Patient 27: Treatment (Earth)

See also treatments for Patients 5 & 18 (blogs 24 Oct 10 & 17 Jan 11) for this patient’s previous treatments

Patient:  Female, age 50

Element:  Earth

Number of years coming for treatment:  10 years

Number of prior treatments: Comes three or four times a year.

Problems today:   Feels a bit chesty, and a little tired from some freelance work she is doing which involves speaking a lot.  Says she feels much easier since her last treatment in January.  She has done what I suggested, which is to eat a substantial, breakfast, and says that her problems with trying to stick to a diet to lose the extra weight she has put on have lessened because her large breakfast is so filling that she no longer feels so hungry during the rest of the day.  She had a very long sleep the night after the treatment, and woke feeling much more refreshed.  Still occasionally feels a bit depressed as if under a cloud, but this feeling has lifted a great deal since the last treatment.

  

Treatment given:

1                    XI1 20 :  I love this point for its name and its position (Encircling Glory, high up on either side of the rib cage, as though it is enfolding the patient in its arms).  This patient lives on her own and is quite lonely, so I feel this point will give her something special.

2                    XI 4:  Earth Granary, on the side of the mouth.  I think this will be a good way of helping her in the speaking she has to do for her job.  I have seen one of my patients stop talking as soon as I have needled this point, lying quiet for a little and then starting talking again but in a much quieter way, as if the point has helped them digest their thoughts properly.

3                    St 36, Sp 3

At the end of treatment:   Her colour looked fresher.  She noticed that she had not felt the needles as acutely as at the last treatment.  

Time of next treatment:  About 6 weeks from now.  We have agreed that she will benefit from regular treatments at this kind of interval in future to prevent the depressive feelings which had built up over the winter.

Proposals for next treatment:   I will not think about this until I see what she needs.  With a patient who has come for so long and is now coming so regularly very little treatment needs to be given – just a little boost to her Earth element and she will be fine, so perhaps something as simple as source or tonification points

Patient 26: Treatment: Water

Patient:  Female, age 70

Element:  Water

Number of years coming for treatment:  First treatment with me, referral from another practitioner

Number of prior treatments with previous practitioner: 2 months’ treatment on Outer Fire. 

Main problem today:   Suffering from severe coordination problems, which her doctor thinks may be the onset of Parkinsons.  I could not see signs of Fire in her, and diagnosed her as Water as a result of the nervousness she showed when she met me for the first time.  There was real fear in her eyes.  I also heard her voice as being groaning, and her colour was a darkish blue.

Treatment given:  

1        Changed treatment to treatment on Water.   Tapped AE, none.

2        Because she had had a lot of previous treatment, I though it would be alright to do some quite heavy treatment, something I would not have done if she was coming for her first treatment.  The elements need to be approached carefully when we first offer them treatment, to ensure that they can cope with the change treatment brings about.  So we should treat gently at first, and where necessary add stronger treatment when the patient’s energy can cope with this (in other words, when the elements have been strengthened sufficiently).  I therefore chose the following:  GV 14 (Great Hammer), followed by the AEPs of Water (with 7 moxas – her BP is normal).  I would not have selected GV 14 or AEPs if this was patient's first treatment.

3        Bl 64, Ki 3

At the end of treatment:   Her colour had improved a little, and she looked very peaceful.  I suggested she rest a little, and she enjoyed just lying on the couch for 10 minutes.

Time of next treatment:  She will return to her original practitioner, who was observing this treatment with me.  She needs weekly treatment for some time now. 

Proposals for next treatment:   Work on Governor Vessel as well as work on the Water officials.  GV 12 and GV 4 would be good.  Watch for entry/exit blocks which are likely to occur with the change of element, as renewed energy flows through the meridians.

Final note:  Patient’s practitioner told me a week later that the patient’s swollen ankles were now much less swollen, and she was experiencing less pain from one of her knees.  She also seemed what he called "better generally", with some improved coordination.

Patient 25: Treatment: Fire (Inner Fire)

Patient:  Male, age 30

Element:  Fire (Inner Fire) 

Number of years coming for treatment:  First treatment with me, referral from another practitioner

Number of prior treatments with previous practitioner: 3 years’ treatment on Outer Fire.

Main problem today:   Reason for referral is because he feels that his treatment so far has not really helped him as much as he would like.  There have been times when he has felt better, and others when he feels that treatment is doing nothing for him.  I agreed with the diagnosis of Fire, but thought he was Inner Fire.  This was because he seemed to be sorting out his answers carefully, and often hesitated in the way he answered.  He also had the yang quality of Fire which I recognise as being one of the characteristics of the Small Intestine, a tough aspect of Fire, as opposed to the more vulnerable aspect of Outer Fire.

Treatment given:  

1        Check AE:  quite a lot of AE on Heart Protector and Heart, particularly on Heart on the left.

2        SI 4, Ht 7

At the end of treatment:   Patient felt easier to me, as though a little bit of weight had lifted.

Time of next treatment:  Because patient lives in the North of England, treatment will have to be when next in London, probably in 3 weeks.

Proposals for next treatment:   See whether patient has experienced any changes, and decide upon treatment in the light of changes.

Final note:  Patient phoned me two days after treatment to say that he had noticed a profound change.  Various problems which had clouded his life seemed suddenly to have lifted and become unimportant.  He is surprised at the difference in his approach to his life.  I would see this as his sorter, the Small Intestine, at last sorting properly.