Dr. Na Zhai Clinic Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine

Gordan: Waning Life Restored to Full Vigor

 

Gordan was a small-framed man who had spent his life as a millwright—lifting and repairing heavy machinery. The work was physically demanding and stressful. It gave him an ulcer. The ulcer led to stomach surgery. The surgery led to a new chronic condition called dumping syndrome.

Dumping syndrome, also known as rapid gastric emptying, is a condition in which the contents of the stomach are "dumped" into the small intestine prematurely, before being digested. It causes nausea, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, weakness, and heart palpitations. Doctors typically prescribe medications to slow digestion and control diarrhea. They suggest smaller, low-fat, low-sugar meals.

Nothing worked. Not even the specialists at Mayo Clinic.

Gordan began eating less to avoid the discomfort. That led to malnutrition, weight loss, lowered energy, and insomnia. He had already quit smoking in 1990, after 45 years. But his health continued to decline.

In December 2005, while driving home from visiting his son, he had a coughing spell that lasted nearly an hour. That was the beginning of his COPD.

The Cascade

Gordan's COPD symptoms and medications knocked his health into a dangerous new level of descent. He developed daily lung congestion, coughing up phlegm for hours every morning. He could not breathe easily. Then came congestive heart trouble, edema, chronic sinusitis, and prostate and bladder problems.

The cascade of illnesses confined him indoors, depriving him of the activity he loved most: working on his farm. His happy disposition evaporated.

Even worse than the COPD itself were the medications. The inhalers helped his breathing but burned his esophagus. Every bite of food became painful to swallow. His esophagus became so raw that eating was agony. His doctor prescribed Mylanta. It did nothing.

Already down to 120 pounds, Gordan began losing two pounds a week. He half-jokingly, half-seriously said he was going to start shopping for a box—his final resting place.

The Turning Point

In May 2006, after being told by his lung specialist to "just try to eat more often," Gordan saw no hope. He started looking for an alternative.

A friend—Mr. Stuart Kainste, manager of a health food store in Springfield, Illinois—told him about Dr. Na Zhai. Gordan and his wife raced to her office before even calling for an appointment. He arrived at Dr. Na's door just before arriving at death's door. He weighed 88 pounds.

Dr. Na gave him an appointment that very day, squeezing him in between other scheduled patients.

The Treatment

After assessing the severity of Gordan's condition, Dr. Na immediately gave him an acupuncture treatment to "jump-start" his body's own healing mechanisms.

"When a patient's health has deteriorated to a crisis level such as Gordan's," Dr. Na explained, "the first acupuncture treatment is directed toward boosting his life essentials."

One of the acupuncture points she targeted was at his midsection—a focal point for activating all of his bodily systems. Another point was for activating pathways to and from the brain.

In subsequent treatments, Dr. Na went to work on improving Gordan's stomach, heart, and lung functioning. She used specific tonics and stimulated specific sites on his body. She prescribed an herbal formula that addressed his digestive difficulties, as well as formulas that resolved the phlegm and coughing problems from his lungs. In conjunction with the herbs, she performed acupuncture at the stomach, lung, and heart meridians.

She started with #25 Body Clean, guided by the TCM principle that the lungs and large intestine work closely together, like the palm and the back of the hand. Body Clean is designed to clear metabolic waste from the colon so as to open up the lungs' function. He used it for a short time, then changed to two additional formulas:

• #18-3 — to address his cough and promote lung function.
• #20 — to address his sinus issues and further support lung function.

The lungs and the colon are not separate systems in TCM. They are two sides of the same whole. When one is blocked, the other suffers. When one is cleared, the other can heal.

Since Gordan's health was extremely fragile, Dr. Na treated him three times a week for the first two weeks, monitoring his condition closely. Within that short time, he regained some strength and a little weight. He was able to quit his inhalers, consume food more easily, and digest his food better.

The Setbacks

Gordan's road to recovery still contained pitfalls.

Shortly after beginning treatment, he saw a urologist for his long-standing urinary problems. The doctor found a malignant tumor in his bladder. The cancer cells had been growing for some time, due to his compromised immune system. Gordan had the tumor removed in June 2006 and recovered with no complications. He declined a follow-up surgery on his prostate, but his prostate and urinary problems gradually diminished under Dr. Na's care.

Then in October 2006, his lung specialist discovered he had been harboring tuberculosis in his lungs. His doctor predicted he would need antibiotics for 18 months. Instead, Gordan required them for only seven months.

While he continued his medical regimen with Dr. Na, his lung specialist determined he was well enough to be completely released from his care in September 2007.

The Outcome

Despite his medical setbacks, Gordan's health improved overall during his treatment with Dr. Na. All of his problems, down to his sinusitis, recovered.

His congestion cleared considerably. His sinus problem—which he had suffered from for more than 20 years—resolved completely.

"My sinus problem that I've had for an excess of 20 years—fantastic," Gordan said.

He began sleeping better. He began eating better. He no longer needed his medications.

"I'm feeling so much better," he said. "I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't found an answer to get me off of those inhalers. I'm gaining weight, feeling much better, getting ready to go on a cruise to Alaska."

As of September 2007, his weight was holding steady at 115 pounds. He felt stronger than he had for years. He proudly demonstrated his newfound vigor by doing ten deep-knee bends.

Two years earlier, he was too weak to do even one.

Since his life has taken a total turnaround, he is back to working outside on his farm.

"Many, many of the friends at church are astonished at my recovery," he said. "I am thoroughly sold on the idea of acupuncture and herbs with Dr. Na."

His wife wrote:

"Dr. Na provided a turning point with acupuncture and herbal treatment, which gradually brought him back to life. His congestion cleared, his chronic 20-year sinus issues resolved, and he regained the ability to eat and sleep well. Most importantly, he is now free from the inhalers and other medications. We are eternally grateful to Mr. Stuart Kainste for referring us to Dr. Na."

What Gordan's Story Shows

Gordan's case is a story about what happens when conventional medicine runs out of options—and a patient finds another way.

His doctors had nothing more to offer. His inhalers were both necessary and harmful. He was losing weight, unable to eat or sleep, and his family feared he was dying.

Dr. Na's approach was different: awaken the body's healing system, clear the toxicity that had accumulated over time, and let the body do what it was designed to do.

For Gordan, that meant:

• Clearing the colon with #25 Body Clean.
• Supporting lung function with #18-3 and #20.
• His congestion cleared.
• His 20-year sinus problem resolved.
• He regained his ability to eat and sleep.
• He came off his inhalers and other medications.
• He gained weight and returned to his active life.

This is not a one-time result. This is the same protocol Dr. Na uses for every COPD patient. Because the treatment follows a pattern, it can be taught. Because it can be taught, it can be passed on.

This is the system Dr. Na built. This is what she offers.

And it began with a referral from a friend—and a patient who was willing to try something different when conventional medicine had nothing left to offer.