Loren Stiteler, LAc

05/15/2020

You know medicine is getting desperate when the FDA approves medications where rare infections and even DEATH are common enough to be listed among the side effects.
How blurry can the line between "do no harm" and "acceptable risk" get?
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Within the body of 中醫/Traditional Chinese Medicine, I have yet to encounter a reference to a medical intervention where death was an acceptable side effect. On the contrary, there are numerous references to iatrogenic disease (disease caused by the doctor's treatment).
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The 道德經/Dào Dé Jīng says, "太上，不知有之/the greatest is that which goes unknown." When applied to medicine, this means side effects constitute a gross failing on behalf of the doctor. This is, in part, why Chinese medicine utilizes a holistic model and prefers to use medicinal formulas over single herbs. A comprehensive medical history plus medicine that repairs multiple stages of the patient's metabolism significantly reduces the risk of adverse reactions.
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Ultimately, there are no "side effects." There are only effects. Don't you think medicine should be judged by how well she/he can avoid them?
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01/07/2020

There is a lot of confusion about what acupuncture is and how it is supposed to work. Ideas ranging from placebo effect to the redirection of a quasi religious, intangible 'energy' are proposed. However, neither is correct
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Below is a photo of a patient of mine being treated for shoulder pain. Palpation revealed numerous binding sites along local muscle groups. The independent identification of the sites reproduced the traditionally described pathway of the second photo, the hand taiyang channel. More interestingly, this conforms quite nicely with modern trigger point maps.
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Acupuncture is not a belief. Nor is it magic. It is a physical medicine based in a physical reality. Therefore, it is capable of treating real, physical illness.
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12/18/2019

The morning is my favorite time of day, and nothing is more satisfying than a beautiful cup of tea.

Tea culture in China is as vast and driverse as wine culture is in Europe with countless varieties and flavors.

Today, I'm drinking 普洱茶/ pu'er tea stuffed into a 橘紅/aged tangerine peel. Both the tea and the tangerine peel are reputed digestives, making them an excellent choice to drink after a large or heavy meal. Pu'er is particularly noteworthy for its capacity to emulsify fat, and has been shown to reduce blood triglycerides and even LDL cholesterol.

I guess 2,000 years of medical history accounts for something 😌.
..........

Chinese medicine: real medicine for real diseases.
🏮🐉⛩️

12/17/2019

The Physician's Code

The Physician takes care of people's lives.
To save Life is her/his sole aim, idea, purpose, and concern.
One should not look down on the Physician as practicing the small path.
She/he is at the head of the hundred arts and crafts, sitting equal with the Premier and Minister.
[Medicine] is the art of Humanity.

Only integrated with no false character, tranquil and serene, can a person discuss medicine.
Those who enter my gate should know that the distress of others is also mine.
Always keep in your heart the saving of life.

No delay should be allowed on a call from a patient.
Do not ask if the patient is noble or poor.
Do not cease reciting the medical texts; the hands continuously fiddling the hundreds of herbs.
If the course of disease is baffling without sign of improvement, you must with trembling caution, wholeheartedly review your diagnosis and treatment.

Do not be greedy for money.
Do not cultivate fame.
Do not boast of your knowledge and ability.
Do not flatter the powerful and wealthy; you would rather have your arm broken than bend your back.

Do not be jealous of the knowledge of others.
Do not comment on the attitude of other physicians.
Do not slander the physician who has cared for the patient previously.

And, If you are visited by monks or Daoists who wish to pay you, accept not a cent.

~ Zhou Shan's Medical Teachings. 1933.
(re-organized by Loren Stiteler LAc)

