You're not alone with your weird symptom

Patient, 28, F: I know this is sort of weird but ...

Me: It's probably not as weird as you think.

Patient: Well, I mean, I feel like an old man. I have to clear my throat all the time. I don't smoke, I don't have a cold, I'm not coughing - it just feels like something is stuck in my throat but there isn't anything there and I can't get it out.

Me: Well, that puts you in line with about 60% of my patients.

Patient: ?!??!!?

This symptom, known in Chinese medicine as plum pit qi, is more common than you think. We ask a lot of strange questions in an acupuncture office and we really do want to know what is going on in your body, even if you think it's weird or even if it's a symptom that you write off because it's 'normal' for you. Any deviation from health is a clue in Chinese medicine and we want as many clues as possible!

Plum pit qi is a very specific clue and leads us to consider an emotional component of whatever is currently happening in your body. It is a symptom that often lets us know that high stress is a factor even when you aren't telling us that it isn't. It is often accompanied by other symptoms like neck pain, headaches, migraines, tight shoulders, breast pain, chest pain or difficulty taking full, comfortable breaths. It is often relieved with the use of one point and it is also a great red flag tool. A red flag tool, in my office, is something that I teach you to pay attention to so that you can learn the signals of your body. If you learn that this is a sign of stress it allows you to recognize a signal that the body needs some TLC sooner than you may have otherwise.

This is just one of the many ways your body shows you what it needs - learn to read it right and you'll be able to keep yourself healthier by taking action sooner!

What other weird symptoms do you have? Maybe they aren't as strange as you think and maybe they can help keep you healthy!