Q. Dear Donna: Help! My mother has begun having awful episodes of illness that have mystified not only our family but also the emergency room physicians at the local hospital. She tells me that each episode begins with ringing in her ears followed by a paralyzing dose of vertigo, nausea, vomiting, and shaking. Needless to say, this cluster of symptoms leaves her in a pretty debilitated state, and I’m really worried about her. When I took her to the ER last week after a particularly strong bout, the doctors ran a series of diagnostic tests but, to everyone’s surprise, they were unable to find anything wrong. They simply sent her home with a recommendation that she have her ears checked by an Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist. She plans on doing this very soon because her symptoms returned the very next day. I’m wondering if you have any strategies for working with this type of case using energy medicine?
A. Actually, energy work might help your mother a great deal. Whenever she feels any of the symptoms of vertigo, instruct her to sit down and do a "hook-up" (described on p. 119 of Energy Medicine). That is, have her place the middle finger of one hand into her navel, push in gently, pull up; the middle finger of her other hand at the point between her eyebrows, push in gently and push up. Hold for up to a minute. This can restabilize the energies that are at the root of vertigo and bring instant relief or at least stop the symptoms from going any further.
Here are additional things she can do once or twice a day, and they may also help with an episode:
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Have her place the fingers of either hand on one of her cheekbones and push upward with considerable pressure (stomach meridian). With the other hand, squeeze the sides of either big toe at the base of the toenail (spleen and liver meridians).
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Massage or tap the K-27 points (come to the corners of the collarbone right beneath the neck, and drop into the cattycorner about an inch beneath it, where you will find a little indent on each side). Give these points a real workout.
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"Smooth Behind Your Ears," that is have her place the pads of her fingers in her temples, take a slow deep breath in and out. On the next deep breath, have her push her fingers to about an inch above her ears, and on the outbreath, drag them down and behind the ears and down the neck. Have her hang her fingers on her shoulders for several seconds and then rake her fingers over her shoulders.
The 5-minute "Daily Energy Routine" (Chapter 3 of Energy Medicine), focusing especially on the crown pull, can have a preventive effect by keeping her overall energy system in balance.
Western medicine often struggles with diagnosing and treating patients when symptoms come and go, as happens with your mother. Despite this, I’d still encourage her to seek help from an ear, nose, and throat physician, and I’d suggest she consider simultaneously seeing an acupuncturist or other energy worker. Look for someone who is skilled and well thought of in her community. Very likely, she has energy imbalances that are more subtle than the medical tests she was given in the ER could detect. This is an instance where energy medicine holds a definite advantage over laboratory diagnoses and outright guesses about which medications to prescribe.
Also see the discussion on tinnitus (ringing in the ears).