Acupuncture
Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine for Nightmares
I’m not sure if what my toddler experiences qualifies as nightmares—she’ll occasionally yell out in her sleep—defiant demands, such as: “I don’t want one! I want TWO!” or, “No, put me down!” which my wife and I imagine are healthy reenactments of infuriating boundaries one of us had to regularly and/or recently hold with her.
For most adults, with greater awareness, a resume of more hardship to induce greater fears, real traumas, and fabricated neuroses, nightmares can be much scarier than being limited to one cookie. Per usual, (in Chinese medicine) they can be the result of a variety of mechanisms (none of which are mutually exclusive to the obvious psychological aspect), however all with one end result: “(Jue Yin) Blood Deficiency.” What is “Jue Yin Blood Deficiency?”
Generally, this means a person is lacking in fluids, such as blood and organ fluids, as well as inhibitory hormones and/or neurotransmitters, such as melatonin, dopamine, or serotonin. Without ample inhibitory substances, excitatory substances have no anchor—they will flare, whether in the form of emotional dysregulation, insomnia, night sweats, or NIGHTMARES.
I read one small study that demonstrated that people who suffer with nightmares also have a blunted cortisol awakening response, which is to say they feel exhausted upon waking, even after a good night’s sleep. Another study showed that specifically ADHD patients are three times more likely to report nightmares. Both instances suggest neuroendocrine disruption due to a deficit of stimulatory hormones, which might seem counterintuitive, as we might suspect that someone in the throes of a nightmare must be overstimulated. In fact, Chinese medicine and modern neuroscience seem to agree that these patients are in fact under-stimulated.
Activating hormones and neurotransmitters do not only activate the mind—they also stimulate the organs, via the hypothalamic pituitary axis, to properly do their jobs, part of which is to produce more substances to harmonize chemical balance in the body.
Stress can dry out these substances, as can poor sleep habits or poor diet. If stress is the cause it is advisable to seek therapy and/or meditation or some kind of spiritual context to reframe one’s suffering. Acupuncture would likely revolve around the gallbladder, liver, stomach, and pancreas vessels. Herbal medicine might revolve around bupleurum, ginseng, licorice, and/or pinellia root.
If someone’s diet is lacking in proper fat or protein this can lead to hypoactivity. Acupuncture might revolve around the stomach, pancreas, and liver vessels, plus the kidney instead of the gallbladder. Herbs might revolve around red dates, rehmannia root, angelica, and/or aconite.
If someone’s diet is excessively fatty or rich, this obviously creates inflammation that suffocates the organs, which causes the illusion of hypoactivity—in fact the organs are working overtime, exhausted as a result. Acupuncture would definitely revolve around the gallbladder and stomach vessels, probably the large intestine, as well as points on the abdomen itself. Herbal medicines might revolve around coptis root, gardenia fruit, and bamboo paper. In call cases points along the scalp above the hypothalamus and/or amygdala can be helpful.
If you or someone you know deals with any kind of nightmares or sleep disturbances, Chinese medicine can absolutely help… unless you live on Elm St. Wishing everyone restful sleep!
What Should We Be Drinking?
How much water should we be drinking? Is cold water okay? Is coffee healthy or not, already? What about decaf? What about green tea? Green juices? Prune juices? Sparkling water??? Please tell me sparkling water is OK! It’s all I’ve got…
Across the generations (and mediums) there have been many hydration gurus, and I suppose in this blog I’m throwing my hat into the ring, albeit really as just a hopefully qualified echo of Chinese medicine’s biological perspective.
Sparkling water is OK, but can irritate the bladder—should be kept to 1/day.
Room temp water is best, ideally half of our weight in ounces each day. Cold drinks can impair digestion, but again, once a day outside the context of a meal is no big deal, imo.
Juice is worse than people think—green juice not quite as good as people think. Green juices, without the sugars of fruit inside them, are fine, but should not replace real meals where salivary amylase is generated, we actually eat, and chew whole (green) vegetables.
One coffee/day should be fine for most people, but obviously has an excitatory and diuretic effect, so if one suffers with a lot of heat or dryness symptoms, should be minimized. These can include everything from insomnia and irritability to bloating or lack of appetite (dryness of digestive enzymes).
Green tea is preferable in people with “heat patterns,” and/or after a night of eating red meat, which can generate heat in the intestines. Again, because of its bitterness, people who tend to nausea, diarrhea, or lack of appetite should steer clear of green tea, and reach instead for…
PU-ERH TEA! Probably the healthiest thing one can drink besides clean, room temperature water, pu-erh is a black tea known for its naturally occurring pre and probiotics that enhance digestive and gut barrier function, the latter of which gets compromised by stress, medications, or alcohol. And I don’t know anyone who doesn’t check off at least one of these. Best taken hot.
I try to limit myself to 2 caffeinated beverages/day (I think no one should have more than 3), which are routinely a cup of Purity black coffee, followed by a cup of pu-erh, from either ARBOR or YUNNAN SOURCING, both of which offer organic and fair trade, high quality products. Highly recommend!
Acupuncture’s Abdominal Diagnoses
Contrary to popular belief, there is a great deal of overlap between Chinese and Western medical diagnoses and systems. A good clinician from either should inquire about your metabolism—fluid or otherwise. How often do you pee and poop? Drink water or eat? We both feel patients’ pulses, at the wrist and sometimes even the carotid (throat) and dorsal pedis position on top of the feet. Additionally, I was reminded while (binge)watching The Pitt that Chinese medicine is not the only paradigm that places emphasis on abdominal palpation.
