Discussion Forum - Recent Topics

Reprieve of symptoms during pregnancy

iank — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:44:41 +0000

Hi all,

I'm wondering if the disappearance of symptoms (namely difficulty sleeping, bloating / distension, anxiety) during pregnancy could be seen as a positive sign of San Jiao excess. The patient describes a "sensitivity to light", prefers cloudy days, and I would discern a conservative 7/10 intensity of gaze.

Would appreciate any and all input / experience / insights.

Thank you!

excess burping

Maria Yung — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 02:03:46 +0000

I have a patient who has excess burping. I have tried a few tx. but nothing seems to be dramatic so I would like your thoughts on this. here is how he describes the problem, " my persistent problem is the pressure in my chest/air-bubble sensation in my throat/swallowing issue. I’m also extremely burpy. I can burp repeatedly after nothing more than a glass of water". Thanks in advance for your input.

Exhaustion post treatment

Maria Yung — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 23:19:19 +0000

How do you view exhaustion post treatment? Is that a positive or adverse reaction?

SanJiaoExcess and overcast days

turiyahill — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 18:03:24 +0000

Have you found any of your SJExcess patients to prefer cloudy/overcast days...where they actually feel more comfortable and more like themselves?

What am I missing

BruceB — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 07:07:29 +0000

I recently treated a patient who seemed like an archetypal LI excess patient - body is thin, px has dry eyes especially at night when they wake her up and she has to use eye drops. She suffers from constipation. I did a Sp tonification treatment and as soon as the needles were in I could see it was quite intense for her but I left her for a few minutes thinking it would calm down - she seemed so obviously LI excess that I was quite attached to the diagnosis - I came back 5 minutes later and she's dizzy, her vision has gone blurred and she says the other side of the room is swaying - took the needles out and put in LI+ and things calmed down but it took a while before she felt ok.

Looking again I can see other things - facial features suggest Pc excess and she is also very softly spoken, sometimes she actually fades out completely and she's intellectual and uncomfortable with conflict, approaching it indirectly which ends up frustrating for her because those around her don't respond as she thinks they should. She suffers from migraines which are worse with stress and heat. She feels the cold - she went to Tanzania and packed jumpers - and once cold finds it very hard to get warm. Her thenar eminence is very deflated an she worries about money and the future - retirement isn't imminent but its close enough to be a concern

I'd been thinking of Ht+ anyway due to the patient's cold nature but started with Sp+ because it was the most obvious - maybe Lu+ would have been better. Her Pc excess nature has me thinking GB+ but the migraines give me pause - don't want to stir them up. Liv+ keeps coming to mind but I don't know why - something about the shielding and moisture (esp for the eyes)

I still don't understand why she reacted so badly to the Sp+ treatment and would really appreciate any thoughts on that and also where to go next.

Thanks in advance

Parkinson's response to Lu+

turiyahill — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 21:25:44 +0000

Yesterday I treated what I thought was an obvious St Excess in a Parkinson's patient.....very depleted thenars, weak voice, a sense of losing her life to this disease...and she had very negative response to Lu+...inner agitation, increase in the parkinson's symptoms.....and when I removed the needles and treated as St+ there was remarkable settling and overall response to the treatment. Sooo ...what might I not be seeing here? In retrospect I am thinking I perhaps should have tried Ki+....as there is a bit of scatterdness in her presentation and i suspect it is gradually becoming difficult for her to care for herself. Thanks.

Bleeding in stool

KulsoomKShah — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 12:17:53 +0000

Hi, hoping to bounce some ideas off folks. I have been treating a patient for recurring blood in stools for almost 3 years. Currently the condition is stable, with only one brief episode of bleeding. I treated him with acupuncture and herbs consistently, but as of 2 months ago he has been off herbs and we are only doing acupuncture. Last year, he also improved dramatically for about 6 months (the warmer months of the year), but started to bleed in the Fall. This went on through the winter, with less severity than before, but it persisted. Although he is stable now, I am aware that it's warmer, and am wanting to head off a recurrence as it gets colder. Here is the presentation as I see it today:

SJ Excess:

- Warm upper body including torso and upper limbs

- Slight flushed red face

- Eyes: 6/10

- Tends to be very polite

- Tendency towards frustration due to lack of connection and close relationships (not sure if this fits here)

- No shielding, feels easily hurt by people even if they are complete strangers (supplementing LV would help this)

- Tendency towards tightness and discomfort along the hypochondrium (not sure if this points more towards LV excess of def.)

I have done ST+ in the past (it helped briefly), HT+ (in the middle of winter it helped for several weeks), KD+ also helped temporarily.

Apart from treating what I see - I'd love insights on how to think about this case differently because I feel like I'm chasing the symptom. I'd love to get him through a winter without continuous bleeding.

Thanks!

Su Wen 70

Toby Daly — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 05:45:06 +0000

"Do not attack the harmony of heaven,

do not make the abundant even more abundant,

do not deplete what is depleted,

lest you submit that person to the calamity of an early death." (Unschuld)

Essentials of Saam Acupuncture

Philip Suger — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 17:18:51 +0000

Everything is official now! After 3+ years of work and collaboration the book has been published and is available on the purple cloud press’ website as well as Amazon. Thank you to everyone who made this possible and I hope this brings very much needed clarity on the origins of this medical tradition. Featuring the profound philosophical insights of Saam and the 124 practical case studies of Jisan this treatise has something for everyone interested in Saam acupuncture!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1991081405?spcref=HARDCOVER_LISTING

https://purplecloudinstitute.com/product/essentials-of-saam-acupuncture/

environmental reactivity

edarvishacu — Wed, 27 May 2026 22:33:08 +0000

Hello,

I am curious if there is a particular organ system associated with environmental reactivity in Sa'am. In jingfang, sometimes we might associate someone who is very reactive or sensitive to the environment with ban xia or chai hu. This could be if someone is very sensitive to light, sounds etc. Maybe also or instead this could be someone who has a lot of allergies and perhaps their skin or breathing reacts easily to different things. Is there anything analogous to that in Sa'am?

I can see in Toby's book that in San Jiao excess a patient may have no shielding and thus be vulnerable to outside influences, so I can see how that may be relevant, but I am wondering if there are any other organs to consider.

Thank you.