Guest guest Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Does anybody know of anything in the literature (WM or TCM) that talks about the efficacy of AP and herbs for eating disorders? Does anybody here treat those disorders on a regular basis? I would like to know more about it, so would be happy to take this off-line if you wish. Thanks -Steve -- Stephen Bonzak, M.S., L.Ac., Dipl. C.H. sbonzak 773-470-6994 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Hi Steve, I don't treat eating disorders as such, but a number of my patients seem to need a little help in this area. One thing that I've learned is that if you suspect an eating disorder, and the patient isn't really there to be treated for this issue, it will be next to impossible to really bring it directly into the conversation. If they are there for the eating disorder, I treat what I see, usually there's some sort of wood/earth disharmony in the beginning and Spleen Qi or Yin deficiency in the end when they're closer to hospitalization. As for counseling, if you can find a good therapist in your area who specializes in this, that would be a good business card to keep on-hand. My very first private practice patient was a young woman who suffered from abdominal pain. It looked like Qi stagnation to me so that's how I treated it. However one interesting item kept coming up during the intake. She kept saying that she HATED having to eat. She HATED her stomach. I gently broached the topic of an eating disorder but she would just move the conversation elsewhere. It just never got addressed. To this day, I still see a good number of persons with eating disorders. I generally treat their complaints which run the gambit from Qi stagnation issues to Qi stagnation issues. : ) Because we see a few eating disorder counselors on a fairly regular basis, I'm planning on asking how to best cover this topic with those whom you suspect have an eating disorder. It isn't something that they like to admit, even to themselves. I have yet to discover this best way to open the door on this one. A few observations that I've made. The part of the brain that is responsible for eating disorders seems to be the same part responsible for the emotional discomfort of constipation. The two somehow show up together. Excessive colon cleanses seem to show up among this patient population. Then there are the " liver cleanses " which are popular for these patients. There is a secondary pathology associated with body image issues that gives rise to excessive skin care treatments. Especially the dramatic ones such as chemical peals and microdermabrasion which is essentially sand-blasting the skin. I believe that the excessive cleansing whether through enema, detoxification therapies or skin removal techniques are connected to the sense of being bad, wrong, dirty, or fat. They all seem to show up together for some reason. Even if someone has begun to deal with their issues, you'll find that the tentacles of this problem live on in the background of a patient's emotional nature. Its a tough one to get over, if it can be done ever. -al. On Feb 16, 2005, at 12:02 PM, Stephen Bonzak wrote: > > Does anybody know of anything in the literature (WM or TCM) that > talks about the efficacy of AP and herbs for eating disorders? Does > anybody here treat those disorders on a regular basis? I would like > to know more about it, so would be happy to take this off-line if you > wish. Thanks > > -Steve > -- > Stephen Bonzak, M.S., L.Ac., Dipl. C.H. > sbonzak > 773-470-6994 -- Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. -Adlai Stevenson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 Thanks Al. >Hi Steve, > >I don't treat eating disorders as such, but a number of my patients >seem to need a little help in this area. > >One thing that I've learned is that if you suspect an eating disorder, >and the patient isn't really there to be treated for this issue, it >will be next to impossible to really bring it directly into the >conversation. If they are there for the eating disorder, I treat what >I see, usually there's some sort of wood/earth disharmony in the >beginning and Spleen Qi or Yin deficiency in the end when they're >closer to hospitalization. As for counseling, if you can find a good >therapist in your area who specializes in this, that would be a good >business card to keep on-hand. > >My very first private practice patient was a young woman who suffered >from abdominal pain. It looked like Qi stagnation to me so that's how >I treated it. However one interesting item kept coming up during the >intake. She kept saying that she HATED having to eat. She HATED her >stomach. I gently broached the topic of an eating disorder but she >would just move the conversation elsewhere. It just never got >addressed. > >To this day, I still see a good number of persons with eating >disorders. I generally treat their complaints which run the gambit >from Qi stagnation issues to Qi stagnation issues. : ) > >Because we see a few eating disorder counselors on a fairly regular >basis, I'm planning on asking how to best cover this topic with those >whom you suspect have an eating disorder. It isn't something that they >like to admit, even to themselves. I have yet to discover this best >way to open the door on this one. > >A few observations that I've made. The part of the brain that is >responsible for eating disorders seems to be the same part responsible >for the emotional discomfort of constipation. The two somehow show up >together. Excessive colon cleanses seem to show up among this patient >population. Then there are the " liver cleanses " which are popular for >these patients. > >There is a secondary pathology associated with body image issues that >gives rise to excessive skin care treatments. Especially the dramatic >ones such as chemical peals and microdermabrasion which is essentially >sand-blasting the skin. I believe that the excessive cleansing whether >through enema, detoxification therapies or skin removal techniques are >connected to the sense of being bad, wrong, dirty, or fat. They all >seem to show up together for some reason. > >Even if someone has begun to deal with their issues, you'll find that >the tentacles of this problem live on in the background of a patient's >emotional nature. Its a tough one to get over, if it can be done ever. > >-al. > >On Feb 16, 2005, at 12:02 PM, Stephen Bonzak wrote: > >> >> Does anybody know of anything in the literature (WM or TCM) that >> talks about the efficacy of AP and herbs for eating disorders? Does >> anybody here treat those disorders on a regular basis? I would like >> to know more about it, so would be happy to take this off-line if you >> wish. Thanks >> >> -Steve >> -- >> Stephen Bonzak, M.S., L.Ac., Dipl. C.H. >> sbonzak >> 773-470-6994 > >-- > >Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. >-Adlai Stevenson > > > > > > >Chinese Herbal Medicine offers various professional services, >including board approved continuing education classes, an annual >conference and a free discussion forum in Chinese Herbal Medicine. > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 My wife is a psychologist who specializes in eating disorders. I've heard a lot from her about treatment for these disorders. It appears that from her experience with treating in-patient hospitialized patients, it can be an extremely difficult problem to treat. It does seem that of any treatments out there, cognitive behaviorial therapy is well regarded - but relapse is still common. I haven't worked on any patients with this problem yet, so don't have anything to offer from a TCM perspective. A thought is the food stagnation formulas that are used for supposed to be for people who can't stand the thought of eating. Of course, there are going to be Sp Qi Xu issues too with Liv Qi and Ht shen complications. I would ask people who are very good in treatment with eating disorders how to approach the subject in how to make the referral. These patients are very unlikely to want to treat the problem, since most don't see it as a problem, and if you suggest that it is - you are probably unlikely to have a welcome response.. or a return visit. I guess this would be one of the instances where you have to 'sneak' in the treatment with the main complaint to have any compliance. Good luck! Geoff , Al Stone <alstone@b...> wrote: > Hi Steve, > > I don't treat eating disorders as such, but a number of my patients > seem to need a little help in this area. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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