Blame the Guilt

Today, in clinic, I had a young mother visit me with her first born who has been diagnosed with something called SCIDS (Severe Combined Immune Deficiency Syndrome). In Chinese Medicine (heareafter referred to as “CM”) there is not a lot of use for the western diagnosis, although there can be a great deal of use for the individual blood tests, scans and so on. Unfortunately, the label of a disease entity can be one of the most damaging factors in the course of a person’s illness. I will be posting much more on this issue later on.
In any case, during our interview, I was trying to establish a timeline that pushed all the way back to her pregnancy with the affected child. I was shocked and a little saddened when she said to me, in fearful, exploratory, tones “blame the mother, right?”. I immediately softened my own tone further and tried to hold both realities at the same time – 1. the mother’s fear of blame (I tried to convey to her that blame was something that doesn’t even come into the picture, that it is an invalid concept), as well as 2. the important information that a baby spends many months in the womb, and that this experience affects both mother and child.
I don’t know how I did, but she seemed to be softer and more forthcoming the rest of the appointment.

Study: Herb comparable to Prednisone

In a sense, research of this nature is important. What is still somewhat troubling, however, is that the research is conducted in a way completely divorced from Chinese Medicine. In other words, it is 1. conducted with a single herb, 2. applied to patients who have been categorised in a western medical sense, and 3. conducted in the absence of the Chinese Medical system. I would like to emphasize that the true effects of CM cannot be seen when the CM materials (herbs, for example) are used without regard for the system (CM) which dictates how, when and on whom it is best to use them.

Tao, Xuelian, et al. A phase I study of ethyl acetate extract of the Chinese antirheumatic herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F in rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of Rheumatology, Vol. 28, October 2001, pp. 2160-67:

    A team of researchers from the University of Texas and the National Institutes of Health reports that an extract of the Chinese herbal remedy Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TWHF) has proven effective in the treatment of severe rheumatoid arthritis. TWHF has been used for centuries in China to treat what is now considered to be rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and IgA nephropathy. Preliminary studies in animals have shown that TWHF extracts have anti- inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects comparable to those of prednisone.

Thirteen patients with long standing rheumatoid arthritis participated in the trial. The initial dosage was 30 mg/day; this was gradually increased to 570 mg/day over a 12-18 month period. Nine of the patients went through the whole program. The patients all experienced marked improvement and one went into complete remission on a dose of 390 mg/day. Morning stiffness was the first symptom to improve. At baseline it lasted an average of 265 minutes. On a dose of 390 mg/day it reduced to 10 minutes. ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) went from 55 mm/hour to 22 mm/hour on a dose of 480 mg/day. Sixty per cent of the patients experienced significant (more than 20 per cent) improvement on a dose of 180 mg/day. A dose of 300-480 mg/day was required for maximum benefit. This is comparable to the dosages used in China and was found to be entirely safe. The researchers are currently conducting a much larger, double- blind, controlled study to confirm the benefits of TWHF extracts.

The Time to Heal

Ladies and Germs, please be reasonable. If you’re sick, don’t push it. You need an ingredient called time. Give yourself some time off from your usual claptrap, slow down, take a courageous break from the tornado and touch – briefly, lovingly – your real life again. The life where you are only your brilliant self, the real life where you are not concerned about who will say this, and who will do what.
Take the opportunity and take the risk, my brothers and sisters, because we all know it comes too seldom!
There’s a secret zen technique for living life. It goes like this:

    When hungry, eat.
When tired, sleep.