Hemorrhoids/ Prostate/Digestion?

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

You would do best to consult with an acupuncturist in your area, ideally one who also practices Chinese herbal medicine. The issues you have generally respond quite well to proper treatment, but it does have to be tailored to you directly (see “treating the cause vs. the symptoms”).

Our hemorrhoids treatment section has relevant information and protocols, etc. from a practitioners perspective.

In my opinion acupressure is going to be quite limited to resolve these types of issues. Certainly your dietary change is going to be a large part of it (i.e. not just adding fiber in). If you’d like to discuss that you should start with what you do eat now and what you are using to “increase fiber” in your diet - then we might be able to discuss more deeply.

All that said, the value of seeing a practitioner locally, besides proper treatment is that even the diet ultimately is tailored to your diagnosis in Chinese Medicine terms so there are few hard and fast rules in Chinese Medicine besides one we already know (cut sugar and sodas, cut fried and fatty foods, limit or completely eliminate dairy, limit cold and raw foods, etc.).

Comment by Archived User

Thanks for the response! Ive mainly increased fruits and vegetables. For breakfast I have cantaloupe, yogurt, banana…maybe some random cereal. Lunch is usually a salad. Dinner can be varied…baked potato, chicken. Could too much lettuce cause a problem?

I saw a chiropractor who did acupuncture a couple times several months ago. Im muuuch better. I got a suppository called calmol 4, which is mostly zinc oxide which worked wonders!

Any other tips for me? Thanks for the detailed reply!!

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

Yes, I would recommend you try basically eliminating salads, eat primarily cooked vegetables and greatly limit fruits and processed carbs as well.

For acupuncture, see an acupuncturist if possible as they are entirely trained first of all, but more importantly trained in using pattern diagnosis (i.e. truly getting to the root of your problem, not just treating you symptomatically).

For fiber, you could try taking a tablespoon of psyllium husk (for example, ) morning and evening. Psyllium husk is much better rounded than straight laxatives and has pre and pro biotic functions as well.

Then, if your practitioner thinks it fits with your underlying causes, possibly a suppository such as Ma Ying Long for a 2-3 months ~3 times per week; a very useful Chinese herbal formula for hemorrhoids and other intestinal issues. This will be both less expensive, but more importantly far broader in function than most western suppositories.

Comment by Archived User

Thanks! One last question about the psyllium husk. Will increase the bulk of my bowel movements? I dont want that!!!