I had a patient come in with a long list of complaints come in 2 weeks ago to my San Antonio acupuncture clinic. A 40 yo male on disability from the VA. He had problems sleeping more than 2 hours, constant pain in both shoulder, elbows and his right wrist was so weak he couldn’t pick up a mop bucket with it. He was very fatigued rating his energy level at 30%. He suffered from night sweats which further interrupted his sleep. Digestion was an issue too, with the inability to take a full meal. His belly would become distended and uncomfortable so he just didn’t eat as much as he should. He had lost his sense of smell and taste 18 months ago after a Covid infection. Both is thighs and calves experienced constant tingling. He had palpitations usually at night when he was sitting still. And finally he felt foggy headed. Like his brain was in a fog and he couldn’t think quickly or clearly. Somedays his fatigue was so bad he can’t take his son to school.
There was a lot going on for this patient but one of the key factors for me was his digestion. His stomach felt tight and he reported that it make gurgling sounds after eating, he couldn’t finish a whole plate of food and it was all worse if he had cold water when he ate.
The digestive system is like the center of a wheel which all the spokes radiating out to your detoxification, elimination, energy and so on. If you can’t take in food in the right amount or if it doesn’t get absorbed, it’s like wondering why your car doesn’t work when you don’t put gas in it. So that is where I started.
I did mostly localized acupuncture for the pain and I sent him home with a formula to help warm and descend his digestion. He came back one week later and reported that he can now eat a full meal. Cold water no longer has any poor effect on his digestion. He was sleeping 8 and sometimes 9 hours a night with no night sweats. His energy was 75-80% and his foggy head improved by 80%. He had no heart palpitations since our fist treatment a week ago. All his pain had disappeared! Except his shoulder which now had dull intermittent pain versus the constant sharp pain he reported on his first visit. And he noticed that his smell had shifted slightly. He said, I feel like a new man. I was amazed at how quickly his body returned to good health. Many of these complaints had been with him for more than 10 years.
Now I have to admit even for me, a 20+ year practitioner of Chinese medicine, I thought this was remarkable. Not every case resolves so quickly but this case does point to how incredible the body is when you get rid of elements like too much cold or heat and re-establish normal movement of the body. In his case it was getting the stomach to descend combined with warming his digestion. So simple and yet so powerful.
If this case struck a chord and you want to talk about how Chinese Medicine can improve your health, sleep, energy or pain levels call to book a free in person consultation: 210-999-5579. Conveniently located in the Medical area in San Antonio just off Wurzbach and IH10.
