning since my body has a ton of inflammation that needs to be reduced.  After the next session or so, I should begin to feel some changes in my pain levels and over state of being (i.e. stress levels and fatigue levels).  I will keep everyone posted along the course of this treatment to see if it's a valuable tool for those coping with IC pain. While everyone's body is different, and each person's treatment course will be individualized, I do think that acupuncture is worthwhile checking out for those who are fed up with IC pain.