Another project that Vlad and I started in January, aside from dealing with USCIS (see previous post), is our experiment with Chinese Herbal Medicine. It began with my dad's journey to Florida to see a Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) doctor, by the name of Ni Hai-Sha. My dad has had many chronic "diseases" (by Western standard) like high blood pressure, diabetes, gallbladder and kidney stones. He has been prescribed to take several different types of "pills" to control his conditions, and has been taking them for more than 10 years. His awakening came when his CT-Scan showed of gallbladder stones and a shrinkage of his pancreas. Gallbladder stones cannot be cured, but only surgically removed (the stones and/or the entire gallbladder) when the pain becomes unbearable by the patient. The pancreas shrinkage comes from taking the medication to "control" his diabetes - those pills basically eliminated the function of the pancreas. Both situation will significantly compromise my dad's health as he gets older. He decided to seek for alternative solution - Chinese Herbal Medicine.
My dad has always been open minded and willing to try new things. He searched online for a short while, and decided that Dr. Ni Hai-Sha is an excellent Chinese Doctor. My parents flew to Cape Canaveral, FL and saw Dr. Ni. Fortunately, Dr. Ni was everything my dad had hoped for. Dr. Ni promised that if my dad was patient and had trust in Chinese Medicine, he will be cured of any diseases with time. In Dr. Ni's words, the balance will be restored.
Dr Ni was miracle worker in his own way - the treatment began with weekly acupuncture and daily herbs intake. My dad responded well to the treatment, and started to feel better. Now, this part has always been a mystery to me. Supposedly, you have to get worse to get better, in some ways. So, my dad, responding to the treatment, was unable to walk for almost 4 months. Supposedly, his problem was that he has too much "cold" in his body, disturbing the natural balance in his body. In more western words, my dad has rheumatology that manifests itself in his knees. Furthermore, Dr. Ni believed that once the "cold" is eliminated, his chronic diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes will not exist. These two conditions were simply symptoms of the "cold", not the roots of the problem.
Fast forward to today, my dad has been cured with the "cold" and is walking normally now. Dr. Ni is now treating him for the kidney and gallbladder stones, which will take several more months. My dad drinks the herbal medicine daily, and he is an excellent student who is rigorously studying Chinese Medicine. He has been telling everyone his story, including myself.
The first time I tried the herbs myself was in November 07, when I was home for Thanksgiving. I went hiking twice in that weekend. I was overly stressed from the move to the Bay Area, and my body just didn't take the hiking too well. I got sick with flu-like symptoms. My dad suggested that I took some herbs for it. To treat cold, it is very simple. Few bags of the herbs will do the trick, according to my dad. I actually only took one bag, and drank some ginger-sugar water (it is a old recipe from Chinese household). After the herbs and the ginger water, I started to sweat a lot; and magically, the next day, I felt MUCH better! And in few days, I was all better and drove and move to the Bay Area with full car of stuff. Honestly, I was amazed, because it usually takes me a week to get over a cold/flu.
December was a crazy month (see all previous blog entries), and I did not take care of my body. By the New Year's Eve, my body was crashing, with irregular menstrual cycle. This has not happened in the past, and I would have dismissed this as "well, I'm stressed out. I will be fine" But, my mom found out, and suggested that I go to see a Chinese Doctor in the Bay Area. By this time, she has been reading and learning about Chinese Medicine. Basically, I was told, a woman's menstrual cycle is the best indication of a woman's health. Determined to be like my dad, I remained open-minded and search online for a Traditional Chinese Doctor, and eventually found my way to Dr. Quach's office in Chinatown Oakland.
Dr. Quach's OfficeNot understanding Cantonese certainly did not make my experience any easier; however, the crowd of people waiting to see Dr. Quach appeased my anxiety. I think to myself "this guy must know something to have 8-10 patients waiting on a weekday". Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long because I spoke English, which means I could be seen by another Dr. Quach (the son).
