new adventures in old medicine.

i'm starting to realize there are two very divided camps when it comes to medicine. those who support modern medicine, and those who support traditional medicine (ie. traditional chinese medicine). i realize this is a great generalization, but in general, i'm very good at generalizing. i saw a "specialist" a couple of months ago, who was a complete arse and pretty much said that when i realized traditional medicine would fail me, to come see him (i not so politely told him that his "modern" medicine failed me first). anyway, that was my first taste of the divide between the two camps. the second came today as i researched the most recent treatment my tcm practitioner (traditional chinese medicine) suggested. albeit, the treatment has an interesting name... and the tool used for treatment is even more interesting / terrifying. it's called plum blossom hammer or seven star hammer and is a tiny "hammer" (nothing like a plum blossom) with 7 needles in it. i've attached a photo for fun.

i picked up the sugar plum fairy hammer (as i like to call it, much to my tcm practitioner's dismay) - it was $15 in china town. perhaps this is where i should include a disclaimer: i am not a doctor / nurse. i only pretend to be one on the internet. i saw my tcm practitioner today, he cleaned one of my baldspots and proceeded to "tap" it with this hammer for about a minute (which felt like a lot longer). it bled a bit and was a little painful during and after (not surprising, considering it's a tiny hammer with nails in it). the intention of it is not to aggressively tenderize your scalp, but to encourage blood flow and stimulate circulation. i don't know. remember when i said i wasn't a doctor? i'm hopeful that it will make a difference. my tcm practitioner thinks we're on the right track with the herbs i'm taking, and a lot of my spots are growing in (but i've also got a couple of new ones, which is a big bummer). i'm just trying to stay positive and open to every option. going forward, i'll be hitting myself in the head with my sugar plum hammer - one spot every 5 days or so.

as they say, keep calm and hammer on. (nobody says that, nor should they start).