Lungs acupunctured by Thunder

[SecretGrotto]

Something very interesting has happened to me the past weekend.

 

My injured lungs were acutreated by the first thunderstorm of Spring, in a quick burst whilst I was locked indoors with windows locked, with thunder occurring more than a mile away.

 

Before and during the thunder my lungs experienced a lot of discomfort and pain, and then, the day after, my lungs felt the best it has for some time.

 

If you were following my other thread you would have read that I injured my lungs with hot steam inhalation and subsequent long use of CLO which prevented lung recovery.

 

My theory is that thunder is extreme in the fire element and the metal lungs are consequently agitated by it, which could act like the agitation caused in acupuncture to promote energy flow through stimulation.

 

Given the acute lung response to energetic elements, I am hopeful that acupuncture and TCM could be a powerful treatment for me. Why haven't I gone for treatment yet? My acupressurist have retired and my efforts to get to another were delayed, I'm soon to go for treatment with another acupuncturist and we'll see how it goes. I am optimistic.

[SecretGrotto]

I went to see a TCM doctor who previously worked some time in Chinese clinics after graduating from Cheng Du TCM college in 1992. Did the full organ pulse readings, tongue reading, hand reading and proceeded with acupuncture, cupping and rub down. My main complaint was my lung troubles.

 

Said I was too yin/cold and that I needed a higher energy input like sunlight; said I didn't have to do so many things to try and stay healthy; said I had clear digestive issues and that would be the main thing to treat; couldn't find anything wrong in the lung pulse.

 

Told me that eating an apple for breakfast was a no-go and that I needed a more warming yang meal like eggs.

 

Then I realized I continued making a mistake with my diet that contributed to yin-related lung troubles even after stopping CLO months ago: I ate an apple for breakfast, whilst I could feel myself coughing up moisture especially after eating the apple. The cognitive dissonance was the web telling me apples are good for the lungs, I failed to see that it would mostly be good only for lungs which did not have enough moisture to begin with/ lungs that are yang.

 

I am making an effort to get in a proper warming breakfast around 7am now everyday, and skipping apples and yin foods with the exception of a couple of shots of wheatgrass juice in the evenings. I'd love to go keto to be less moody and not to be swayed by my blood sugar so that I can achieve equanimity. I had an amazing experience last week when fasting where I could do focused work for 5 hour stints.

 

Problem is that I get eczema/psoriasis on my lips as an inflammatory response to a number of foods: eggs, milk protein (milk, cheese, yogurt), nuts, gluten, which makes it pretty hard to go full keto. TCM doctor says that these types of allergies can be cured as it is just a defect of the digestive system, and I asked her what if it's genetic and she maintains that it doesn't matter, it can still be cured, but she couldn't tell me how.

 

Most important lesson for me was then to ensure yin-yang balance in my diet. I'm hoping I can balance my lungs. The TCM doctor didn't want to prescribe any herbs to balance my lungs. Acupuncture didn't do much that I could notice, nor did the cupping, but hopefully it took some excess iron out since I rarely donate blood.

 

The thunder/lightning is an extreme yang fire element, so if my lungs were excess yin then what was experienced sorta makes sense.

Edited November 6, 2016 by SecretGrotto

[SecretGrotto]

There was another big thunderstorm yesterday. The discomfort I felt was notable.

 

I have been eating more yang food, eggs and meat, and I can feel this food creating slime in the lungs and throat.

 

I am still reeling from the storm yesterday, so much discomfort, almost pain in the chest, burning in the throat, coughing.

 

The one TCM doctor said there isn't anything wrong with my lungs, but I can tell you I'm damn sure there is something wrong with my lungs. Probably a yin-yang imbalance. The doctor would not prescribe herbal treatment, but I have a strong sense that herbs are exactly what is needed to restore balance.

 

It's very hard to get my diet to balance my lungs. I always have some degree of discomfort in my lungs, and my diet can greatly affect the fluctuation of discomfort. I just feel like if I don't get real healing I would not be able to ever be normal again. This discomfort is making me emotional, temperamental, and it's hard to focus on my work at times, my relationships strain as I spend so much thought on the discomfort I am in.

