Frequently Asked Questions
for Non-Practitioners
Answers by Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, ITM
Question 1. I saw one of your articles describing treatment for the disease or condition I have. How do I get this treatment?
Question 2. I understand that you recommend I work with a practitioner. Can you give me a recommendation to a practitioner that you know and trust?
Question 3. I learned about an ITM formula that I would like to use, but I can't seem to find it in any local stores and there appears to be no way to order it on your website. Can you direct me to it?
Question 4. Even though I live far away, should I make a visit to your ITM clinic to get a treatment program started?
Question 5. I read in one of your articles that a particular formula had a very high success rate, higher than the other formulas mentioned. What if I just want to get that one formula?
Question 6. I have a medical condition not listed in any of your articles. If I give you the lab reports and my medical history, can you recommend a treatment?
Question 7. I'm quite knowledgeable about herbs, and even though I don't know specifically about traditional Chinese medicine, I want to treat myself, I just need some more information about your herb products; can I ask you a few questions?
Question 8. I can't afford to go to a practitioner. What do I do?
Question 9. I read somewhere about an effective herbal therapy; can you give me more information about it?
Question 10. A relative of mine is suffering from an advanced serious ailment (e.g., fourth stage cancer; ALS with paralysis, etc.); can Chinese medicine help them?
Question 11. If I am willing to go to China, how do I make contact with a doctor there to get the treatment I've read about?
Question 1.
I saw one of your articles describing treatment for the disease or condition I have. How do I get this treatment?
Answer 1. The articles on the ITM website are reviews of literature and not descriptions of work done at ITM; that literature may include traditional Chinese medical reports as well as modern medical reports. The articles are addressed primarily to practitioners of Chinese medicine who were not trained in China (but were trained in other countries, e.g., U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia) so that they could have additional guidance in treating their patients. If you suffer from one of the diseases or symptoms described, the best way to get treatment is to visit a practitioner. Before doing so, you should be aware of the following:
a. The treatments mentioned in the articles often involve incomplete descriptions. Clinicians in China, for example, may not reveal all the ingredients in the herb formulas; or, they may reveal ingredients of a basic formula while patients actually receive various modifications of the formula. Acupuncture treatments might also be described generally, but the full details of manipulations and points used may not be available. According to the viewpoint of traditional Chinese medicine, each patient is unique and is treated according to the principles that the practitioner has studied, so each patient is treated accordingly.
b. The claimed results in Chinese medical journals are often attained through treatment strategies that are unacceptable or impractical here including; very high dosage of herbs; use of toxic herbs; more frequent acupuncture; more intense acupuncture stimulation, etc. This is not to say that positive results won't be attained by methods routinely used here, but that the high frequency of clinically significant response might not be replicated.
c. In most cases, herbal therapies should not be undertaken without the help of a health professional. ITM does not provide personal consulting on the use of formulas, and it is often essential for the herb user to get answers to questions that can only be provided by a professional who has knowledge of the person taking the herbs. You will want to know what to expect, if it is o.k. to take the herbs this way or that, about herb-drug interactions, when to change formulas, what to do if another illness arises, what to do about apparent adverse effects, how long to take the herbs, etc. This information that you may seek is not necessarily based on the herb research presented here, but on a process that takes place over several days, weeks, or months through interaction with a well-trained health professional.
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Question 2. I understand that you recommend I work with a practitioner. Can you give me a recommendation to a practitioner that you know and trust?
Answer 2. ITM's clinical work is at two clinical facilities in Portland, Oregon: Immune Enhancement Project and An Hao; its other work is providing information to practitioners around the country (U.S.) and around the world. However, I do not have personal knowledge of practitioners elsewhere. I make an attempt, through the production of our practitioner list, to do some screening of practitioners. To get onto our list (which is a free listing), practitioners provide information and generally meet these qualifications:
1. Have been in practice for at least three years.
2. Have herb prescribing as a major part of their practice.
3. Have access to ITM information (such as that posted on our website).
4. Do not appear to practice some "alternatives" that I consider inconsistent with the approaches described here (examples are: reliance on testing devices that may give false diagnostic information or therapeutic techniques that are claimed to provide miraculous results but are entirely unproven).
