Alternative Medicine, Chinese Healing Arts, Acupuncture, etc... Anyone know much about these topics?

I have an unexplainable stomach ache that comes for about a day each month. I have had almost every test possible done, and they've resorted to calling them "stomach migraines" and gave me a migraine pill that doesn't work. I'm at the point where I want to step away from what I've been doing and want to try something completely new. What do I need to look for in a good alternative medicine doctor or clinic, what are the pros and cons, what is the best route to go, and how can I convince my parents it isn't "a bunch of crap" and to open their minds?

Thanks for your time.

From your description, it's almost certainly a menstruel problem. Western doctors are very ill suited at dealing with they can't understand or explain, and label it as "psychosomatic or in your case stomach migranes (that doesn't even make sense ~.~)." I emailed my Chinese doctor friend (he takes a bit to respond since internet access is harder to get in China), but once he replies to me I'll give you his thoughts on your condition.
*Also do you know if the place that hurts is exactly the stomach, or one of the organs in the belly. You can look at an anatomy map to figure it out. This will make diagnosing your problem easier.


The TCM doctors in the US have a lot of women's health practices, so they probably would have an idea about what's going here. I also know naturopaths do something similar, so if you find one that specializes in women's health they can help you. Naturopaths are state dependent though (in some they are worthless to see). You'd have to tell me which one you are in to know if there's any point to that.

With your parents it really depends on how open minded they are (once again it depends on where you live as well). Assuming you don't have a weird psyochosomatic condition (in which cause you need to find some sort of emotional trauma you've had that wasn't dealt with, I had a friend who had something that vaguely resembeld your description after an abort and she fixed it with a form of chinese medicine..long story), if there's a treatment for you, it's going to be in the alt med field. You can pretty much tell them the reality. What I am doing does not work, I think this will. Do you want to help me or spend lots of money so I can be messed up for a long time?

Judging Chinese doctors is hard to do, especially if you don't have a good grasp of the field (ie are new like you). Chinese medicine is more of an art than an exact scientific repeatable practice, so as a result, physician quality matters a lot more than from an MD and the quality of your doctor can create vastly different results. You mostly have to go off word of mouth and people's opinions. I know some of the good doctors in a few areas of the US, so I might be able to help you there. If you're a naturally intuitive person you might be able to tell if the doctor seems good or bad, and I guess at worse leave it to that. Also google whoever you're considering because they will probably have some reviews online. *if it comes up ear acupuncture is probably not relevant for your condition so don't accept anyone that proposes this.

Also, most of what Kalos is saying is BS. He hangs out on this forum and attacks a lot of alt med practices. The only topic I am "intimately familiar with" that he attacks is Chinese medicine (to the point I'd consider myself an "expert"). The western medicine establishment just has this sorta "hateful bias" against chinese medicine, so to a degree you have to accept people saying stuff like Kalos.
There's a lot of stuff that bothers me on quackwatch, but I ended up writing and replying to this once since I was actually familiar enough on the subject matter to feel I could comment.
If you read his source give it a fair reading in context against mine;
http://www.guswut.com/quack.html

Hope all of that helps. This might be a lot to chew over, so get back to me if you have any more questions.

*edit my friend whos 19 had something similar to what youre describing (although hers was more painful) and we eventually figured out it was a fibroid.

http://www.guswut.com/quack.ht... is laughably naive 鈥?the work of a sophomore. Report It

If you are looking for a good alternative medicine practitioner make sure that they are regulated and have taken the necessary schooling. I would definitely seek out alternative medicine if you are not getting answers from the medical profession (contrary to what Kalos will probably tell you). I would suggest going to see a registered Naturopathic Doctor that can take your case, history, do a physical exam and necessary laboratory work. Naturopathic Doctors are trained to look for the root cause of illness instead of covering it up or palliating with medications. Look up registered ND's on the AANP website in the US and the CAND website in Canada - this allows you to find ND's that have taken the necessary schooling (approximately 8 years of school). As far as your parents are concerned its pretty easy to "convince" people once they see the benefits and results of utilizing complementary/alternative medicine. They can even just turn on the television and watch Oprah when Dr. Oz is on - he is very much an advocate of preventative/complementary health care. Or even just watch the movie "Sicko" by Michael Moore - where he explains the importance of preventative medicine and how the health care in the States is so ineffective (not only because of the health care coverage problems) because doctors only treat symptoms with medication instead of stressing the importance of diet and lifestyle! Many people are starting to get frustrated with the current medical paradigm and are seeking out alternative options! "Why put an ambulance at the bottom of a cliff when you can build a fence at the top?" Prevention is the key to true health!!!

Kalos: Why do you keep posting that Eastern medicine is becoming obsolete in Asian areas as Western medicine becomes more available....that is sooooo not true and you would know that if you took a trip over there sometime!!!

Have you consulted with a nutritionist? There may be something you're eating that's disturbing your digestive tract. The first step to do is eliminate all sugar, all chemicals, and all processed foods out of diet. After one month, slowly add one food at a time for two week interval and see which one is the trigger.

If something what you're eating isn't the problem, then yes, consult with a naturopath first, they have the most well rounded education for what you're seeking. Education consists typically of nutrition, homeopathic medications, herbs, acupuncture, and so forth.

Good luck!

I have been interested in the history of TCM as a lay person for over 30 years. In the old feudal days in China a doctor was only paid while you were well and not paid when you were sick and so it was in his own interest to make you well if you were one of his patients.Also if one of his patients died he had to hang a lantern outside his practise.so people were able to see who were the good Dr's and if someone died and he did not put the lantern out, he was executed the one thing that save the Dr's was that the patient had to stick to what the Dr ordered. It's not surprising that to days modern youth if told not to smoke by their Dr would not listen to him. I believe that a combination of TCM and western medicine can work side by side. It's not long ago that western medicine cut people open to try and find the meridians that TCM said existed? and when they could not find them rubbished TCM.
It wasn't until technology came along with a means of finding the acupuncture points, that western Dr's started to take up acupuncture themselves.One of the main differences between the two systems is western medicine takes away the symptoms ie: headache take 2 panadol where as TCM finds out which meridian is unbalanced then proceeds to balance them there by making you well again, but not all illnesses are controlable by both systems and there are good and bad practitioners in both camps

Health is also rapidly deteriorating in Asian countries, and they have an increase in heart disease and cancer as a result of adopting Western diet and lifestyle.
They are also being brainwashed to think that Western medicine has all the answers in a bottle of pills. However, I think to say that chinese medicine is dying out in China is a huge exaggeration.
There can be a lot of causes for your problems. If "normal" medicine has failed you, as it often does, then start broadening your horizons.

Bastyr University in WA is one of the most recognized Naturopathic medicine schools in the country, and has a provider directory. There are great free Resources, and we also sell books, etc. at my website for learning and backing up your appeal with research. We could probably find a Health Counselor in your area if you contact us via the site. GL