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!
Is he a candidate for supplementing LI? My teacher treated quite a few monks and a common pathology is inflamed hemorrhoids from long hours of seated meditation. He would often supplement LI for these types of cases even if the body type wasn't a perfect match.
@toby Thanks for this idea. LI+ has not been at the top of my list for him, SP+ fit most accurately. I have tried that and it works for a brief time. I'll consider it further. I have read through past posts in the forum and it seems sometimes the channel that works is not the most obvious...
How has he responded to LV+ ? Following Toby's teaching, LI+ is typically my go to for blood in stools, and in general I have great success with this approach, but the seasonal aspect would make me more inclined to do SP+ and it sounds like his body type corresponds to this as well.
I think LV+ is a sound idea, the inward movement of Jueyin may have an astringing effect that could help with the blood. Have you looked at combination treatments? SP+ and LV+ , or LV+ and KD+, SP+ and KD+ , etc. Your thinking of utilizing the summer months to get ahead of this is sound.
Since he has responded well to warming treatments and his symptoms get worse in the fall and winter, I would also think about incorporating moxibustion if possible. Some simple moxa on ST36 could work, and perhaps the the Spleen, Stomach, Large Intestine, Kidney back shu points if you're able to do this.
@joshua-park Thanks for these suggestions. There was always improvement after LV+, albeit for a limited time. I have not yet tried combination treatments for him, primarily because I have not used combination treatments that often. Only in the last few weeks, after reading posts on this forum, have I started to use them and in some cases have had remarkable outcomes.
Yes, we have used moxa with regularity in the winter months. My plan is to start moxa treatments earlier (summer time) instead of waiting for the Fall.
I'll let you know how the combination treatment goes! 🙂
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