12/16/2019

氣 (qì/ch'i) is a contentious subject within the Chinese medicine community. Often mistranslated as 'energy,' modern day academics often leave it in the Chinese due to the fact that no comparable concept exists in Western languages.
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The character, 氣, is a pictograph depicting the image of steam rising off rice. And this, to some extent, helps us to understand the use of the term in clinical medicine.
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Qì is often used to refer to problems in which a gas is involved. These problems usually take two forms:
1. 氣不足: qì bùzú: insufficient qì.
2. 氣滯: qì zhī: qì stagnation.
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The photo above depicts the use of acupuncture for the treatment of abdominal distention as a side effect of protracted constipation. In this this case, loss of sufficient moisture has resulted in the stools becoming hard and difficult to move. Because the stools aren't moving quickly enough, gas accumulates in the intestines causing a rotund, distended appearance, AKA qì stagnation. Herbs were prescribed to move water back into the colon to facilitate transit, and acupuncture was employed to stimulate peristalsis, the rhythmic movement of the intestines.
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Needles were inserted one by one in a counter clockwise fashion into the regions of the abdomen where gas was most concentrated. Manual stimulation was applied to each needle after it was inserted to produce a distinct, radiating sensation in the normal direction of peristalsis. This was maintained until substantial borborygmus (gurgling) began, and the patient reported contents moving in the abdomen.
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A critical analysis of Chinese medical literature and the clinical application of its theories reinforces my conviction that concepts such as qì should be investigated as physical phenomena before one projects foreign ideas onto them, or worse, pseudo religious ones.
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It's just physics, not magic.

12/16/2019

When you have a little time between patients 😌

12/16/2019

Hi there! My name is Loren, and I'm your local acupuncturist and herbalist!

Acupuncture and herbal medicine are therapies that come from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a medical system that is literally more than 2,000 years old.

Today, TCM is at the forefront of medicine. Acupuncture is a time tested and now experimentally confirmed alternative to pain medications; Chinese medical literature is constantly mined for pharmaceutical research; and the evidence is mounting that Chinese herbs are effective for conditions ranging from anxiety and IBS, to malaria and even cancer. It is truly an exciting time for Chinese medicine!

Although my study of TCM began in 2010, my entire life had prepared me for this endeavor. Being born into a family of Chinese medicine practitioners, I am one of the few westerners who is truly second generation. Combined with my years practicing Kung Fu, studying Mandarin abroad in China, studying Chinese philosophy at Humboldt State University, and now diligently training Yang family Tai Chi, I have a uniquely authentic understanding of Chinese medicine and the culture which produced it. As such, treatment with me is an extraordinary experience.

I offer tangible medicine, medicine you can feel. Because if you can't feel it, it's probably not doing anything! No mysticism; no mystique. I practice REAL medicine for REAL diseases.

My offices are located in Woodland Hills, CA and West Hollywood, CA. DM or text me at (818) 371-0123 for more details.

I look forward to working with you!

Loren Stiteler LAc.

09/30/2018

Tomorrow at 12pm PST I'll be talking about Chinese medicine on Dr. Patrick Lockwood's Live Stream. Don't miss it!

09/27/2018

This Sunday at noon PST I'll be on my good friend Dr. Patrick Lockwood's live stream.

Don't forget to tune in!

09/20/2018

Epidemiological studies reveal that an estimated 11% of the global population suffers (IBS).

can be further differentiated between two subtypes: IBS-D (for ) and IBS-C (for ).

Unfortunately, IBS is poorly understood, and thus conventional treatment is not very effective.

However, a review of literature results in numerous examples of digestive symptoms that might today be classified as IBS. Example:

"Heat existing in the intestines results in chyme-like yellow stools and cold in the skin below the umbilicus...while cold existing in the intestines results in borborygmus with swill diarrhea.

With cold in the intestines, there arise cramping and pressure after meals, rumbling of the intestines, lancinating pain, and white stools."

~ 脾胃论 "the Spleen Stomach Treatise" , 李东垣 Li D**g Yuan (1180-1251 CE)

Thermoregulation is an essential component of traditional Chinese medicine. In the example above, the symptoms are differentiated by heat-type and cold-type. This categorization system is used as a shorthand to imply treatment. Heat-type must be cooled whilst cold-type must be warmed. Thankfully, certain household foods and spices can alleviate symptoms.

For heat-type diarrhea consisting primarily of a very foul odor and sticky, pasty, or greasy texture, the daily consumption of pearled barley and mung bean can be helpful.

For cold-type diarrhea consisting primarily of bloating after eating, cramping, pain, and a watery texture that is not particularly foul, the daily consumption of ginger and fennel tea can be helpful.

These interventions require consistent use over a period of time and typically more than once a day. However, they are not a replacement for a Chinese medicine doctor.

DM me if you want to learn more.

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