I went to a Chinese medicine doctor for the first time last night and it was an interesting experience. I can't believe I waited this long to finally try it, having had Taiwanese health insurance this whole time, which covers it. It cost me $5.
He took my pulse from each wrist, putting his three fingers on different sides, feeling for God knows what. He was writing on a Post-It note with the other hand as he stared off into space, thinking something.
Luckily my friend was there to help translate. We said I didn't have any health issues at the moment, but just wanted to check out my body's state of affairs.
After he did his pulse-reading thing, he explained a lot. Apparently I wasn't in tip top shape. I had a few issues.
The first thing was my stomache. He said he could barely feel it. He even checked the other side of my wrist for the pulse in case the connection was there like it is for some people. But no, it was right where it was supposed to be. Just very, very faint.
My stomache was very weak. He said our stomach is like the soil in the earth. But since my soil is weak, it is hard for it to absorb nutrients. News to me.
Then he asked if I went to sleep late regularly, and about the quality, and my energy-level during the day. He said my body wasn't recharging fully. He used the same word they use in Chinese for charging your iPhone.
I wasn't recovering the energy I was using on a daily basis and that, if I kept this up, I may face lower back pain in my 30s and 40s. Yikes. I needed to find ways to "recharge" beyond just sleep, though he would still give me something to improve its quality. He recommended light daily exercise, such as walking.
Lastly he said to eat less ice-cold food or drinks. I guess it affects my chi. My friend explained vegetables and other foods are categorized as being cold or hot and that I just need to consume less of those classified as "cold." Alright. At least no more iced Americanos.
All of this from a few minutes of touching my wrist. Do you believe it? Either way it's worth a try. The prescriptions have little down-side: brisk walk 30 minutes a day, some herbs, and plenty of rest.
The medicine for a week was $3. I looked up some of the characters, and it included dandelion, fangfeng root, and weeping forsythia. It's all ground up into this super bitter powder that you just down straight from the individual packets. It's literally hard to swallow. 3 times a day after meals. Not fun. But as they say, good medicine tastes bitter. Maybe they do it on purpose.
I want to keep exploring this concept of recharging. What are more ways I can recharge throughout the day or week? How do I conserve or burn less energy so I'm not always running myself dry or never reaching above 80% battery/always running on 20%?
I think it may mean working or worrying less.
How different this is from an American doctor!
Overall, great experience. I'm ready to prioritize my health and energy.
Stay tuned.
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Enjoy!