Elimination—An Indicator of Overall Health
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…” I’m certain that Elizabeth Barrett Browning was not referring to bowel movements in this poem, but my version would! Nobody loves to talk about bowel movements, but digestion and the resulting elimination are very important indicators of your overall health. Being healthy means loving even the hard-to-talk-about aspects of your well-being.
Many of the health issues occurring in your daily life are connected with the dysfunction of your bowels. Excessively frequent or irregular bowel movements indicate imbalances involving the internal organs. Most of my patients don’t realize that their back pain, shoulder pain and anxiety are directly related to their symptoms of constipation or diarrhea. Lucky for them, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), does! The interconnectedness of the body’s internal organs means problems in one system will affect the working of other seemingly unrelated organ systems.
Moisture Matters
The bowels need a lot of moisture to perform their vital task. A lack of moisture in your body caused by dehydration, sweating and prescription medications causes the bowels to pull any fluid in the surrounding area to them to maintain the function of elimination. This results in hard, dry stools. After years of this ineffective process, the pulling of moisture from surrounding tissue affects the lower back muscles and the kidneys, both of which function properly only with adequate moisture levels. As a result, you could experience unrelenting back pain and kidney stones (which further increase back pain). Other physical illnesses may occur including headaches, rhinitis, sinusitis and allergies—side effects of the mucous membranes in the bowels becoming stagnant and clogged. Emotionally, stagnation of thoughts and feelings with an unwillingness to let go of the past may occur.
A similar, though opposite malfunction occurs with symptoms of diarrhea and feelings of anxiety. As the spleen and compromised liver become unable to properly aid in digestion, loose stools occur. Built-up emotions and an improper diet make the liver tight allowing excess waste to build up. The affected spleen which normally holds bodily functions upright, becomes weakened and digestive waste flows out too easily. The physical bowels are producing loose, unconsolidated waste, while your mind is creating runaway, uncollected thoughts. These two systems are not calm, collected, and connected as they should be. Physically and mentally, your body’s functions are loose and ungrounded.
What a Relief: One Patient’s Journey
If there is a lack of qi (energy), elimination is affected, and constipation occurs. I recently saw a new patient at Acupuncture by Andrea who presented with a lack of qi. Jake came to the clinic in desperate need of relief from a bowel disorder. He had been to his medical doctor complaining of bowel issues for which he was prescribed laxatives. When these didn’t have the desired effect, Jake was prescribed more laxatives. When these failed to cure his constipation, he was prescribed a third round of laxatives! Long-term laxative use is unsafe. It creates dependency on the bowels (they won’t work without their use) and they are not the best solution to the constipation problem.
When this third round of laxatives also failed to relieve his blocked bowels, Jake was scheduled for bowel resection, a procedure that he did not want to undergo for fear of side effects and the potential for long-term post-operative problems. Jake decided he needed an alternative to the options being presented by his doctors. Enter Chinese Medicine. Immediately upon seeing my new patient for his first treatment, I noted his pale face, quiet voice and the fact that he was dressed in far too many layers on a warm Florida day. He was obviously deficient in yang energy, and constipation was the result. The first step in curing Jake’s issues was to warm up his internal systems so his body would have the strength to do the work of eliminating waste.
For several acupuncture sessions, I targeted points that would tonify and strengthen by boosting the kidneys and the lungs so Jake could resume regular defecation. I then added moxibustion to the treatments and victory was ours!
Over just a few treatments, his voice regained strength and volume, his temperature regulated (no more heated table needed during treatments), and his over-sensitivity to touch abated. Jake completely moved off of laxatives, his appetite returned to normal and his strength increased, allowing him to finally get back outside and enjoy the activities he loves. Thankful he was able to avoid invasive surgery, Jake left my office with renewed interest in maintaining his health through continued acupuncture treatments and lifestyle adjustments.
A Holistic Treatment Approach
Jake’s successful outcome resulted from targeted acupuncture applied over multiple treatments. Like Jake, many of my patients suffering from digestive issues benefit from the addition of food therapy, some lifestyle changes, and herbal medicines alongs with acupuncture sessions. I prescribe a variety of formulas for digestive issues including constipation and diarrhea. Depending on the origin of your bowel issues, the right herbal medicine for you would target heat, cold, qi, or deficiency. Herbal formulas for constipation and diarrhea are varied and readily available at my office. The most prescribed for constipation include:
Da Cheng qi Tang (Major Rhubarb Combination) to relieve heat and move the bowels
Ma Zi Ren Wan to loosen blocked bowels
Tang Kwei Jing, a moisturizing herbal tonic to boost qi and increase frequency of elimination
For diarrhea, I recommend:
Xiao Yao Wan to soothe the liver in those with alternating constipation and diarrhea usually caused by irregular menstruation
Ban Xia Xie Xin Tang to balance stomach and intestinal problems.
Evergreen Herbs GI Care products to treat stress-induced diarrhea, Crohn’s disease and other elimination issues.
If you are suffering from diarrhea, a consolidating treatment with herbal medicine and foods to stop the excessive flow will be prescribed. Consolidating foods such as rice and sweet potatoes are recommended while high fiber foods that create more movement should be avoided. For constipation, moisturizing foods and herbs such as oatmeal and honey will create movement. And of course, drink water, water, and more water!
Through a holistic, multi-modal approach, I will find the right treatment for you to relieve your bowel and digestive issues.
If you’ve been living life coping with ongoing elimination and digestion problems, we can help. Call or email Acupuncture by Andrea and get some relief!