Being a Chinese Medical Student is a process that requires serious diligence and work. Students studying to become acupuncturists are expected to spend 8 hours per day in class and many hours each night memorizing lists of points, their actions, diseases and TCM philosophy.
There is an incredible difference in culture between the east and west and while studying we often find random bits of information that don’t appear to fit into our cultural norm. Plum pit sensation is one of these things. The first time I heard my teacher, Li Li Zheng, talk about plum pit qi, I laughed and thought it was yet another one of those “weird” symptoms in TCM that didn’t really apply “round these parts”, somewhat like the symptom of “Screaming like a pig or sheep” or “Standing on top of your house and taking off your clothes”. Admittedly, some of the symptoms are odd, but usually have a modern day equivalent to them.
After learning the pathology and disease manifestations behind plum pit sensation, and being in practice for a while, I am convinced that it is a fairly common problem in the west, many folks just don’t have the words to describe it. ”My throat feels stuck”. ”I have a hard time swallowing, its worse when I am stressed”. “My boss was yelling at me yesterday and I felt like I couldn’t breathe or swallow, like a huge marshmallow was stuck in my throat”.
Less anxiety, better function
Plum pit qi sensation is diagnosed in our Western medicine as globus hystericus. This diagnosis refers to a sensation as if there is something stuck in the back of the throat, and can cause some very uncomfortable sensations as it can neither be swallowed down nor coughed up. Typically, the problem is worse with anxiety and stress and may go away in between episodes. This diagnosis in Western Medicine is a psychiatric diagnosis, and associated the feelings with anxiety, depression and stress. Generally chronic laryngitis, postnasal drip and polyps on the vocal cords are ruled out and the patient is told that there isn’t much to be done about it, that its a mental issue. In other words, “Its all in your head”.
Chinese medicine however, has a specific diagnosis for this sensation and offers a full range of treatments for it. An acupuncturist can take your history, look at your tongue and pulse and use this information to determine the right way to treat this problem for you. Typically, with Chinese Herbs and acupuncture, along with nutritional suggestions and lifestyle changes, the problem can be relieved and you returned to a healthy state of mind, calm and without the stress and anxiety.