One must be patient when starting on TCM treatment because the results are slow but steady. Besides patience, one also must be diligent in brewing & drinking the herbal medicine daily. It's like taking antibiotics, your doctor will say you must complete the whole course of antibiotics. I must confess that I do skip sometimes when I have a full day & come home late & tired. As I live alone, I have to do everything myself. How nice if I have someone to brew the herbs for me!
So how am I doing with TCM after one month? Although it's still early to assess, I would say there are some small encouraging improvements. On my first consultation with Dr Cheng, his diagnosis of my health could be summarised in one word - WEAK! I failed in all measurements on health; in TCM language, I was deficient in yin, yang & qi. Why did I take so long to seek TCM treatment, he asked. I did try but I gave up half-way, I told him. My recent lung-scare woke me up. I am thankful to the Lord for setting the alarm to alert me; it was like God giving me a 2nd chance. So this time I am taking TCM very seriously.
Dr Cheng said his top priority would be to increase my "qi". He explained that a weak "qi" could give rise to health problems, including the growth of cysts in my organs. He explained how our human body works in a very interesting way. Our body is made up of 70% water. Water needs energy (qi) to travel to all parts of our body. But because my "qi" is weak, the water would end up depositing as bubble cysts on my lungs, liver, kidneys, etc as there is no energy for it to continue travelling. I now understand why there are so many cysts in my body. His rationale is that once my "qi" is normal, my body would heal by itself.
Some of the positive results since I started taking the herbal medicine include the following. For the first time since radiation, my menses is back to normal. I also realise that I no longer feel pain on my chest. My skin also doesn't look so dry - my right thumb is a good example. And for the first time, Dr Cheng said he could feel the pulse on my left wrist (previously, pulses on both wrists were "empty", in TCM lingo). As a result, my appointment to see Dr Cheng would now be once a fortnight instead of once a week.
These positive results do give me some encouragement to continue with TCM treatment. But the herbs also caused some negative reactions initially. In Week 1, I developed rashes on my neck & inner arms. An investigation revealed that I was allergic to an animal protein that Dr Cheng had added to the prescription for the purpose of increasing my "qi". It seems like I am the only patient who is allergic to this animal protein. Dr Cheng is now very careful in prescribing only plant-herbs for me. In subsequent weeks, white snowy flakes appeared first on my arms, then my legs & thighs. I did not panic but took it as a good sign because the flakes looked like toxins were being excreted through my skin. The flakes disappeared after a few days.
By the way, I am also on acupuncture treatment to relieve my neck stiffness & aches. Radiation has stiffened my neck & my job makes it worse as I use the computer the whole day. I think acupuncture is quite effective as my neck seems to be not so stiff now.
I'm thankful to God for the little, little improvements that have resulted from TCM treatment. It's still a long journey ahead but I will learn to live one day at a time. Each day is a day of grace from God.
thanks for being my unseen angel sent from above,
tsk tsk
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