I first met Mrs. C. in 2010. She told me she had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2006 and―of all her symptoms―her pain was the hardest to bear. “I’m not sure if acupuncture is a real treatment or not,” she told me, “but I have reached the point where I’m ready to try anything.”
Multiple Sclerosis is one of a group of diseases referred to as auto-immune disorders. For reasons that are not well understood, the immune system of the body, designed to fight off invading diseases, “confronts” a normal structure of the human body; “decides” that the structure is the enemy; and attacks it. Parkinson’s Disease (or at least some part of it), rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, diabetes, and 75 other conditions fall into the auto immune classification. In Multiple Sclerosis, the nerves are mistakenly designated the “enemy,” and a wide array of symptoms follows. In Mrs. C.’s case, she had been treated for 34 years for more than a dozen serious complaints (examples: double vision, dangerously bad balance, repeated urinary tract infections), but no one to date had put all the clues together and said, “This is all MS.” It was only in 2006 that she had a brain MRI and the UVa’s Neurology Department announced her diagnosis.
Easing her pain was at the top of Mrs. C.’s list. Yes, the painkillers she’d been taking were giving her some relief, but left her feeling so groggy she had to quit her teaching job. And so we began our sessions. I warned her―as I always do with new patients―that the effects of acupuncture are not immediate, and that she would have to commit herself to a course of at least 10 sessions, 2 times a week for 5 weeks, as this kind of treatment takes time to build up its effectiveness.
My first step was to take her medical history, feel her pulse, and observe her tongue in order to detect pathological changes in her body. Then I made a Chinese medical diagnosis. Based on Chinese medical theory, Qi or Chi, blood and body fluids should be good in quality and quantity, and Zang-Fu (internal organs) should be in good shape and function to keep the balance in the body and remain healthy, physically, and psychologically. After I know where the problems are, the main purpose of these treatments is to restore them to their original health.
Besides acupuncture, I also did “cupping.” Cupping is a therapy in which a jar is attached to the skin surface to cause a local vacuum through the negative pressure created by introducing heat.
Because Mrs. C.’s illness first appeared in 1972―and she did not receive a correct diagnosis until 2006―the damage to her nervous system was well-established and extensive, and improvement could not happen overnight. We worked together for many months. She got better and better, eventually arriving at the point where she was satisfied with her situation, and both of us realized she could stop her treatments.
It is very odd to “graduate” a patient. On the one hand, a session of acupuncture with a good-natured patient can be a gratifying experience: I am helping people. On the other hand, my job is to heal patients, not gather us together as a social group.
And so, in fact, I did promote Mrs. C. out of her class, with the promise that if she ever needed a refresher course, she could come back anytime. I could not make her MS go away, but I could certainly ease her life. And yes, before she left, she told me “acupuncture is a real treatment,” and since that day she has found the latest scientific research that proves it.