In Western medicine, my understanding is doctors are feeling for any number of things: fluid retention, organs size and shapes, masses or tumors, tenderness, or pain.
Our assessment process is not much different, though as expected, most acupuncturists are less adept at detecting tumors or misshapen organs, and most doctors are not applying their findings to a global/holistic diagnosis. They are ruling out emergency, which has its own obvious value. Acupuncturists, instead, are searching more for subjective signs to fit a pattern diagnosis.
A COLD abdomen means metabolic organs are lacking in blood or healthy gases and requires moxibustion therapy and/or herbal families such as dry fried ginger or aconite stone.
A SOFT abdomen generally indicates fluid retention because of some subjective deficiency of mitochondria and might require herbs such as poria mushroom and tangerine peel to drain the excess fluids, but also aconite stone to engender cellular energy and adrenal function with the hope of preventing further fluid retention.
Tension in the upper abdomen might indicate inflammation, dryness, and a tendency to constipation, whereas tension or sensitivity below the umbilicus points more towards weakness again, and possibly diarrhea. The former often requires rhubarb root, whereas the latter might need a combination of ginseng and evodia fruit. The wrong herbal formula will make symptoms temporarily though immediately worse.
Tension anywhere can indicate local fluid retention and/or blood stagnation that may or may not be the final piece of the puzzle in getting some chronic illnesses to resolve. Local needling and moxibustion can be helpful, as can herbal formulas with peach kernel or peony root.
To the left of the abdomen pertains to metabolic function, specifically and especially between the pancreas and portal vein to the liver, as it is said in Chinese medicine: “Liver blood ascends on the left (side of the body).” In its ascension it acts as a courier for healthy gases and immunological substances, which is why tension here might point to immunodeficiency.
To the right of the abdomen pertains more to the reproductive organs, ovarian function or otherwise. It might also be implicated in chronic constipation, so if you suffer from both for example—menstrual irregularity and constipation—the focus of treatment should be on the lower right abdominal quadrant, hypothesizing that once the bowels regularly move the reproductive organs can regularly function, sans obstruction.
How does your abdomen feel? Is it tight, taut, and thus “dry,” or soft and yielding, thus “damp?” Excessively cold or hot? Tender? Have you ever thought about how it can and should inform your physician? BTW, The Pitt was great! Highly recommend.
What do Gout, Varicose Veins, & Neuropathy Have in Common?
What do neuropathy, gout, and varicose veins have in common? In western medicine not much, aside from being awful inconveniences, ranging from sources of extreme pain to discomfort and/or a significant cosmetic preoccupation.
For neuropathy you go to the neurologist, for gout to the rheumatologist, and for varicose veins you might see your primary care, who will likely refer you to a vein specialist. The neurologist may or may not inquire about venous circulation, and it is very unlikely the rheumatologist will ask about numbness or tingling in your feet.
But from a Chinese medical perspective, all of these conditions fall under the heading of impaired circulation in the lower extremities, caused by either weakness, inflammation, or both, leading to a misdistribution of bodily fluids, which exacerbates the former, which exacerbates the latter, and so on.
They are different in specifics only as a result of individual genetic proclivities—in fundamental mechanism they are the same. Someone with a colder bodily constitution—prone more to hypothyroid or hypotension, will be more susceptible to varicosities, whereas people with warmer body types—prone more to hyperthyroid or hypertension, will be more susceptible to gouty arthritis. The former are well advised to eat plenty of lamb and red meat, while the latter might consider being mostly vegetarian.
Neuropathies can go either way in the way of temperature, as they are more telling of issues with fluid metabolism. We find that neuropathy patients are either unusually thirsty, unusually not thirsty, or they urinate excessively or not enough. In either case, their body is clearly weakened to some degree, and it is imperative they get to sleep by 11pm, so nerves can properly regenerate.
While inadequate urination obviously leads to fluid retention which can clog neurological pathways and impair circulation, excessive urination can dry vessels of their healthy synovial fluids, causing us to feel parts of our body we previously took for granted as being unaware of.
Holistic medicine should modulate the organ function that is causing the improper excretion of fluids in addition to treating local blockages causing pain or discomfort. Easier said than done of course, as such conditions generally took many years to form, plus might be aggravated by present challenges, such as diet, stress, or medications being used to treat other conditions. However, through a course of treatment of acupuncture, herbal medicines, and dietary modifications, one should see improvement over a proper course of treatment, 120 days.
Please be discerning in your choice of clinician. If you see someone—whether east or west—who is failing to assess or treat beyond the immediate site of pain or discomfort, I would highly recommend getting a second opinion.
NEW Jersey Office!
Not to worry! I have no plans, nor ideations of leaving my New York office, as I’m not sure there’s enough acupuncture in the world to heal me of the inevitable heartbreak of severing all ties with the greatest place on Earth. But I have decided to finally be a reasonable human being and upstanding member of MY Jersey community and start accepting patients there.
In fact, this was partially motivated by reminiscence my brother and I often share over how neither of our parents were ever particularly connected or plugged into the community in which we grew up, in Tappan, New York. Mom was a part of the PTA up to a certain point and Dad came to all my games, but the rest of their respective lives were elsewhere—Dad’s in Manhattan, Mom’s in New Jersey, and when their empty nest began, we think its enjoyment may have suffered as a result. I digress.
Happy to announce that I am now renting space part-time at Studio 509, a lovely space very close to home—almost walkable—in Maplewood, NJ! Schedule by appointment.
In the meantime, my schedule in New York remains unchanged, Mondays and Fridays from 10-7, Wednesdays from 10-4. Please do not hesitate to reach out to schedule, nor to ridicule me for partially selling out for the garden state.
