About Me

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Diamond Bar, California, United States
I am currently an acupuncturist in my own clinc and a holder of diplomas of Oriental Medical Doctor and Chinese Herbology (NCCAOM). I got my B.S. of Chinese Materia Medica, M.S. of Medicine, Ph.D. of Natural Product Medicine in China, then trained as a post-doctoral research scientist in Columbia University in New York. I was a professor of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China, an AvH research fellow in Dusseldorf University in Germany, a professor in South California University of Health Science in the U.S., and the editor and author of the book: Traditional Herbal Medicine Research Methods-Identification, Analysis, Bioassay, and Pharmacological and Clinical Studies (In English, contracted with John Wiley & Sons, will be published in January 2011). I enjoy to spent time to explore all aspects related to health and illness and to be challenged with diseases or symptoms that allopathic and other doctors failed to treat or relieve. I like to combine the knowledge of traditional and modern medicine in the treatment. Please drag down for the content!

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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Dizziness and numbness caused by poor blood circulation





In late October, Paul (age 57) came to my clinic accompanies by his wife. He said he had been feeling severe dizzy and fatigue recently. For this reason, he had been off the work for two weeks. His family doctor could not find any reason directly causing the problems. But the recent blood test showed his glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was lower than normal, and he had been taken antihypertension drug for 3 years. Thus, the doctor told him not to intake sodium and proteins. But after he followed


the doctor’s instruction, the symptoms became even worse. In addition to these problems, he mentioned that he has genetic thalassemia, and his hands, particularly the fingers, had been felt numbness, particularly when the fingers were curved and his feet have been felt cold for several years. To avoid being waked up by the severe numbness of fingers and cold on feet during sleep, he had to wear braces to keep his fingers straight, and his feet must be wrapped with an additional blanket every night. Besides, he also felt negative and have no interest in anything. His wife added that he had symptoms of depression.


Based on the above statement and pulse and tongue diagnosis, I told the patient that his problems were caused by the poor Qi and blood circulation. I treated him with acupuncture and Chinese herbal formula. The treatment was focusing on the dizziness and fatigue first, then the numbness and kidney problem. When he came back for the 2nd acupuncture treatment, he told me that the dizziness has been reduced. But after the 2nd treatment, he stopped coming for acupuncture treatment and taking herbal medicine because his dentist asked him taking antibiotics for his tooth problem.


About half month later, his wife called me to explain the reason and said the dizziness became worse again, so wanted to come for further treatment. This time, I told him that the treatment needs to be continued for best result. The patient promised to come twice per week. He also mentioned that his neck could not move around freely and his neck felt very tight. Therefore, the acupuncture points were modified. With four continuously acupuncture treatment while taking herbal formulas, the patient’s dizziness was completely gone in two weeks. The treatment was switched to the numbness. When he came last Tuesday after another four times acupuncture and modified herbal medicine treatments after the second two weeks, his numbness of fingers completely disappeared. He told me that his hands had not been feel numbness without taking the braces for three days and his feet felt warmer during the sleep, thus no extra blanket was needed for them. I told him that we could then focus on the functional regulation of the kidneys. Because he has no symptoms with the kidneys, the result has to be known when he gets the blood test next month.


Although the patient had severe problems, the medicine doctor could not tell him the exact reason. This is because his symptoms were caused by functional disorders rather than damage in his organs or tissues. The tightness of his muscle on the neck impacted his blood supply to his brain, consequently affected the nerves, thus causing dizziness, depression and fatigue. With the same reason, the poor peripheral circulation of blood in his four limbs caused his hands numbness and feet coldness.

1 comment:

  1. There's a reason why we get dizzy and numb at times. We should always choose the right food and take supplements for good blood circulation.

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