What They Came In For: Constipation

Bill came in because he was tired of feeling stuck. Literally.

For the past few years, his digestion had gotten slower and slower. At first, it just meant less regularity — a missed day here and there, nothing dramatic. But it crept up on him. By the time he showed up at the clinic, it wasn’t uncommon for him to go three or four days without a bowel movement. When things did move, it was slow, dry, and incomplete.

“It’s like my body just forgot how to do it,” he said.

He was 68, semi-retired, and pretty active — still walking his dog daily, still making coffee for his wife every morning. But this one issue had become a constant source of discomfort. He felt heavy after meals, bloated in the evenings, and often had to turn down food he would’ve enjoyed just to avoid the aftermath. He wasn’t in pain exactly, but he was never quite at ease.

His doctor told him it was normal at his age — just slow motility. He’d been told to drink more water, eat more fiber, and take stool softeners as needed. None of it really helped.

“It’s not like I’m eating cheeseburgers every day,” he joked. “I’m doing the right things. But my gut’s just not cooperating.”

When the Basics Aren’t Enough

Bill had already done the basics. He drank plenty of water. Ate oatmeal most mornings. Took a daily magnesium supplement. Tried psyllium husk, probiotics, even prune juice.

But none of it shifted his baseline. He still only had a proper bowel movement once every three days — sometimes longer. And the longer he went without one, the worse he felt. Foggy. Sluggish. Like things were backing up in more ways than one.

From a Chinese medicine perspective, constipation isn’t just a plumbing issue — it’s often a reflection of deeper imbalances. In Bill’s case, his pulse was thin and wiry, his tongue pale and dry, and his abdomen slightly firm on the lower left. What we saw was a pattern of dryness and depletion, layered with a bit of tension.

This wasn’t a case of excess heat or inflammation — it was about a system that didn’t have enough moisture, movement, or rhythm to keep things going. Over time, the body had lost momentum. The digestive fire had dimmed, and the fluids that should help guide waste downward weren’t doing their job.

Gentle, Steady Treatment to Restore Rhythm

We started Bill on a once-weekly acupuncture schedule to begin. The goal wasn’t just to get him moving once — it was to retrain his system to expect regular movement again.

We used points on the abdomen and lower back to stimulate the Large Intestine 大肠 (dà cháng) pathway and restore the downward flow. We added supportive points to nourish the Spleen 脾 (pí) and Kidney 肾 (shèn) systems — the internal organs responsible for transforming food into usable energy and fluid.

We also gave him an herbal formula customized for his constitution: one that moistened the intestines, gently promoted peristalsis, and tonified the underlying systems that had weakened over time. No harsh purgatives. No laxative effect. Just a slow restoration of internal balance.

After the first two weeks, things started to shift. Bill was going every two days without needing to think about it. The bloating had eased. His appetite was better.

After a month, he was having regular, easy bowel movements almost daily. No discomfort. No urgency. Just simple, quiet function.

A Return to Normal

“I never thought I’d feel this much joy over taking a normal crap,” he laughed.

But the truth is, this kind of change runs deep. Constipation isn’t just about digestion — it affects energy, mood, sleep, even mental clarity. Bill had started to feel more like himself again: less irritable, more comfortable in his body, and no longer thinking about his gut all day long.

Chinese medicine treats constipation not by forcing the body, but by reminding it how to move. Through acupuncture, herbs, and a steady rhythm of care, Bill’s system began to remember. And once it did, everything else started flowing again too.