Post Covid Hope
General observations of Covid
As an Acupuncturist I have had first-hand experience of observing So many variations of how Covid has affected our nation. It would appear overall that people with chronic underlying health issues, seem to be the ones affected most severely, that is not to say that people with no underlying health conditions are not affected, but largely this would appear to be the case.
Covid symptoms of those having regular monthly maintenance treatments
On the upside, I have also had regular clients who have had a history with chronic conditions such as bowel cancer and lymphoma, aged from 50 to middle to late 60’s who have caught Covid and their symptoms have been nothing but that of a common cold. This inspires me to keep pushing more people to do Acupuncture, to encourage them to keep focusing on strengthening their immunity and looking after themselves to focus on more the prevention side of things as opposed to having to look for the cure.
Despairing New Post Covid clients with no sense of smell
But I have also had new clients post Covid, in a state of despair, too exhausted to get out of bed, still with no sense of smell or taste, not being able to sleep, as their never-ending cough has kept them from the brink, of a peaceful sleep of escape. Which leads me to tell you about my time with Julie.
Post Covid client Julie, no smell, exhaustion, unforgiving cough, depression and insomnia
It was a dark frosty Monday morning mid-January 2021, the centre was still oiling up for the promising climax of a productive year in the centre. The mobile phone rang loud, as I steam cleaned the carpets for the umpteenth time due to my new obsession with cleaning, thanks to my new friend Covid.
The beginning
It started with ‘Can you help me please? I am exhausted I have two children under the age of 4 and I am struggling……’ I asked her why this was the case and asked if she could give me more in order to help her… Julie had got Covid back in early November, she had been quite run down leading up to it, one of her children was teething, and the other has Autism… her husband had been working non-stop to support the family, so was not able to support her during the day. The night after wheeling her child in the buggy to help get her to sleep, she woke up without a sense of smell or taste, she also had a tickly determined cough that just wouldn’t give in.
The Covid Evaluation
Julie rang her local surgery and was asked to fill out a form online, her doctor’s surgery rang her back to confirm some details, she received a text and was summoned to the Arena in Sandy mount on the very same day at 3pm where she received a nasal and oral swab, the turnaround was very efficient. The results came back positive and where received via a text the next day, all within a 24-36 hour duration. She was recommended to isolate for the minimum duration of 14 days. She had a fever, cough and felt exhausted. She took Ibuprofen and paracetamol for the fever and virus at different times. She struggled to mind her children, but who would help her as she had Covid. Her husband tested negative but was required to isolate also due to his wife’s implication of Covid, this was a blessing, his only symptoms where that of a cold, a runny nose and a slight sinus headache.
Symptoms two months on
Two months on and Julie was weary from coughing and the lack of sleep, and still had no sense of smell and taste, along with constipation, she was on a slippery slope to severe depression and didn’t see any solution. Then she called me…..
The solution
The plan was to get her back to Optimal Health, I put together a plan combining a sequence of Acupuncture with TCM Herbs and Mushrooms. Firstly, I asked Julie to get an X-ray on her lungs to support any residual inflammation or toxicity from Covid. While Julie waited on her appointment.
The Plan
We started with some Acupuncture Treatments booking her in for 6 consecutive appointments on per week. The plan was to
1. Remove any remaining inflammation and toxicity from her blood.
2. Remove Inflammation and toxicity from her whole system, namely lungs, bowel, etc., the lungs and bowel (Large Intestine) are paired together in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the poor lady hadn’t been able to eliminate her feces for over a week.
3. We worked on building and strengthening her immunity.
4. We worked on regulating her nervous system and reducing the cortisol/stress from her system. We booked her in for 4 to 6 weekly consecutive treatments, after 3 to 4 Julie said she was finally starting to feel like her old self, if not a more relaxed and energized self.
The TCM Herbal plan
From my continuous online meetings regarding updates for treating Covid through TCM herbs, I immediately started her on
- Sha Shen Ma Meng Dong
- Reishi-Cordyceps Mushrooms
- The Sha Shen Ma Meng Dong have been continuously used in China to treat post Covid Clients, to summarize they remove remaining inflammation and toxins from the lungs and bowels while also moisturizing same, and to help build and strengthen the immunity. She was put on an acute dosage for one month. After just one night the coughing stopped and Julie had her first deep sleep in almost two months.
- The Reishi/Cordyceps where to remove inflammation, fight infection, they can even help to prevent cancer as they are anti-cancerous, they boost the immune system by increasing white blood cell count, fight fatigue and depression and can improve cardiovascular health, help to balance blood sugar control and have an antioxidant status.
X-Ray result
Her X-Ray showed a history of bronchitis with some inflammation remaining, she was recommended to continue doing what she was doing as now the congestion appeared substantially reduced.
The result:
Julie felt happy, strong, energized and optimistic by the end of the treatments, she was back out bringing her girls to the playground as her energy had returned. Because she was getting such good sleep, she was feeling optimistic, revitalised and happy, this in turn was being felt by her girls and husband so the house had returned to a more peaceful and optimistic place. Her smell had fully returned, she was once again able to smell if a pot of steaming hot coffee was brewing down stairs along with the taste of a hot home cooked breakfast and was finally looking forward to the smell and taste of new fresh spring, along with what the rest of the year would bring.
Reflection
Julie for me was a case study I will always remember, when my thoughts go back to this very unusual and unprecedented time due to the Pandemic, but it has reiterated the importance of my work which is to complement that of Western Medicine. Never has there been more a time than now, to look at all options of keeping yourself at Optimal Health. Look after yourself, book a treatment now, as prevention is more responsible than cure. After-all part of our divine mission in life is to be happy and to be happy you need to be healthy, invest in you and you are investing wisely.
