One Month Post-Camp

What are the long term expected outcomes expected from TCM camp?

I had this excellent question posed to me shortly after I posted our experience, and the truth was, other than giving Dr. Li a better sense of James and his condition (in many ways, huge), I wasn't sure what, if any, the long term physical outcomes would be. We are only a month out, but I feel confident enough to give an update.

Hives

He simply hasn't had any. His last set of hives was at my mom's right before we went to see Dr. Li and, for a month, he has been hive free. This may seem like a small milestone but, considering he had his first hives at three years old, and now at 13, he has never been hive free for an entire month unless specifically medicated. After the first three years, most of his hive episodes were mild and self-resolving, but relentless. Once or twice a year, he would have head to toe hives that took a week to a month to resolve, with varying degrees of medications.

Our last day with Dr. Li, we told her, a bit shocked, that James hadn't had hives for the entire week. Dr. Li suggested that, based on other patients, this might be the starting point for being hive free for a month.

"Well," I said, "I'll take it a week at a time. Actually, I'll take it a day at a time."

That we are here, at the end of the month, with no hives, is astounding to me.

Sleep

Acupuncture made James tired and more calm, so sleep was not a problem in New York. Usually, he takes a melatonin at night to help him sleep. I had made it a goal this summer to eliminate any melatonin, slowly over the summer. We realized returning from New York, that he had not taken any melatonin while we were there. So, taking advantage of a two week break, an established sleep pattern, and the time change, we continued not giving it to him.

This has been a moderate success. He has had some days he has taken melatonin; he couldn't get to sleep as he's gotten used to the time difference. This has happened maybe once a week. He's had other days he's stayed up later than I would like, however, that was the case with melatonin. 

He has used melatonin for years, so being able to sleep regularly and without drama is huge progress.