 

I try to be optimistic and even forget about it, but it's always right there, something gripping my throat and lungs. Much of this imbalance was the CLO suffusing the lymph nodes and lungs, and I could feel it lift from these once I stopped, but the imbalance remains.

 

I wish I could get to a TCM doctor that would know how to address this issue, because it is very well spoiling the little semblance of a life I have. I am going to NYC over Christmas for work, but believe me this is a once a year opportunity to get to the US. I am going to meet with Robert Peng, and maybe Zeev Kolman as well.

 

At the worst moment in my crisis I failed to find a reason to continue this life, but for the belief that if I respawn I'll just have to basically pick up where I've left off, and for the impact on other people's lives. All because it was recommended to me to use CLO regularly by a family member, when this was wholly inappropriate for the condition I had.

 

I don't know if I'll be able to heal fully in this life. I am working toward congenital SHO within the next 3 years, maybe that'll help. But it has just been a slow, painful grind most of the way and if it were not for me treasuring vitality I would've given in.

 

Sounds like I'm complaining about nothing right? Many people have much more real problems and diseases, and to them go my thoughts and well wishes also.

Edited November 10, 2016 by SecretGrotto

[Aetherous]

There was another big thunderstorm yesterday. The discomfort I felt was notable.

 

I have been eating more yang food, eggs and meat, and I can feel this food creating slime in the lungs and throat.

 

Eggs and meat can be more challenging on digestion, the Spleen, producing damp, which ends up being stored in the Lungs as phlegm. The digestion/Spleen is the source of this, so that's likely why the practitioner was aiming at that.

 

I am still reeling from the storm yesterday, so much discomfort, almost pain in the chest, burning in the throat, coughing.

 

The one TCM doctor said there isn't anything wrong with my lungs, but I can tell you I'm damn sure there is something wrong with my lungs. Probably a yin-yang imbalance. The doctor would not prescribe herbal treatment, but I have a strong sense that herbs are exactly what is needed to restore balance.

 

Certain Chinese herbs can end up clogging the digestion if the Spleen isn't strong enough, so that might be a reason why she didn't do it.

 

It's totally possible to have a problem associated with one of the organs, yet the practitioner will find something more significant elsewhere in their findings. The problem is the branch, but what appears more significant to them might be the root. Sometimes practitioners will try to treat the root cause, attempting to pull out the Jenga piece that will topple the tower of complaints.

 

If you go back to her, you could ask if the Lungs could be treated at the same time as the digestion, and report the symptoms that you said you were reeling from.

 

A further thought: thunderstorms represent a drastic change in the weather. Change can be associated with wind...the Lung channel is the first to receive external pathogenic factors, such as wind...so that change in weather with the Lung being susceptible might be what's causing this.

 

Earth generates Metal, the Spleen generates the Lung...so, over time, addressing digestion would strengthen the immunity.

 

Also...maybe try a number of different practitioners. Everyone practices differently...not every practitioner is good for every patient.

 

It's very hard to get my diet to balance my lungs. I always have some degree of discomfort in my lungs, and my diet can greatly affect the fluctuation of discomfort. I just feel like if I don't get real healing I would not be able to ever be normal again. This discomfort is making me emotional, temperamental, and it's hard to focus on my work at times, my relationships strain as I spend so much thought on the discomfort I am in.

 

Do any qigong movements alleviate the pain and sensations? Try the bow and arrow motion for a while and see if that helps it go away.

 

I try to be optimistic and even forget about it, but it's always right there, something gripping my throat and lungs. Much of this imbalance was the CLO suffusing the lymph nodes and lungs, and I could feel it lift from these once I stopped, but the imbalance remains.

 

I wish I could get to a TCM doctor that would know how to address this issue, because it is very well spoiling the little semblance of a life I have. I am going to NYC over Christmas for work, but believe me this is a once a year opportunity to get to the US. I am going to meet with Robert Peng, and maybe Zeev Kolman as well.