Now, I wished I could take pictures, because no words could easily explain how I was "diagnosed". Dr. Quach asked about my symptoms, THEN, he put his hand on both of my wrists to "Ba-Mai" (把脈). Roughly translating this, the Doctor was detecting the flow of "chi" and based on experience, he could tell what organ(s) was out of balance in your body. For non-believers and someone who is used to Western medicine of battery of "tests", this diagnose is almost like voodoo. But, it works, because after taking only 1 bag of the herbs, my menstrual cycle started within 24 hours. It may be coincidence, some may say. But my continuing experience, including Vlad's, convinced us otherwise.
Few days after my menstrual cycle returned to normal, I felt relieved. But, some other symptoms arrived, namely, a very strange back pain that was neither from trauma or muscle pain from over exercise. This pain was also uncomfortably familiar - it reminded me of the pain I had prior to being admitted to the hospital for a kidney infection five years ago. That hospital stay was probably the most unpleasant health care experience I've had - high fever, countless syringes, morphine-for-pain, and a long course of antibiotics. (Not to mention a bill as high as buying TWO HD-TV's) I didn't have to think twice before returning to Dr. Quach. I didn't tell him about my past history of kidney infection because I did not want to lead him in wrong way. I simply told him where the pain was and how I felt. To my eternal surprise, his diagnoses were exactly that - "you have weak kidneys and that in turn affects your heart"
Once again, I took the herbs dutifully. Guess what - it worked like magic! With my successful experiences with Chinese Herbs, I convinced Vlad to check it out. From my recent exposure to Chinese Medicine, I learned that a health person should always have warm hands and feet. There are 7 signs that anyone should have to be considered healthy in Chinese Medicine. Warm hands & feet were one of the criteria. This immediately rang a bell in my head as Vlad usually has cold feet and hand. So, I convinced him to just check it out and give it a try. Vlad, seeing how Chinese Medicine has worked its magic with my dad and myself, agreed.
So, now, both of us drink herbs nightly. (The short story with Vlad is that he has a weak liver, and may require several weeks of intake of the herbs). After taking the herbs for about 3 weeks, Vlad feels more energetic, sleeps better, and has a better appetite. Hopefully, the warm hands/feet will come with time. All in all, we feel great!
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Comments
Thnks.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hoan-cau-compan
In case it does not work, type in "Hoan Cau Company" to search in "Oakland, CA" at YELP.COM
Words of caution: this office, given that it's a Chinese Doctor's Office in Chinatown Oakland, isn't your typical American doctor's office where answering the phone and making appointment are the norm. Second caution, do not get put off with the "confusion" in the office where there seems to be tens of people swarming around with no system of who's next. It's a Cantonese-speaking office, but there are people there who speak decent English. Again, customer service isn't the selling point here, but the wonderful moment when your cold is instantly better after few bags of herbs.
Lastly, just as a disclaimer, I wrote this journal entry with the intention to promote Chinese medicine. However, I am not a doctor in anyway, so any account to myself, and my family are based on personal experiences. Whether the wonder of the Herbs will work with you is up to the doctor and how you practice it.
Good luck! Leave me a message and share the story if you'd like. By the way, who are you? Funny question, but really, how did you end up on my page, and honestly, I'd just like to continue the communication. ^_^
complaint.
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Cape Canaveral, FL (near Orlando) in September 07. As I said in the blog, my father had many health issues, and fast forward to today, he's healthy, and happy. Based on that experience, I'd recommend Dr. Ni. From my understanding, he treats many different so-called untreatable diseases by Western Medicine, including cancer. Here is his website that has both English and Chinese
http://www.hantang.com/
As to his charges, I will have to ask my parents, but I know that they feel that it was worth it. Please e-mail me if you're really interested. I don't want to publicly post these information. My e-mail is cllin13@yahoo.com
Best of luck, and feel free contact me through e-mail , and I can tell you more.