Patient records:
Name: Maria
Age: 68
Nationality: Filipino
Diagnosis: Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN)
Treatment Hospital: Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences
When the pain becomes a memory, we help her regain peaceful nights.
Maria, a 68-year-old retired teacher from Cebu, Philippines, developed shingles on the left side of her chest and back three months ago. After the rash healed, the real nightmare began. The original shingles area was left with intense, burning, and stabbing pain; even the slightest friction of clothing felt like a knife cutting her skin. This pain tormented her day and night, preventing her from sleeping, causing a complete loss of appetite, and resulting in rapid weight loss. The once cheerful woman became depressed, anxious, and even lost hope in life. Local doctors tried various painkillers, but they were ineffective and caused severe side effects such as dizziness and nausea. She was suffering from postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), the most intractable complication of shingles.
Maria's daughter found us through our community. During the initial consultation, our medical consultant patiently and meticulously guided her daughter using our standardized pain assessment tools to collect detailed information about Maria's pain characteristics (burning, stabbing), frequency, duration, medication history, and the impact of pain on sleep and mood. We compiled this information into a "Preliminary Assessment Profile for Chronic Neuropathic Pain" and preliminarily determined that her condition strongly suggested intractable neuropathic pain, a common symptom of postherpetic neuralgia, requiring more specialized pain management intervention.
We recommend the Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion at Guang'anmen Hospital of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. This department is a national authority in treating intractable neuropathic pain using "acupuncture analgesia and neuromodulation techniques," and is particularly skilled in using specialized therapies such as electroacupuncture and fire needling to regulate abnormal discharges in the central and peripheral nerves, effectively "shutting off" pain signals at their source.
In the initial service phase, our core services are "precise triage" and "efficient coordination." We arranged for Maria to have a remote video consultation with an expert from Guang'anmen Hospital. Before the consultation, we sent the "preliminary assessment file" and translated medical records to the expert in advance. During the consultation, based on the detailed information we provided, the expert from Guang'anmen Hospital gave a clear medical diagnosis: "postherpetic neuralgia (blood stasis syndrome)," pointing out that the pain originated from the damage of the virus to the sensory nerves, causing the pain signals to be abnormally amplified. The expert further elaborated on the treatment plan: mainly electroacupuncture at the Jiaji points, combined with local fire needle pricking and bloodletting cupping, to promote blood circulation, remove blood stasis, and relieve pain.
During the service phase, Maria flew to Beijing accompanied by her daughter. Our coordinator accompanied her throughout the process. The treatment was conducted at the Acupuncture Department of Guang'anmen Hospital. After the first electroacupuncture treatment, Maria felt her pain intensity drop from 8 out of 10 to 5. Although the fire needle treatment caused brief stinging, the local burning sensation was significantly reduced afterward. After two weeks of systematic treatment, her pain was basically controlled at 2-3, and she was finally able to get a full night's sleep.
Pain management is a long-term battle. We assisted the rehabilitation consultant in creating a Filipino illustrated manual for the auricular acupressure method and home acupressure guidelines taught by experts at Guang'anmen Hospital, and then personally taught her daughter how to use it. After returning to China, we established a "Remote Chronic Pain Management File," tracking her pain scores and sleep quality monthly via video and providing feedback to the experts at Guang'anmen Hospital. When the pain fluctuated, the experts would adjust the traditional Chinese medicine prescription remotely through us. We used the national-level acupuncture analgesia technology from Guang'anmen Hospital to dispel the persistent pain in Maria's lower back, allowing her to regain peace and dignity in her later years.