Reddit reviews The Web That Has No Weaver : Understanding Chinese Medicine

What you're asking for is covered over the course of several semester/quarters in schooling. You need to know the anatomy of the human body, point functions, point locations, cautions and/or contraindications of the points, point combinations (which is related to several more classes including meridian theory), acupuncture techniques (of which there are many), clean needle technique (how to properly set up a work space), etc. It's not simply a matter of "stimulate point X to treat symptom Y", you need to understand the why and the how to be as efficient and effective as possible. There's a reason why most programs take a minimum of 3-4 years (and honestly are basically just laying the foundation for what will ultimately be a lifetime of learning, and even then you won't learn it all).

Before all else, you need to lay down your foundation (which is what the first 1-2 years of schooling is). If you want a decent starting point to help you understand the medicine better before schooling (or even during) I'd recommend The Web That Has No Weaver by Ted Kaptchuk. That should give you an idea of the depth and interconnection of everything that goes in to this medicine. After that, you can decide for yourself how deep into this you want to get.

Most people and schools would probably recommend you start with Ted Kaptchuk's The web that has no weaver. Instead I prefer to breakdown my recommendation depending on whom is asking, and why. For patients who want to learn more about CM for diy health purposes, I recommend Legget's book which is 40% TCM theory explanation, and 60% application of those theories to everyday diet. For potential students, I recommend this translation of a first-year textbook for CM students in China, by the excellent Nigel Wiseman. For those interested in the more esoteric theoreticals of CM, I recommend anything by Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallee.

And, for anyone really interested in reading "oldest and most enduring book" in Chinese Medicine - which should be every student and practitioner of CM - I would suggest a good translation of the Huangdi neijing. Note my emphasis on a good translation, which sadly excludes the Veith and Ni editions, both of which are quite terrible. If you can get past the dubious biomedical equivalencies he likes to make,Y.C. Kong's translation is composed of important textual excerpts neatly arranged by topic, making it both cheaper and more beginner-friendly than the Unschuld translation.

>Girls are Yang...
>Cold/Yang

Don't you mean Yin? Female and Cold are both Yin qualities.

For those that would like a deeper understanding of what /u/Corn__ is talking about this site covers it fairly well. As a disclaimer, this is Traditional Chinese Medicine and will be very foreign from a Western perspective. They view things VERY differently and you will not find empirical evidence on that website supporting their claims. However, there are tons of literature regarding this topic and if you're so inclined I'd suggest The Web That Has No Weaver. It explains TCM Theory and has an appendix filled with sources for all your fact checking needs.

Qi, depending on which Asian culture your are talking about, is essentially your vital life force energy, it is created in a person once the parents form a zygote and it is ever flowing throughout your meridians. One book gives a pretty good introductory on Asian medicine is "The Web Without a Weaver" http://www.amazon.com/The-Web-That-Weaver-Understanding/dp/0809228408/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396175519&sr=8-1& keywords=the+web+with+no+weaver

Ted Kaptchuk's book I've found to be a good intro, but there are lots of good online encyclopedic resources on various schools and subsystems. It is also worth reading up an ancient Chinese philosophy and metaphysics in general though, as it all grows from the same source.

I remember Weil talking about how he was tripping on acid while petting a cat and realized he was supposed to be allergic.

Yeah that's really weird. Although lab values of K fluctuate a lot, you'd have to be sure that you're tracking things carefully. I can't comment on intracellular level labs, but these levels also vary substantially with hydration, glucose/insulin levels, and even sun exposure if certain theories are to be believed. You have to know cortisol levels too to get an idea of adrenal function generally. You mentioned T was low too? Perhaps the problem is higher up the HPA axis. Renin levels are quite sensitive to sodium intake, so that's a consideration. It would also be necessary to rule out a potassium-wasting renal acidosis (although unlikely, could be a mild subclinical form, and would explain the labs somewhat) - urine electrolytes are important to know.

Barring a significant renal and endocrine workup (again, not knowing anything else about the patient), symptomatic hypotension would be the only thing to be concerned about. A lot of traditional herbs for "potency," like ginseng, have a mineralocorticoid-like effect (among others). In the Soviet Union, Eluthercoccus aka "Siberian Ginseng" was widely prescribed as an "adaptogen" for any kind of stressor (pioneering work done by Israel Brekhman - some stuff can be found in English) and for "asthenia" of any kind. It's great for patients with pan-hypopituitarism.

I will add that one should never replete potassium without adding magnesium, and that's known even to astute conventional docs working the hospital. Same holds true chronically, especially in regards to whole-body stores. Personally I take Mg glycinate - it's cheap online in bulk, tastes good, and is allegedly relaxing.

start with this

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0809228408/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

Alternative medicine means a lot of different things.

Here are two books on Traditional Chinese Medicine.

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