The practitioner list is rather small (about 5% of licensed acupuncturists) because we do not recruit people for the list. There are many others who would qualify based on these criteria. You can contact local practitioners and ask them about their practices (some notes are given in the introduction to the practitioner list). If you live in a city that has a college of traditional Chinese medicine, you might seek treatment from one of the professors (most professors at these colleges have a clinical practice).
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Question 3. I learned about an ITM formula that I would like to use, but I can't seem to find it in any local stores and there appears to be no way to order it on your website. Can you direct me to it?
Answer 3. The ITM formulas are not available for purchase in stores or on the internet, at least not through ITM. These formulas are primarily intended for prescription by health professionals. Formulas that worked well for one individual might not do the same for another person; this is the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine. If you are sure that you want a particular product and you know how to use it, and if there is a good reason to not get it through a local practitioner, you may be able to order it direct from ITM. Please send your request and you will receive a response.
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Question 4. Even though I live far away, should I make a visit to your ITM clinic to get a treatment program started?
Answer 4. No, there is no advantage to making a short visit to our clinic, you would do better finding a local practitioner.
Our practitioners are busy with their local patients, who come frequently for treatments and consultations, and they are not able to assist people at a distance (even after an initial visit to the clinic). The primary advantage of our clinic is that people who live in the area can come frequently for treatments. Although I have full confidence in our practitioner group, the fact is that practitioners around the country (and in several other countries) can offer the same services. Over time, your requirements for acupuncture and herbs change, and the changes are based on your office visits. If you live far from any practitioner, then you may arrange to consult a practitioner in a location that you might visit for other purposes (e.g., to see family members) and ask that practitioner if they can handle your case at a distance with infrequent personal visits. ITM does not have practitioners who can serve this role due to their high volume of patients here.
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Question 5. I read in one of your articles that a particular formula had a very high success rate, higher than the other formulas mentioned. What if I just want to get that one formula?
Answer 5. Don't be misled by the statistics. There can be numerous reasons for getting an outstanding success rate in one trial in which a particular formula was used; unfortunately, those reasons can include improper reporting of results, careful selection of patients who are more likely to get well, and simple coincidence. The purpose of the ITM reviews of the literature is mainly to illustrate the treatment strategies that are being used, the dosage that is being administered, the duration of treatment, and the symptoms and laboratory values that are being monitored. The actual claimed results give an idea of what types of results the Chinese believe they are attaining, but differences from one trial to the next do not necessarily indicate that one therapy is actually better than another. It has also been pointed out that Chinese clinical reports almost universally appear to involve success, often high rates of success; this is unusual for any medical therapy, and indicates some selective reporting. The purpose of my articles is not to convince people to try Chinese medicine because it is likely to be effective; the purpose is to relay what is in the medical literature so that practitioners can have a better idea of how Chinese medicine is being used in its home territory. You might consider presenting the article to a practitioner of your choosing to see if a course of therapy might be developed based on some of the information contained therein.
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Question 6. I have a medical condition not listed in any of your articles. If I give you the lab reports and my medical history, can you recommend a treatment?
Answer 6. I am not able to provide this kind of assistance. I am not licensed in any medical field, but have knowledge of traditional medicine that is useful in consulting with other practitioners. If I were a practitioner, it would not be appropriate for me to provide suggestions unless I could be available to answer your questions over time and take responsibility for adjusting your therapy as needed. I am unable to do this. Again, the best route to take is to find a local practitioner.
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Question 7. I'm quite knowledgeable about herbs, and even though I don't know specifically about traditional Chinese medicine, I want to treat myself, I just need some more information about your herb products; can I ask you a few questions?
