Tonifying energies/acupoints in the meridians

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

What does “two or one sittings in a week” mean? Do you mean treatments, bowel movements, or something else?

For us to comment on what you might change treatment wise we would need to know exactly what points you are doing, if you are needling, with what technique and for what duration, the frequency of treatments, etc. - as well as your reasoning (besides the graph results).

Generally speaking bowel issues of all types are generally easy to treat and most of the more common ones should be resolved within 2-5 months of treatment, with the possibly addition of appropriately prescribed herbal medicine.

Comment by Archived User

Hi Chad,

Many thanks for your reply.

Firstly, yes, I personally felt one or two sittings of treatment in a week is more effective than regular treatment i.e every day treatment.

In the following meridians my energy levels are very deficient gall bladder, spleen and urinary bladder. Therefore using the following acupoints for tonification for half hour of electro acupuncture (SP6 SP10), (SP3 SP9), (GB34 GB40), UB60 and UB67.
Also sedating i.e. decreasing energy levels across LU5,LU7, LI2,LI11 because they are adequate.

Observations: Sedating energy levels i.e. needling against the energy flow in a meridian has no aggravating symptoms on me. However, when I get tonify specifically SP, GB has aggravating symptoms on me for few days and will subside afterwards. I actually remember when I had deficient energy level in Large intestine last year and used LI4 to increase the energy flow. At that time, constipation was gone the very next day but then I had other symptoms like flatulence, bloating and cramping for few days.

I understand that every individual has a different effect and experience on them. However, I would like to know is it normal to have aggravating symptoms when tonifying energies across meridians or is it just me because of my bowel issues I’m sensitive with tonification.
I am quite sure treatment is working well but on the other hand i have few unpleasant experiences for few days after treatment.

Thanks

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

This is a hard question for me to answer as, in my professional opinion, the entire discussion is leaning towards a way of describing and using acupuncture theory that I simply do not agree with. Without getting into it, I think meridian measuring devices are at best wildly limited compared to the skill of a well trained practitioner and may greatly inhibit the development of clinical diagnostics skills in practitioners. Many may disagree and that is entirely fine - it’s a medicine full of discussion, debates, and differing clinical approaches for generations of practitioners and that is part of the strength. I mention this largely just to state that I am probably the wrong person to help you figure this out. I will give a couple general observations.

Except in the rarest of cases, no one needs to be treated daily and generally speaking (again my opinion) treating too frequently actually leads to poorer clinical results (as you seem to have found) possibly blocking much of an ability for the body to change at all. To understand this opinion you would look through what happens when you do acupuncture of a biochemical/physiological level. Basically it takes hours to days for the “recommendations” that the acupuncture treatment makes via the nervous system and brain to even be incorporated by the body (i.e. for the corresponding physiological changes to even happen). While one might argue that by treating more often you are simply fostering this - I would argue (again possible exceptions) that you are actually hindering it by restarting the process so to speak in many circumstances. This doesn’t even get into the financial implications from the patient perspective.

Generally speaking, yes, tonification (i.e. possibly meaning warming and/or moving) - can create an exacerbation of symptoms if done too aggressively, at the inappropriate time in the process of disease resolution (i.e. when other excess issues still need to be cleared) - or both. There is a very important order in the clinical process of fully resolving a patients issues which must be adhered to. A very basic article on my blog describes this in general - “acupuncture treatment prognosis guidelines”.

Comment by Archived User

Appreciate your response Chad! It was very informative.

I would like to know one last thing. Since you mentioned in your previous reply with acupuncture - bowel issues of all types can be treated within 2- 5 months, does that mean food intolerances can also be cured? such as lactose/gluten intolerance. If yes, please can you list a few acupoints so that I can stimulate.

Many thanks for your responses.

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

Yes they can, but, again, that is simply not how acupuncture works - i.e. a point for this and a point for that. I suggest you read “treating the cause vs. the symptoms” for a little more general background on how health issues are approached in Chinese Medicine.

From a pure tcm perspective you find the root imbalance(s) and treat them and in a fundamental way complete ignore the outcomes of these imbalances (i.e. the symptoms). Then you tailor the treatment completely to the individual - the better you do this the better the clinical results. You also use this diagnostic information to guide their dietary and lifestyle choices. To see more of this aspect I would recommend reading the following:

• My Lungs Are What?
• My Spleen Is What?
• Five Element Theory and Applications To Life

While it would be incredibly lengthy to completely get into, in general allergies/intolerances, etc. are learned responses. For one reason or another, or possibly no reason at all, a body has learned to target these things and react to them - it’s not inherent to the body. What causes this is in very basic terms how over stimulated your immune system is generally and this builds over time from dietary choices, lifestyle choices, environmental exposures, stress levels, etc. To fully resolve these issues you are fundamentally retraining the immune system - but to do that you need to limit these other reactionary forces on the body to keep the immune system itself from simply picking all of the behavior back up again. This is why these issues have to be treated systemically to resolve - rather than the general western mode of managing them.