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Qigong for Damp Heat

By Archived User | Updated: Dec 31, 2021 | Published: Dec 31, 2021

I have Hashimoto's Disease, an autoimmune hypothyroid condition, which I am treating both with Western and Chinese medicine. I have damp heat and a kidney yin deficiency - I'm going on two years of acupuncture/herbs and it has significantly lowered the severity of my symptoms. After being on Liuwei wan for a while strengthened my pulse, I started experiencing lots of heat symptoms (e.g. rashes, feeling hot, dry mouth, etc.) and my pulse weakened.

My acupuncturist put me on long dan xie gan wan to clear the heat, which intensified my symptoms - I had migrains, muscle pain, etc - for a couple of weeks, before it subsided and my pulse got stronger. Now, after a couple of weeks without feeling lots of heat, the heat symptoms have returned.

My understanding is that I have a lot of heat that needs to leave my body, and that, while uncomfortable, it will be good for me in the long run.

I practice qigong, and have recently been doing a 5 Elements Qigong form that focuses on each of the elements in turn.

Is there a qigong form that specifically focuses on expelling heat and/or dampness? I know how to focus on tonifying the specific organs involved, but I'm looking for something that would help me flush the heat out of my body as thoroughly as possible.

Thanks.

Archived Comments

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

First off those are fairly divergent formulas that, while possible, would be less likely used in one person. When you say "I&#39m going on two years of acupuncture/herbs and it has significantly lowered the severity of my symptoms" - what exactly in your symptoms has changed and to what degree? What western medicine(s) are you on? and if you are improving as you say have you adjusted those (i.e. lowered them)? If you want more clarification on that, please include the information requested and a picture of your tongue...

For the qigong, there are literally thousands of forms so it is a hard thing to generalize about. But, in general terms, qigong is for all the systems of the body. What will help with dampness is largely dietary change (limit dairy, cold raw foods, smoothies, salads, sugar, fruit juices, etc.). For the "heat" - more than likely if your acupuncturist prescribed liu wei di huang wan they consider you as "empty heat" or "kidney yin deficient" - now I would have to know more about your symptoms to know whether this is a correct diagnosis as hashimoto&#39s can be a mixture of qi, yin and/or yang imbalances. If you are primarily yin deficient, however, what does help this is relaxation. So in that case more meditative internal forms are far more helpful. Trying to dissipate your heat through vigorous forms with sweating would only cause more trouble for you. Empty heat in Chinese Medicine comes from an internal overstimulation, and while it shows some signs of external heat, it&#39s not the same thing. Proper differentiation of where you are at on that spectrum is crucial to giving proper advice to you.

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