Answer 7. I do not have the resources (time available) to answer questions for individuals who treat themselves, but we do have considerable resources to help you find your way if you have sufficient knowledge already. The book A Bag of Pearls is a must if you intend to use any ITM herbal formulas. In addition, there are numerous articles on our website that give insights into the use of Chinese herbs and formulas and it is important to read several of these even if they are not addressing the specific health issue you are interested in. Often the background information in these articles will help guide you to issues related to your specific health problem. Being knowledgeable about herbs should not deter you from relying on a skilled practitioner; rather, the combination of skills between yourself and a practitioner may help you get to the effective treatment more quickly. If you have a brief question, I may be able to respond, but cannot enter into extended dialogues about herbs or treatment of disorders.
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Question 8. I can't afford to go to a practitioner. What do I do?
Answer 8. If you are truly unable to pay usual costs for treatment, you may find that some practitioners will offer low cost services (sliding scale fees, for example); most colleges of traditional Chinese medicine offer discounted clinical services (where students are present to learn from the treatment). It is unfortunate that in many countries (particularly the U.S.), the costs associated with acupuncture, herbs, and other treatments and supplements are quite high. Still, it is not usually helpful to simply purchase an inexpensive product without getting professional advice in hopes of getting a good therapeutic result while saving on the cost.
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Question 9. I read somewhere about an effective herbal therapy; can you give me more information about it?
Answer 9. In general, I have the same resources as you do to find out about the therapy: an internet search on Google (or other search engine). Most of the therapies that I am familiar with have been described in my articles, most of which are posted online. Often, herbal therapies that are claimed to be effective are ones that have only been tested in laboratory settings (not in formal clinical trials) or have been used in private clinics without valid monitoring of the effects. Such herb therapies (and various alternative medicines) might be effective, but you should carefully examine the basis for the claims.
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Question 10. A relative of mine is suffering from an advanced serious ailment (e.g., fourth stage cancer; ALS with paralysis, etc.); can Chinese medicine help them?
Answer 10. Chinese medicine may be of help, but you should not expect that it will cure a far advanced or progressive disease. Unfortunately, there are some books and other publications proclaiming miraculous cures that present a false image. Chinese medicine can be of help in alleviating some symptoms, possibly slowing progression of the disease (perhaps doing even more than that), and providing the comfort of having some intervention that is not harmful. Your relative may not actually desire such treatment (especially if it doesn't hold the promise of a cure) and the treatments may be inconvenient (swallowing a lot of pills, drinking unpleasant decoctions, getting frequent acupuncture). So, before further investigation or embarking on treatment, make sure that the person really wants to pursue this and is actually able to follow through with recommendations. Sometimes, friends and relatives of the seriously ill patient makes lengthy inquiries into treatment strategies only to find, at the end, that the person is in no position to take the herbs or get the acupuncture treatment that is suggested, so begin with an evaluation of what the person is willing and able to do and inquire on that basis. You will also need to locate a practitioner who is working in the local area.
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Question 11. If I am willing to go to China, how do I make contact with a doctor there to get the treatment I've read about?
Answer 11. There are numerous difficulties with getting treatment in China, though it is not impossible. One of the greatest problems is language. Many of the Chinese doctors speak little or no English, especially the senior doctors who may have authored clinical study reports (check the dates in the references section of the article; often, the articles were written years ago, and may have been based on data accumulated even earlier, so that the doctor involved may no longer be practicing or may have moved to a different location). Few hospitals or clinics in China have facilities for foreign visitors, so you would be required to make your own travel arrangements, hotel arrangements, and so on. One hospital makes a point of being available for foreign patients: the Guang An Men Hospital in Guangzhong (Canton). http://www.gamhospital.ac.cn/. There are a few cases where clinics are set up to treat a specific disease, and in some instances, they will offer to provide consultations for foreign patients at a distance (that is, you send in your medical information and they ship you the herbs once you pay a certain fee); this procedure is mentioned in the ITM article on Vitiligo.
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