One day I noticed a painful red rash breaking out around my left side. At first I thought it was Chicken Pox because I'd recently treated a patient with a bad case of that rash. Although I didn't think that Chicken Pox was usually contagious, that seemed the most logical connection. The more it went on though and the more I thought about it, I knew it had to be Shingles, or Herpes Zoster. How did I know? It was more painful that itchy, it seemed to emerge from the spine, the spine itself felt quite painful and burning, and it was only on one side of the body following a nerve root path. It was a textbook case. I knew from my school studies that acupuncture and Chinese herbs could be very helpful and enlisted the help of an acupuncturist friend who also lived in Santa Rosa, CA.
In the meantime I did some online research as I continue to be interested in diseases as metaphors for what we are struggling with on deep levels. Although famous new age thought author Louise Hay called Shingles "Waiting for the other shoe to drop," the words of a less famous blogger resonated even more. "Shingles", she said, is a "Crossroads before fear and trust." This really seemed to ring true in my life as I was in the process of deepening my spiritual path and letting go of some fearful patterns in my mind. I believe my conscious choice to take the path of more faith and letting go sped my recovery. It also allowed me to approach the acupuncture and herbal treatment I received with receptivity and confidence.
The acupuncturist I saw diagnosed me as having "damp heat in the gallbladder channel" and had me take high doses of herbal tablets called Long Dan Xie Gan Tang. The herbs were cooling and drying and had me feeling better in about a day. I also took some blood moving herbs to help with all my spinal pain. Surprisingly moxa over the sores was very soothing. Although the disease has heat to it, moxa is still helpful because the sores are fluid filled and damp is dried by moxa. Moxa can often be done at home and not just y the Chinese Medicine doctor. My husband, in fact, was very helpful with this part of my treatment.
If you or someone you know is suffering from Shingles near Sonoma County, Ca call Kat at (707) 775-8311 or visit http://www.santarosa-acupuncture.com for more information about treatment.
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