Living As If Life Mattered With East Asian Medicine
By Michele Salinas, L. Ac., Dipl. CH, RN

What is profound and wonderful about East Asian Medicine is that it treats the whole person, not just the disease. Because it treats the whole person, those who participate in its care live well, rather than just lives long. The emphasis is on qualitative being rather than quantitative analysis. Following are the stories of four patients ˆ with names changed for confidentiality ˆ who have learned this for themselves.

Meg

Meg had gone through the medical gamut. She had sleep analysis, blood chemistry, hormonal testing, and psychological testing. She had pharmaceuticals. She had prescription hormones (birth control). Still she failed to sleep normally, suffered from migraines, TMJ, skin rashes, muscle tension and a terribly racing mind. She had recently heard the label "fibromyalgia." I balanced her liver, her heart, her spirit; cooled her pathological heat; supplemented her Blood and Yin. Like a gardener, I dredged what needed to be dredged and nourished her resources. Without concerning myself with her scientific data, I can say together Meg and I, through East Asian Medicine, have made her more content, decreased her discomfort, helped her to sleep thoroughly and have a clearer and calmer mind. Now the only pharmaceutical Meg continues to take is birth control. What was the cause of this qualitative difference? Chinese herbs, acupuncture, cupping, gua sha, and moxibustion, as well as lifestyle change.

Karen

"My tests say I have an over production of prolactin and an under production of progesterone. Also I have a blocked fallopian tube due to previous scarring. But I want to get pregnant!" Karen was adamant and desperate. She was, after all, 36 years old, married to Mr. Right, and had unsuccessfully tried fertility drugs. I gave her a custom-blended Chinese herbal formula, acupuncture, and lots of dietary advice. "Which one of these herbs will help with the prolactin and which with the progesterone?" she asked. I didn't really concern myself with these questions. You see, Qi Blood, Yin, and Yang all need to be ample and in proportion to support life. By looking at her tongue, feeling her pulse, asking her many questions regarding Yin and Yang, Qi and Blood, I was able to come up with the formula that apparently balanced it all out enough for her to conceive and have a healthy pregnancy. Karen is now getting ready to welcome a new child into her home.

Carlos

Carlos was a little different. He did not come to me with any Western test results or diagnostic label. All he knew was that he was sick of weather-related sinus headaches that at times got so bad that they were like migraines. With a custom-blended herbal formula he drank as a tea when it got bad, herbal pills based on his Chinese diagnosis taken on a regular basis, and periodic acupuncture treatments, Carlos has a better quality life. He used to have headaches about once a month. His last one was six months ago, and a small one at that. Carlos also noticed diminished allergies, increased energy, deeper sleep, appropriate appetite and better weight.

Brian

All cases of fibromyalgia begin with a faulty digestive system. If the digestive system works well, the muscles and connective tissue receive ample Qi and Blood for nourishment from the food eaten, provided the food is nourishing. Sufficient blood means sufficient circulation so that waste products or inappropriate material are neither produced by the body nor built up in the musculature. Brian did not know any of this (neither did Victor, nor did Rose). They only knew that they had a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. They did not see the connection in their lives. In my office, treatment of fibromyalgia is three fold: reduce the pain; strengthen the digestion; and enhance the ability to arrive at physical and mental peace. I did not use fibromyalgia as a working definition in my treatment plan for these patients. Yet all three of these patients (and many others) got better. Why? Suffice it to say that when treated holistically, balancing and building Qi, Blood Yin, and Yang, pain that gets worse in certain weather and with fatigue does get better. Poor digestive ability, when strengthened, does help almost any kind of condition. And a willingness to follow the wisdom of the ancient art of East Asian Medicine can help alleviate a poor quality of life.

For Americans, whether they live in the Triad or not, whether they have received a diagnosis of fibromyalgia or something else, whether their tests come back with a certain number ˆ and whether they believe in that number or not, East Asian Medicine can help bring them to live well. And that is something worth living for.

May you experience living well too.

Michele Salinas is Licensed Acupuncturist, and National Diplomat Chinese Herbologist, at Carolina Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine where she treats young and old, health and illness and everything in between. She can be reached at 336.235.2730 in Greensboro, NC.