 

At the worst moment in my crisis I failed to find a reason to continue this life, but for the belief that if I respawn I'll just have to basically pick up where I've left off, and for the impact on other people's lives. All because it was recommended to me to use CLO regularly by a family member, when this was wholly inappropriate for the condition I had.

 

I don't know if I'll be able to heal fully in this life. I am working toward congenital SHO within the next 3 years, maybe that'll help. But it has just been a slow, painful grind most of the way and if it were not for me treasuring vitality I would've given in.

 

Sounds like I'm complaining about nothing right? Many people have much more real problems and diseases, and to them go my thoughts and well wishes also.

For any problem, there exists a solution. It might take a long time and be hard to discover, but it's there. It might be undiscovered by anyone else, but if one person doesn't have this problem while another person does, there must be a solution to it.

 

I hope you'll be able to feel like you're stronger than this problem, and that it isn't so hard on your life.

[SecretGrotto]

Aetherous, thank you for the kind words and thoughts. I do like to believe that there is a solution and end to this trouble. I will continue visiting even other TCM doctors.

 

I do perform daily loosening, standing and song gong exercises. I have done some qigong at times to see the effect, but it any effect is only temporary.

 

I get the sense that my lung tissues were 'softened' for many months in the daily spoonful of cod liver oil I was taking, which clearly suffused my lungs, and that now the lung tissues have trouble in normalizing. There is still at times a clogging feeling in the lungs, and at times I can feel the incoming air being really cold and fresh. In the mornings when I wake up, my lungs feel 'rotten', heavy and 'clogged' although my breathing isn't too belaboured.

 

At times I can sense no trace of the issue, then it insidiously returns, flares up, now already for months and months. And I have expressed my desire in thought word and emotion to let go of this disease, so I don't think it is me trying to hold on to the disease or anything like that.

[blue eyed snake]

Aetherous, thank you for the kind words and thoughts. I do like to believe that there is a solution and end to this trouble. I will continue visiting even other TCM doctors.

 

I do perform daily loosening, standing and song gong exercises. I have done some qigong at times to see the effect, but it any effect is only temporary.

 

I get the sense that my lung tissues were 'softened' for many months in the daily spoonful of cod liver oil I was taking, which clearly suffused my lungs, and that now the lung tissues have trouble in normalizing. There is still at times a clogging feeling in the lungs, and at times I can feel the incoming air being really cold and fresh. In the mornings when I wake up, my lungs feel 'rotten', heavy and 'clogged' although my breathing isn't too belaboured.

 

At times I can sense no trace of the issue, then it insidiously returns, flares up, now already for months and months. And I have expressed my desire in thought word and emotion to let go of this disease, so I don't think it is me trying to hold on to the disease or anything like that.

 

Hi Secret Grotto, I do not think you're complaining about nothing, maybe ( but just maybe, i do not know you at all) you are given to be ' strong'  always, sort of anxious that people think you're complaining/whining.

 

If that should be the case you might look at the way you handle yourself, do you allow yourself to complain about your ailments, to take them serious, do you love yourself, even though you might feel that your'e not worth it?

 

something like that.

 

I would that I could give you answers but i can't, suffering from a ' vague' long-term illness myself I find that it is a sort of balancing act, on the one hand to settle in with the symptoms, i mean, to accept them for what they are, without getting emotional about them. On the other hand to actively seek for a solution, not to give up on the idea that you can get well again.

 

Question for you, you write that the use of codliveroil was bad for your lungs, among other things I have lungproblems too, could you explain to me what is the issue with lung-problems and cod liver oil?

[Aetherous]

I do perform daily loosening, standing and song gong exercises. I have done some qigong at times to see the effect, but it any effect is only temporary.

If there's relief after a certain practice, or eating a certain type of food, that means it's a good thing to do...it should just be done more often. Conversely, if anything causes a worsening, that's something to be avoided.

Edited November 12, 2016 by Aetherous

[SecretGrotto]

Aetherous, I mulled over your words the past couple of weeks, looking for signs in my organs, trying to see the connections. I have become distinctly aware of the drastic effect of my dietary intake on my lungs: my lungs respond in varying ways after a meal as if it is "pulling in" a state of congestion from the digestion.

