Lobotomy alternatives

[Guest guest]

I am wondering if anyone knows of chinese medicine alternatives for a 28 year old man who is facing the possibility of having a frontal lobotomy.

 

This man has unpredictable and violent mood swings, and has been in isolation except for bath and toilet breaks for the past several months. Electro convulsive therapy is something he has grown accustomed to, and it's effectiveness is now minimal. His history includes being born with a generic mental handicap (as opposed to an identifiable one) and developed psychosis.

 

Frontal lobotomy is the action being considered as the therapeutic model being followed has run out of other options for improving the quality of this man's life.

 

This knowledge comes to me second hand, through a case worker who is a friend of mine. He reports that the treatment team would consider any other options. There are many acupuncturists in my local community (Vancouver British Columbia), but I thought this would be the best place to begin to inquire.

 

For your reference, I am a registered Jin Shin Do Bodymind Acupressurist.

 

Thank you for your time and attention

 

Alexander Townend

[Guest guest]

> I am wondering if anyone knows of chinese medicine alternatives for a 28

>year old man who is facing the possibility of having a frontal lobotomy.

>

> This man has unpredictable and violent mood swings, and has been in

>isolation except for bath and toilet breaks for the past several months.

>Electro convulsive therapy is something he has grown accustomed to, and

>it's

>effectiveness is now minimal. His history includes being born with a

>generic

>mental handicap (as opposed to an identifiable one) and developed

>psychosis.

 

This is one that I was hoping someone else would respond to because my

knowledge of TCM and psychological problems is general, and I have a special

interest in alternative psychiatric treatments because the mainstream ones

often have so many side effects or are so extreme. A lobotomy is very

extreme. (A lobotomy is a surgical procedure in which nerve fibers (as of

the frontal lobes of the brain are severed. It has a number of undesirable

consequences.)

 

In cases of severe mental illness, always suspect Heart involvement. One TCM

syndrome which you may want to take a closer look at is Phlegm Fire

Harassing the Heart. I'm going to give details of this in a separate post

since I will be quoting a lot from Maciocia.

 

Maciocia says that the pattern of Spleen Qi Deficiency is also present with

Phlegm Fire Harassing the Heart. The Spleen Qi is weak and and unable to

perform the function of transportation and transformation. This is what

enables the Phlegm to form.

 

The fact that he was born with a mental handicap points to Kidney and Jing

involvement.

 

Phlegm disorders can take a long time to reverse, especially Heart Phlegm

disorders. If his doctors decide to go an alternative route, they should be

made aware of this so that treatment is not stopped too soon.

 

This is a case in which a full TCM accessment definitely needs to be made.

" Cookbook " acupuncture will either fail or at best be partially effective.

It sounds like there may be Kidney and Jing imbalance in addition to

possible Phlegm Fire Harassing the Heart problems, and it sounds like the

problems have been going on for a long time and getting more and more

complicated and severe. A full TCM-style accessment definitely is called

for in cases which may be complicated and which have gone untreated for a

long time.

 

Given the nature of Phlegm Heart imbalances, I would be very, very surprised

if the individual doesn't have a number of physical health problems as well.

 

There is a possibility that the electro-convulsive therapy may have worsened

the underlying TCM Root(s).

 

Victoria

 

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