The Proctitis Pages
The Use of Chinese Remedies & Treatments
I wanted to say something about Chinese traditional medicine because I found great benefit from being treated by a Chinese doctor. Traditional Chinese medicine has been in existence for thousands of years & has very well defined ways of treating many conditions. In my opinion Chinese medicine is well advanced in its effective treatment of digestive conditions like proctitis, colitis, & various other digestive conditions. Yet in the western world Chinese medicine still has an air of mystery or weirdness about it which is a terrible shame.
My experience of receiving Chinese medical treatment was a very positive one. So what can you expect from a Chinese doctor. Well Chinese medical treatment "is totally different" from mainstream allopathic medicine, an appointment with the doctor will last between 30-60minutes (as opposed to the perfunctory 10-15mins with a western doctor). The Chinese doctor will take a full case history of your condition, will ask to look at your tongue, look at your eyes, and feel the various pulses that they work with. Before deciding what treatment to give you. Note:- a Chinese doctor WONT advise you much if at all concerning diet (for me that was a relief but that might be more problematic for other people!).
For Proctitis I was prescribed a herbal remedy. This came in the form of loose dried herbs which cost me £5 per bag, the herbs consisted of dried roots, seeds, and plant bark's (all had strange Chinese sounding names). This was taken home placed in a pan of about 2-3pints of water & boiled for an hour until all that was remaining was about 1 pint of brown liquid. This fluid was divided to make X2 doses. I was warned by the doctor initially that I might not like the taste much as some people found it to be bitter. All I can tell you was I loved the taste of it & my body wanted this mixture more than anything else in the world. This drink literally took the fire & pain out of my guts every time I drank it. I used this remedy daily for about 3 months until I got fed up of making it.
The doctor then moved me onto the same remedy but in pill form, although she did say the pills where not as potent as the raw herbs. I continued to take the pills daily for a further three months and bye this time my condition was 98-99% symptom free. (Note: after fasting & on a gluten free diet). This remedy is called RUN CHANG WAN (I don't know what its western name would be, I haven't found one). Below is a table showing what this remedy consists of.
The Remedy Run Chang Wan is made by & supplied by the Lanzhou Minshan Pharmaceutical Company, Gansu Medicines & health Products, Import & Export Corporation, Lanzhou, China.
For the loss of appetite during my treatment BAO HE WAN was also prescribed
Searching for & finding a good Chinese Medical Practitioner
Finding a good Chinese medical practitioner outside of the UK can be
challenging but it should still be possible, although from past experience it
does depend upon which country you live within. Obviously countries within
Europe & the European Union, also countries such as China & the Far East
where traditional medicine is commonly practiced in these places finding treatment
shouldn't be to difficult. In other countries finding a Chinese doctor might be
more problematic but still NOT impossible. It may require that you
search the internet locally from within your own country or local area, look through phone books, look through directories, ask and seek recommendations by word of mouth.
Based on my own experience of attempting to locate Chinese doctors in the USA and Europe, you need to bear the following things in mind.
1) Most good Chinese doctors who are capable of successfully treating proctitis
or other digestive conditions should have trained in western conventional medicine
for a number of years as well as traditional Chinese medical theory & techniques.
2) Ask where the doctor trained in Chinese medicine? the best practitioners will have trained in China itself.
Usually coming to the west to complete the conventional western medical training
or to gain experience of western medicine.
3) Find out which School or Academy or Organization of Chinese medicine they trained
with & ask how long ago that was for. Ask if they have any certificates as proof of training (or look for certificates displayed in their rooms or
clinic.
4) Ask how long they have been working as a doctor and treating real patients.
5) Ask specifically if they can treat your condition and ask how they will do this.
NOTE: Do NOT confuse acupuncture, or acupressure, or shiatsu with Chinese medicine or
Chinese herbal treatments or Herbology.
**Please be aware that there is a great deal of very confusing advertising related to
Chinese traditional medicine be sure to ask the above questions as it could save you
a great deal of money & wasted time and effort.
**For finding or locating high quality Chinese Medical Practitioners closest to you here in Great Britain and the UK contact or have a look at the following website: http://www.atcmuk.org This is the website for "The Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine (UK)"
**another useful link:- http://www.gsmeheco.com/english/fenchang.htm