 

In other words, my lungs tend to become congested more or less very rapidly depending on the food I eat. Like my lungs are absolutely predisposed toward a type of mucus congestion that starts from the bottom of the lungs upward.

 

You know when you eat very mucus producing food you may actually cough to get the slime out? Now the congestion I am feeling is too low in the lungs for me to have a coughing reflex.

 

If I eat sweet foods then the effect on the lungs are pronounced. This made clear to me the connection between the spleen and lungs, and now things are making more sense.

 

The whole time the effect has been felt in the lungs, but the cause is in the digestion. The Cod Liver Oil did a number on my spleen I suppose, resulting in deeply trapped damp in the spleen. As you say, the spleen generates the lung, so that damp is now working its way into my lung.

 

Man, it is radical how CLO f*cked my sh*t up, so to speak, driving me to the goddamned brink. I'm going to try and catch Dr Peter Yuan when I'm in NYC, apparently he is a really good TCM practitioner and herbalist. I think it makes sense, that if digesting a bad substance got me into this mess, that digesting the antidote can get me out of the mess.

 

Blue eyed snake, excessive CLO (1tbsp/day for 3 months) and spleen apparently don't play well together.

 

It's funny how at every turn I realize how little I understood what the f*ck was wrong with me, hopefully I can get a good karma writeoff from this ordeal. It has made me fairly stoic though, so I have learnt to curb my expectations.

[Aetherous]

Eat more bitter can help with that...an array of vegetables, like dark green leafy. If it's something like kale or chard, important to cook it first...especially this time of year.

[SecretGrotto]

Eat more bitter can help with that...an array of vegetables, like dark green leafy. If it's something like kale or chard, important to cook it first...especially this time of year.

 

 

Funny, cause I thought standing in ZZ was to eat more bitter.

 

Ok, so I have used Aloe Verox juice, available from our grocery store as an all-round remedy for various ailments related especially to the liver and kidneys. It is quite bitter, and I take half a shot in the morning and evening.

 

I have also used two shots of wheatgrass every evening, which makes me sleep very deeply, but it is quite sweet so I'm not so sure it is good for my spleen situation.

 

Anyhoo, I can definitely feel something starting to change in my lungs. You might recall that before, I mentioned that I can feel phlegm in my lower lungs, but that it is too low to cause a coughing reflex.

Now the past day or so I actually started to cough. I can feel something happening in my middle lung area and at times in my throat.

 

I have almost the same feeling as I have had during the start of the imbalance. There is almost like a sore spot, but energetically sore, developing in the middle of my chest.

 

If I was optimistic I would take it as a sign that the imbalance is reverse its coarse to the beginning, and that it is the bitter juice that instigated the change.

 

Thanks for the advice, I'll keep eating bitter, or drinking bitter.

 

 

To add, this has been a great lesson for me in TCM organ theory. Firstly the counter-intuitive idea that your digestion would generate or influence your lungs so directly...far out.

 

The suggestion for bitter does also make a lot of sense to me, if we are talking about a diet-caused damp phlegm which is something fatty, then the bitter helps to stimulate the gall bladder to release more gall and clear the fatty phlegm from the digestive system.

 

 

Please let us continue the discussion, because with every post you make I appear to be getting better! Thanks so much.

Edited November 29, 2016 by SecretGrotto

[flatwhite]

Did you end up meeting Robert Peng and Zeev Kolman?

[Fa Xin]

If there's relief after a certain practice, or eating a certain type of food, that means it's a good thing to do...it should just be done more often. Conversely, if anything causes a worsening, that's something to be avoided.

I agree with this. Even if qigong causes only TEMPORARY relief, if done daily can certainly have a culminating and balancing effect. It also takes a while.

 

I had eczema on my lip/face/nose/eyes area for years which was neigh impossible to get rid of. Tried steroid creams, diet changes, natural remedies. Only after persistent qigong about 6 months daily, it cleared up (as well as other small systemic issues, such as digestion problems, that were there but not bothersome enough to seek help. )

 

Hope your feeling better now!