Choosing Chinese Medicine was the Best Decision I Ever Made
How I Learned to Take Control of MY Acne, PMS, and Anxiety the "Traditional" way
As a healthcare professional and an individual who suffers from hormone imbalances, acne, anxiety, and PMS, alternative therapies have always been of interest to me. I have been seeing a naturopathic doctor for the past four years, including a functional medicine doctor in Canada and the US, all of whom have introduced me to multiple forms of alternative therapies to help minimize my symptoms with the ultimate goal of kicking these issues in the butt. I have found success with some and challenges with others. My most recent adventure? Chinese Medicine.
I am a Registered Nurse in Canada working in surgical services (which is not my passion, but nonetheless a great place to start my career). Ultimately, I would like to work in functional/alternative medicine, so one day I decided I was going to pick a form of additional therapy (this is what it is referred to in the healthcare field). I purchased what the internet referred to as “Chinese Medicine for Dummies” and set out on my journey.
Long story short, I found Chinese Medicine to be SERIOUSLY cool, and it truly opened my eyes to why I suffer from a lot of the conditions that I do. My research included some very interesting and promising facts as well as testimonies, not only in this book but in blogs and other online forums as well. This information inspired me to see a Chinese Medicine doctor, and lucky for me, I found one that I liked right away. She primarily focuses on women’s health, skin health, and mental health, which was obviously very suited to my needs. I met with her to discuss my history and concerns, and she generated a plan for me which consisted of some acupuncture, a dietary plan, and Chinese medicinal herbs (in tea form).
I’ll start with acupuncture. Qi (pronounced “chi”) is energy. The point of acupuncture is to move the stagnant/obstructed Qi in your body. If the Qi is sluggish or obstructed, you can become ill in several different forms. Your Chinese Medicine type (there are five) will tell you which illnesses/diseases you are most susceptible to. To determine my type, I did a questionnaire from the book that I read, but I bet there has to be at least one internet questionnaire that would be somewhat accurate. I won’t lie, some spots are uncomfortable. The needle itself does not hurt, rather it’s the manipulating of the needle until you get that Qi moving.
When you feel the Qi, you’ll know, because it is kind of a dull ache. In your ankles, wrists, and elbows, this dull aching feeling is extremely uncomfortable. The good news is that it only lasts for half a second and then you lay there in peace (with a heat lamp over your feet! Heavenly!).
The treatment is thirty minutes long so I use that time to listen to a podcast or do some meditating. My emotional state after the treatment largely depends on how I was feeling when I went in. If I have been experiencing pent-up emotions, I usually have an emotional release later that day (usually consists of tears) but I always feel better afterward. If I go in happy/content, those feelings are amplified.
My dietary plan was specific but not too restricting. Obviously she recommended cutting out foods that are known to exacerbate acne, but essentially I was to cut out foods that would produce stagnant heat (yang foods) such as spicy food, and incorporate foods that are known to be cooling (yin foods), such as mint tea and black foods (black rice, black sesame seeds, seaweed).
I didn’t notice a difference in my skin right away, but what I did notice was that my skin would flare up when I had spicy foods (I never knew this was a trigger!). My diet change coupled with the acupuncture certainly made a difference with my anxiety/irritability and PMS symptoms. I’m super excited to say that I haven’t been this free of anxiety in several years and my periods are soooo much more manageable!
When I added in the Chinese medicine herbs (which my TCM doctor made specifically for me) is when I really saw changes in my skin. I’m not entirely sure what all was in this magic concoction, but it worked, and it worked FAST. I believe it worked to help correct my hormone imbalances which is why it was so effective. The downfall was that it tasted awful. I won’t even try and sugarcoat it. The recommended course of treatment was twice daily until finished and I could barely choke it down once a day. I would boil my water, add my herbs and wait for it to cool so that I could chug it. I would compare this to Buckley’s cold medicine… nasty but it works!
All in all, I am very happy with my Chinese medicine journey. My irritability/anxiety, debilitating PMS, and skin issues have majorly improved. If you have been dealing with any of these stubborn issues, I would seriously recommend that you scope out a traditional Chinese medicine doctor in your area. Here in Canada, a large portion of my acupuncture costs was covered by insurance. If you don’t have insurance, the average cost per session is approximately $90.
At first, I saw my doctor weekly (for the first four weeks) and now I see her every three-four weeks for maintenance. It seems expensive at first (but so worth the investment) but it becomes much more manageable when your sessions are once/twice monthly. If you’re interested in learning more, I will link the book that started my journey here. Stay tuned for more about my experiences with alternative medicine. Next up, energy medicine!
Have you tried Traditional Chinese Medicine? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!
