MAIN COMPLAINT

A 39-year-old male has had mysterious abdominal pain for two years. His
medical doctor has done multiple tests, including multiple blood tests, and
there is no blood in his stool or urine. His liver, gall bladder, stomach and
intestines are all normal, per Western medicine standards. He has been told
that his stomach issues are in his head since they cannot figure out what is
wrong with him. The default diagnosis from his medical doctor is Irritable
Bowel Syndrome.
MERIDIAN INVOLVED /THEORY
The LV and GB are the primary channels. However, his entire digestive system
is imbalanced and needs to be treated.
We will need to address every channel that runs through his digestive area. This
would include the SP, KD, ST, LV, GB, and Ren channels. I do not think we
need to address all those channels, but I will need to address the majority of
them.
TREATMENT POINTS
First treatment
Opposite side

33.10
33.11
33.08
33.09
77.08
77.09
77.10
77.11

Pain Case Studies with Distal Acupuncture Book Excerpt

Brad Whisnant and Deborah Bleecker
Copyright 2015

Same side

66.05
66.06
66.07

Page

88.12
88.13
88.14

Pain Case Studies with Distal Acupuncture Book Excerpt

Brad Whisnant and Deborah Bleecker
Copyright 2015

Second treatment

One arm
The other arm
One leg

The other leg

Dr. Tan Magical Eight for Digestion

LU 7
PC 6
TW 5
LI 4
SP 9
LV8
Dr. Tans LV 8
ST 36
Dr. Tans GB 34

OUTCOME
As of this writing, I have only treated the patient twice. Both treatments helped his
discomfort, pain, and distention. All have been relieved. His loose stools have
improved, he has less belching, and less pain in the liver/gall bladder area. He also
has improved digestion, less abdominal distention, and does not have to worry where
the nearest bathroom is everywhere he goes.
He feels his IBS is much better. I still think I will need to treat him eight to twelve
more times for a complete recovery. He has had abdominal pain for over two years,
so it will take more than one magic needle or one magic treatment.
COMMENTS
Digestive issues can be very complicated. There are so many possible root causes, so
it can be very difficult to determine what is going on. There are two possible options
to treat these types of diseases. One option is to just treat everything and hope for the
best. This works, but it is usually too many needles.

Pain Case Studies with Distal Acupuncture Book Excerpt

Brad Whisnant and Deborah Bleecker
Copyright 2015

Page

If you have not taken a Dr. Tan class, I strongly suggest you do. He is an amazing
teacher and has a wealth of knowledge. The second treatment I used was his Magical

The other option is to treat the root. In this case, according to his pulse and
interview, I feel the root cause of his condition is the liver and gall bladder. If we can
improve the function of those organs, I think his condition will improve.

Digestive Formula. You should take his class to understand the theory behind it, but
to keep it simple, the belly button images the knee. Therefore, the points at the knees
treat the stomach. The points at the wrist area also image the upper chest and lower
abdomen. The eight channels balance every channel in the abdominal region. It is a
great treatment!
You can see from the Tung points I used, my focus was on the liver and gall bladder. I
was also concerned about his urgent bowel movement (33.10) and general digestive
discomfort (33.08 and 33.09).
Some of our most commonly used points in Tung acupuncture for digestion are
77.08, 77.09, 77.10, 77.11, which are very close in location to ST 36-37-38. Both ST 37
and ST 38 are lower He Sea uniting points for the LI and SI. In Tung acupuncture,
when the points are between the channels, they treat both channel indications.
Points 66.07 and 66.08 treat both the GB and ST. These points are indicated for LV,
GB, ST, and SP issues. Point 66.05 is a major point for digestive issues because of the
image, channel, and reaction areas. It treats the duodenum, jejunum, ilium, and the
large intestine.
Last but not least, are some of my favorite points in the Tung system, 88.12, 88.13,
and 88.14. Although technically the liver spans across both your right and left
abdomen, it is primarily on the right side. Some of the best points for treating the
Liver are 88.12, 88.13, and 88.14. These points are located on the Liver channel in
the area of the mid upper thigh.
Since we are treating the liver, we are using the liver channel and using points on the
liver channel. I typically choose same side points. If you are familiar with Dr. Tan,
this is his system six. According to Tung theory, when we treat a channel or organ
with the same channel, we treat the same side. In this case, my liver points 88.12,
88.13, and 88.14 are on the same side as the liver organ, on the right leg.

Page

I am always very careful when treating abdominal pain. You must be certain where it
is located and where it originates. An example of this is when my mother had
abdominal pain. We all thought it was her gallbladder or an old appendix issue. It
was not, it was cancer on her ovary. My godfather had back pain, but it was actually
Pain Case Studies with Distal Acupuncture Book Excerpt
Brad Whisnant and Deborah Bleecker
Copyright 2015

Liver imbalances are very common in America. The liver has over 600 functions and
most Americans have a blood/Liver/Fatigue/Allergy/inflammatory imbalance. (The
liver is responsible for ALL OF THOSE.)

caused by stage four pancreatic cancer. A friend of mine had what she thought was a
hemorrhoid, but it was bowel cancer. Be careful. Dont assume anything.
Since he has improved after his treatments, (via pulse, tongue, and the patients
response) it appears that he has cholecystitis. For his next treatment, I will add in
11.13, 66.08, and 66.09 (all reaction areas of his gallbladder).
When treating internal disorders such as this case, I rely heavily on the Tung
acupuncture Reaction/Nerve areas. These points not only have indications, but also a
nerve reaction area that treats the actual organ, not the channel, in question. It is a
very powerful way to treat internal disorders and get to the root of the issue. Most, if
not all, of the points chosen for this case have the correct reaction area needed to
treat these disorders.

Page

This patient continues to improve. His stomach is very sensitive right now, so we will
not do herbs. At some point, we will add herbs and address his diet, but the
acupuncture alone could be enough to resolve his problem.

Pain Case Studies with Distal Acupuncture Book Excerpt

Brad Whisnant and Deborah Bleecker
Copyright 2015