Reflux With Chinese Medicine Treatment

After my wife and I returned from our cruise I booked a session with my acupuncturist. By the time I made it to the appointment it was during the Christmas holiday. At that time my acupuncturist told me that she was going back to China to work on a drug that she had developed for cancer treatment. She was not clear as to when she was going to return. This was not great news for me because it left me without the only effective treatment that I had for reflux.

By the middle of January I was getting more and more unwell. my color was pale and the pain in my abdomen had returned,also my reflux symptoms worsened.   Pretty much everything that I ate caused me to choke and at some point after every meal I would vomit part of whatever I had eaten. This was not a good situation.

I started to look into other local acupuncturist. After an extensive search I had narrowed the list down to three possible candidates. my wife called all three. After talking to them she decided on our current acupuncturist. Yan Chen,  a doctor of Chinese Medicine which means that not only does she do acupuncture but she will also prescribe herbal medicine. From the first appointment I had with Dr. Chen I was impressed with her knowledge and ability as a doctor. The first thing she did was look at my tongue and take my pulse. An experienced Chinese doctor can tell so many things from examining your tongue and taking your pulse. The color, shape and texture of your tongue can tell an experienced doctor of Chinese Medicine what is wrong with you. They use the pulse to get more details about your illness.

After our first appointment with Dr. Chen, I started to feel much better. the pain in my side subsided and I had less problem eating and my energy levels improved.  I had a series of 3 treatments. I had herbal medicine to take everyday and I ate congee three times a day.  I mentioned congee in one of my earlier posts. Essentially, congee is a kind of soup made with rice and meat. When it is cooked, it is almost as thick as oatmeal. In China, people eat congee for breakfast. It is funny, when I worked and traveled in China I always avoided congee for breakfast, now I eat it three times a day. It really does calm and coat your stomach before a meal so that it is easier to eat and digest your meal.

Delicious Apple Pie Rice
3 cups cooked rice
1 Tbsp oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/8-1/4 tsp cinnamon and allspice
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup raisin, soaked and drained
1 apple, chopped
1/2 cup almond toasted.

In a skillet cook onion and celery with the oil until softened.  Stir in the seasonings, depending on how much you want.  Add rice, apples and raisins.    Cover.  Heat thoroughly until the apple pieces are tender.  Sprinkle with toasted almond and serve.  This would be good with chicken and pork.  It is also good as a side dish for a vegetarian entree.