An example of Western medicine not being enough: Gallbladder surgery

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TCM sees the formation of gall stones as a manifestation of Gallbladder Qi

Stagnation, Damp Heat or other Excess Heat disharmonies in the Gallbladder,

and/or other imbalances in the Gallbladder and/or Liver.

 

The pain from gall stones can be excruciating to put it mildly. Women who

have had babies and gall stones report that the pain from having the baby

was much less than starting to pass a gall stone.

 

Sometimes the stones are so small that they pass through the cystic duct and

common bile duct. It's a very painful process, but the severe pain ends

once the tiny stone is through. At other times the stones are so big that

they can't make it through. Then the gallbladder and stones have to be

removed surgically.

 

Supposedly, once the stones and gallbladder are removed, this is the end of

the person's problems. Goodbye painful cramping, goodbye nausea, good bye

sour taste in the mouth, etc.

 

That's the way it's supposed to act, but sometimes it doesn't. Even though

the person no longer has the stones or a gallbladder, the person still has a

gallbladder meridian. And removing the gallbladder surgicially has done

nothing to correct any underlying Roots such as Stagnation of Gallbladder

and/or Liver Qi, Damp or other Excess Heat in the Gallbladder and/or Liver,

etc. They still exist, and they still manifest thought not as bad as when

there were stones.

 

The person may still getting cramping pain in the right side under the rib

cage. These pains may also refer to the left side so the person is

experiencing cramping pain in both the right and left sides. The person may

still have digestive system problems.

 

Doctors frequently are puzzled by patients who have had successful surgery

for gall stones but still have cramping pain in the right side and sometimes

in the left. The thorough doctors usually will order some tests to make

sure a surgical instructment wasn't left inside the patient, and it is

causing pain. When these tests come back negative, most doctors will decide

the pain is psychological. It's not. One of the symptoms of Gallbladder

(and Liver) Qi Stagnation is pain in the right side which sometimes refers

to the left side. A few doctors know that colicky pain in the right side in

the area of the liver and the gallbladder can be due to Irritable Bowel

Syndrome. Unfortunately, of the few who know of this connection, many of

them think that IBS is automatically due to psychological causes. It's not.

 

The cause of the pain in the right side (and sometimes in the left) in

people who have had successful gall bladder surgery is that even though the

gall bladder is out, the underlying Root was never addressed and treated.

The Qi of the Gallbladder and/or Liver meridians is still Stagnant. The

avenue of one of its manifestations has been removed (the gallbladder

surgery), but the Root problem(s) still remain to manifest in other ways.

 

Let's take a closer look at IBS. Bob Flaws says that the Root of IBS is a

Liver-Spleen disharmony. Like in Liver Invading Spleen or Earth (Spleen)

Insulting Wood (Liver). Sometimes, given the Liver's and Liver Qi Flow's

propensity to be affected by emotions, there is a psychological basis to

IBS. But often not. In the pattern of Earth Insulting Wood, the Spleen is

failing to transform fluids. This leads to Dampness accumulation. The

Dampness accumulation restricts the free flow of Qi.

 

Dampness accumulation does tend to restrict Qi movement. Especially when

the Dampness hangs around long enough to become Phlegm. But Dampness can

arise from more than one cause. Dampness accumulation can arise because the

Spleen Qi and/or Yang is Deficient. Some foods are Phlegm producers. One

of the worst culprits is milk and milk products.

 

A lot of people with IBS are very sensitive to milk. There may be lactose

intolerance AND allergies to milk protein and fat. Every time they eat

something with milk in it - even very, very small amounts in some people -

it triggers more Phlegm accumulation, and in people who already have some

severe Phlegm problems, this is enough to interfere with the smooth flow of

Qi even more, and they get the IBS cramping and/or the colicky pain in the

right side.

 

Lactaid (which enables people to digest milk sugar) is only going to help

people digest milk sugar. It's not going to do a thing for Phlegm

accumulation.

 

Depending on how severe the person's lactose intolerance and/or problems

with milk protein and fat are, even very, very small amounts of milk in any

form can trigger problems. It can be as little as is in a prepared food -

like bread. It can be the last ingredient listed on the product (means that

less milk than anything else is present in the food), and it will be too

much for some people. It can be the amount of lactose present in a pill.

For some reason pharamaceutical companies tend to use lactose as a

filler-binder in most of the pills they make, even those for digestive

system problems even though a lot of people have digestive system problems

because of problems with milk.

 

If you are one of the people who have problems with lactose intolerance

and/or milk protein and/or fat, you need to learn the other names of milk.

It won't be listed on the package as " milk " but as " whey " or " casienate "

(sp?). You also need to be aware of hidden milk. Some margarines are made

with milk, some are not. So when a package says that margarine is an

ingredient, there's no way to tell if it contains milk or not. You may also

need to request liquid medicine or patches or even injections instead of

pills. It's hard to find a pharmacist who knows that s/he can look on the

package insert to see what the inert ingredients are and who will be willing

to take the time. In some cases it won't do any good. In some hospitals -

like military and veterans hospitals, the hospital is buying generic drugs

from a variety of sources and loading them all into a dispensing machine.

Some companies may use lactose in their generic drugs whereas other

companies do not. Once they're mixed in the system, it's hard if not

impossible to tell which is which in a lot of cases. Plus, military and

veteran hospitals often are not known for individualized treatment.

 

Victoria

 

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