u/Feisty-Classic3785

First, it’s usually better if they received formal medical education in China and have worked in large hospitals there. Traditional Chinese Medicine in China is still part of a structured medical system, with standardized training and extensive clinical exposure.

Second, check their Google reviews carefully — not just the star rating, but what kinds of conditions patients say were treated successfully. Chronic pain, tinnitus, digestive disorders, gynecological issues, insomnia, and other complex conditions often reveal more about a practitioner’s real clinical ability than simple relaxation treatments.

Third, a good practitioner should take time to properly observe, listen, ask questions, and examine the patient carefully. In my opinion, herbal prescriptions generally should not be written for an entire month at the very first visit. Usually, within about three days, you should notice at least some response or change. If not, the doctor may adjust the formula and try again, since understanding a complicated condition can take time. But if there is still no meaningful improvement after a month, it may be time to look for another practitioner.

Finally, truly good Chinese medicine doctors are generally practical and grounded. Traditional Chinese Medicine developed through long-term clinical observation and experience. Be cautious of practitioners who rely heavily on mysticism, supernatural claims, or excessive “energy healing” language instead of clear clinical reasoning and patient outcomes.

,I’m a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, and I want to share a perspective that may sound unusual to many people here.

In China, there is a medical text written nearly 2,000 years ago called Shang Han Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage). It describes in great detail how acute febrile illnesses progress, based entirely on observable symptoms.

At that time, there was no concept of viruses or bacteria. Yet the patterns described — alternating chills and fever, body aches, fatigue, digestive disturbance, progression from surface to deeper symptoms — are still commonly seen today in conditions we now label as influenza or viral infections.

What is even more surprising is this:

In modern clinical practice, some practitioners including me, still use formulas from this text to treat patients with these kinds of symptom patterns — and in many cases, patients do improve.

From this perspective, the target of treatment is not the virus itself, but the body’s response to it.

Viruses change. The human body’s response patterns, however, are much more stable. So, we still can use the same formulas. I have used the old formulas to improve many patients with acute or chronic flu.

Would you be open to trying a 2,000-year-old herbal formula for flu-like symptoms? Why or why not?

Recently I’ve been seeing a number of people dealing with persistent brain fog after recovering from flu.

Common symptoms include:
• mental cloudiness
• difficulty focusing
• low energy

What’s interesting is that many of them don’t have any structural issues — labs often come back normal.

From a Chinese medicine perspective, this pattern is often described as:

“clear yang not rising, turbid yin not descending”

In simpler terms:
→ the brain isn’t getting enough “clear” energy
→ while inflammation or metabolic byproducts may be interfering

So instead of treating it purely as a neurological issue, the focus is often on:
• improving digestion
• clearing what we call “dampness”
• restoring overall energy flow

I’ve seen people gradually return to normal over a few weeks once this balance is restored.

Curious if others here have experienced something similar after illness?