How I Disenchanted Traditional Chinese Medicine:

I used to be an unassailable fan of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Before graduating, I read the "Huangdi Neijing" and had unwavering faith in TCM, while scoffing at Western medicine.

Until 2018, when I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. My wife suggested I get hospitalized for treatment, and it could be covered by health insurance. However, other hospitals in Shenzhen had no available beds, and only the TCM hospital had space, so I had to stay there.

After being admitted, I underwent a series of tests: blood tests, urine tests, MRI, ultrasound, 24-hour ECG, and angiography—everything that could be done was done. I was not very pleased at that time. On the third day, the department doctor came to check on me. I said, "I'm in a TCM hospital; just take my pulse. Why are you using Western medical methods?" Well, he was the head, so he smiled, took my pulse, and after a while said, "You are deficient! Your pulse is thin and slippery, your Mingmen fire is weak, and you have both Qi and blood deficiency, which indicates kidney deficiency, specifically kidney Yin deficiency. We need to extract Yang from Yin." He wrote me a prescription, and with a flourish, he wrote down over 20 different herbs, telling the attending physician to decoct it twice a day.

Then they wanted to give me an IV. Seeing the nurse holding a yellow, oily bag of medicine, I asked what it was. The nurse said it was an extract of Chinese medicine. I replied, "Isn't Chinese medicine supposed to be taken as a decoction? It needs digestion to take effect." The nurse insisted that this was a purified version of the decoction, which would be more effective. I said I wouldn't take it. The nurse replied that hospitalization required an IV; otherwise, the health bureau wouldn't approve the reimbursement. I told her to pour it down the toilet; I wasn't going to take it.

Next came various TCM treatment methods: first, moxibustion, which made the room feel like a fairyland—much worse than secondhand smoke. Then came hot compresses (just coarse salt heated and placed on my navel), followed by gua sha, and finally acupuncture, along with taking the medicine. That night, I received a painful acupressure massage that made me scream, and despite all this, my blood pressure still didn't go down.

The next day, the department head came to check on me again. I asked, "Is this how TCM treats patients?" The head replied, "Yes, TCM treatment methods include 'needling, scraping, moxibustion, and medicine.' We've used them all on you." I said, "These treatment methods have been around for 3,000 years, right?" The department head proudly replied, "Yes, they are treasures! The prescription I gave you is a thousand-year-old formula!" I said, "So your treatment methods for me are no different from those in primitive society?" He proudly affirmed, "Yes!"

In the afternoon, I requested to be discharged, saying I wouldn't undergo any more treatment.

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