Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 9846

Shown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

Chinese Medicine and Therapy for Psy Disorder

Posted by Lyon on August 10, 1999, at 2:25:13

Funny but many may think of what I am suggesting as strange and unorthodox but in any case, it does hurt to share my views. I've suffered from OCD and uni-polar depression for well, maybe more than 20 years now. Its not until I've started a regimen of Chinese medicine that I've begun to feel better. I still take 60mg of Paxil daily, which I've been doing for more than 3 years now. Paxil seems to have been the best med for me so far, after have tried Prozac, Zoloft, Anafranil, Xanax, Amytriptyline (forget the commercial name)...... What I find is that the drugs only bring one to a certain level of comfort and not more. Increased dosages are like throwing more horspower at a brick wall. A different approach was needed. The Chinese doctors I've seen all talk about the liver being my problem. They have strange ways of describing various ailments in the body but their remedies seem to work. In any case, the liver seems far removed from the head problem. Indeed as does most traditional medicine. But low and behold, the Western scientists have only just discovered the link between liver health and mental health. Apparently, livers that are not in their optimimum states can and will produce various other hormones/chemicals that affect the mood center and other aspects of mental health. I remember reading that in the NY Times some months ago. In my case, my liver was taking a beating cos I was not resting well enuf and eating the wrong things and smoking. Morover, according my Chinese docs, the smoking was contributing to only what can be know in English as "catarrgh" which is not necessarily visible in physical terms. Accupuncture in the right spots along with the correct Chinese herbal concoctions have always brought me out of my most difficult times. Increasingly, as my quality of life becomes better, smaller disturbances in my life caused by my OCD and depression become more noticable. Moreover, the SSRIs have only been able to fix 60-65% of the problem with the rest of the 30% still in questions. Despite the western med. my quality life would still have been questionable without the Chinese herbal therapy to compliment the Western drugs. My bad spells can lead me to become suicidal despite the meds at times and a few visits to the Chinese doc. can patch up the problem in a few days.

In fact, one feels markedly better after an accupuncture therapy that focuses on the body's nervous system. This may seem hocus pocus but this is my experience and I've chosen to share it in Psycho Babble. I don't think Chinese medicine is the same as Western homeopathy which I've tried to no avail. Moreover, it is unfortunate that many of the participants here reside in the states and not in Asia where this kind of help (CHinese med) is more available. Maybe if you live near China town or something. But the Chinese docs in China town may not be the greatest. However, it never hurts to try when there are no more avenues left to explore on the Western psychopharmalogical front. Lastly, I am not espousing the idea that the Chinese stuff will work 100% but only provide a complimentary platform for the other drugs to work on.

 

Re: Chinese Medicine and Therapy for Psy Disorder

Posted by claudeah on August 13, 1999, at 1:37:12

In reply to Re: Chinese Medicine and Therapy for Psy Disorder, posted by Lyon on August 10, 1999, at 2:32:09

I don't think it is unorthodox. I was cured of endometrious using chinese medicine and acupuncture. I actually felt better and was losing wait. There is one drawback, though, the cost is prohibitive. Even though you can deduct it on your taxes (it still isn't covered by insurance even though she is a real doc from China), $200 a week for 8 months ate away at my savings. I was still taking my meds while going to the chinese doc, but I definately felt better. By the way, I got her name from my therapist and then my psychiatrist starting going to her for a problem he had, based upon my recommendation, and she got rid of his problem.

If you are in the Chicago area and are interested, let me know and I will give you her info.

Claudea


> > Funny but many may think of what I am suggesting as strange and unorthodox but in any case, it does not hurt to share my views. I've suffered from OCD and uni-polar depression for well, maybe more than 20 years now. Its not until I've started a regimen of Chinese medicine that I've begun to feel better. I still take 60mg of Paxil daily, which I've been doing for more than 3 years now. Paxil seems to have been the best med for me so far, after have tried Prozac, Zoloft, Anafranil, Xanax, Amytriptyline (forget the commercial name)...... What I find is that the drugs only bring one to a certain level of comfort and not more. Increased dosages are like throwing more horspower at a brick wall. A different approach was needed. The Chinese doctors I've seen all talk about the liver being my problem. They have strange ways of describing various ailments in the body but their remedies seem to work. In any case, the liver seems far removed from the head problem. Indeed as does most traditional medicine. But low and behold, the Western scientists have only just discovered the link between liver health and mental health. Apparently, livers that are not in their optimimum states can and will produce various other hormones/chemicals that affect the mood center and other aspects of mental health. I remember reading that in the NY Times some months ago. In my case, my liver was taking a beating cos I was not resting well enuf and eating the wrong things and smoking. Morover, according my Chinese docs, the smoking was contributing to only what can be know in English as "catarrgh" which is not necessarily visible in physical terms. The catarrgh was clogging up my CNS system and affecting the normal function of my "passive nervous system" that controls things like mood and heart rate etc. What the Chinese docs can do is treat the "external symptoms" like the damaged liver or clear up the catarrgh but not the underlying nervous sensitivity which I was probably born with. You see most Chinese docs from China have to do a few years in a regular hospital and learn about Western science. They are therefore quite logical and not crackpots.
> Accupuncture in the right spots along with the correct Chinese herbal concoctions have always brought me out of my most difficult times. Increasingly, as my quality of life becomes better, smaller disturbances in my life caused by my OCD and depression become more noticable. Moreover, the SSRIs have only been able to fix 60-65% of the problem with the rest of the 30% still in questions. Despite the western med. my quality life would still have been questionable without the Chinese herbal therapy to compliment the Western drugs. My bad spells can lead me to become suicidal despite the meds at times and a few visits to the Chinese doc. can patch up the problem in a few days.
> >
> > In fact, one feels markedly better after an accupuncture therapy that focuses on the body's nervous system. This may seem hocus pocus but this is my experience and I've chosen to share it in Psycho Babble. I don't think Chinese medicine is the same as Western homeopathy which I've tried to no avail. Moreover, it is unfortunate that many of the participants here reside in the states and not in Asia where this kind of help (CHinese med) is more available. Maybe if you live near China town or something. But the Chinese docs in China town may not be the greatest. However, it never hurts to try when there are no more avenues left to explore on the Western psychopharmalogical front. Lastly, I am not espousing the idea that the Chinese stuff will work 100% but only provide a complimentary platform for the other drugs to work on.


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