OK so I am so confused. Help reassure me

[John Messmer]

I am reviewing the extraordinary vessel lecture and I have no idea how to incorporate this information. In Western Medicine, I know the relationship of the shoulder to the C spine, chest, T spine, diaphragm innervation and the shoulder joint. So if a patient presents with shoulder pain, I know how to sort our the cause and possible treatment. I want to have TCM/acupuncture as an additional modality since Western medicine doesn’t do it all. At this point I have no idea how I should approach any problem. Dr. Audette discussed lots of approaches but I have no reference.

Please reassure me that this will make sense one day. Dr. A had said some things must be memorized. But without the knowledge to relate one thing to another, it is exceedingly difficult to memorize the things you suggest.

In biochem I memorized intermediary metabolic pathways but I had some way to relate one step to the next. In anatomy, I could memorize origin, insertion and innervation because I had a reference. But I cannot relate Chong mai to Yin wei mai or yang qaio mai, etc. And so many of the meridians and vessels relate to unrelated things at least in the Western medicine realm.

It seems to me as a neophyte that if we start with the area of the body and possible dysfunctions then approach the evaluation and management of the potential problems, that would be easier.

I will admit that I may be totally wrong. Maybe this will all make perfect sense eventually, but tonight I am so confused. I can’t help but wonder if others are feeling the same.

[Nicole Bussiere]

I have been feeling the same way! I still don’t have a grasp of what an actual treatment would look like and how to incorporate all these things. I understand some of the pieces but not the pie. However I have noticed that once in a while something will come together for me and I will understand better the context for a concept that I didn’t understand when it was first introduced. Like a trickle method. I’m hoping that by the end, it will be like that for everything. Interested to hear what the instructors say. I’m glad I’m not the only one feeling a little lost at times.

Dr. A or B, there are required textbooks on the list – is there a reading schedule to supplement the lectures that would help? I hadn’t seen one specified.

[Allison Bailey]

Hi, It is pretty early on and normal to be confused at this point. If we were to each acupuncture going by anatomic Western body part and points/treatments for them, you would not be able to help the majority of patients. For the most part, patients will come to you for acupuncture with problems that are longstanding and have typically not resolved with many other treatments. If you just look at that patient through your Western medical lens and say “Oh you have shoulder tendonitis, I’ve memorized some points for that” chances are that the problem won’t resolve….maybe some will but a lot won’t. So, we are trying to teach you a way to look at a patient with shoulder tendonitis think of them in a whole new way, but that requires starting over, learning new concepts, etc. It is a process but will come together.

In terms of textbooks, many of the “Function of ” lectures and some of the other conceptual lectures are based on Giovanni Maciocia’s Foundations of Chinese Medicine text. In CME courses, we are not allowed to assign textbook reading (because you cannot get CME credit for this). However, if you like to read deeper on a concept, this is the place to go. I believe in the General Course resources, I made a list of these chapters at one point.

[Allison Bailey]

OK, it seems the list I had of chapters and corresponding lectures is gone/missing. However, if you have a copy of Maciocia, this is pretty straightforward. For example, in Maciocia’s Foundations of Chinese Medicine 2nd edition chapter 9 is “The Functions of the Spleen” and chapter 13 is The Functions of the Stomach which relate to my lecture The Function of the Spleen and Stomach. In general this book is a great place to read on more of the TCM concepts that we are discussing in class. So, although we are not able to assign these chapters officially, consider this a resource to learn more.

[John Messmer]

Thanks for the reassurance, Allison. It got really confusing for me with the extraordinary vessel lecture. Combine this with that and so on…I had no way to organize the information. Also glad to hear Nicole is feeling the same way.

[Allison Bailey]

The EOV’s can be a super confusing concept at first. This will be our focus on Sunday morning, delving deeper into EOVs and trying to bring order out of chaos. Dr. Audette LOVES EOVs so he will be motivated to try to get you to love them to, but it may take a while!

[Kelly Donovan]

Hi John- I have also felt overwhelmed and a little lost as I work through the material. I agree with Nicole that I have these “aha” moments where a concept that has been layered on in several ways finally clicks. But it does feel like these moments come, and then go as I have trouble integrating them to really stick. For me, hands-on was always the best way to learn, so I do think the April and June sessions will be very helpful. In the past couple weeks, I have been using the Maciocia book along with the lectures; Foundations of Chinese Medicine (I have the 3rd edition.) I am bookmarking points that I want to learn more about, and overall this has been a helpful method to skim the short summary on a point, even as I am listening to the lecture. It is not requiring extra time and it helps to cement some concepts and remind me of points or combinations I want to practice on myself and/or my husband. I have also decided this will be a lifelong learning process and have released my previous timeline of “needing to know everything” by the end of the course! 🙂 I am looking forward to meeting everyone in person later on and for a deep dive into EOVs this weekend.

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