Shan yao, bamboo leaves and watermelon rind

I went to my acupuncturist this week to see if she might be able to help with my abdominal bloating.  Its gotten to the point that pants that fit at the beginning of the day feel like a vice as the day goes on.  I started to go to acupuncture when I broke my arm a few years ago and ended up with frozen shoulder.  Acupuncture was a miracle cure, fixing what traditional physical therapy could not.

I go to the Acupuncture Healing Clinic.  Dr. Zhang was trained in China, has US acupuncture credentials and is a clinical assistant professor in the Integrative Medicine practice at Ohio State.  She knows her stuff and is a no-nonsense person.

I had seen her a few times last winter to help deal with some of the symptoms from the amyloidosis but hadn't seen her since I got out of the hospital.  She asked me about the transplant and the prognosis.  After I finished telling her about it, she said (in her very strong Chinese accent) "You'll do fine, you're a very strong lady."  Yeah, I get that a lot, I thought to myself.

She said she thought a few acupuncture treatments could help with healing my GI tract and helping me not retain water.  She went about placing the needles in my abdomen, thigh, calf, head and ear.  The head and ear ones are for relaxation.

After I was done, she gave me a list of foods I need to add to my diet: shan yao (Japanese potato), bamboo leaves and watermelon rind.  She said all of these would help soothe my GI tract and help with fluid balance.  So, Alan was off that day and out running errands so he went to the local Asian market to get the potato and bamboo leaves.

I haven't eaten the potato yet.  I found a recipe for shan yao and lemongrass soup.  It sounded pretty good and looked simple.  I've made a tea out of the bamboo leaves and its OK.  Kind of like grass-flavored water.  Tonight I'll cut up the watermelon, use the red part in my juice and chunk up the white part to eat as a snack.  I like jicama and watermelon rind is pretty similar to that in taste and texture.

I'll have several sessions with her and hopefully it will help.  If it does help, it could just be that it was only a matter of time but I'm willing to try anything to contribute to my recovery.  While I don't understand it, I appreciate the ancient wisdom that's contained in acupuncture.

My next adventure in my recovery is to attend a restorative yoga class.  Friday evening I'll be attending this class at Yoga on High.  The description says:

Otherwise known as the art of relaxation, restorative yoga postures melt away physical and mental tension and deeply rest the mind and body. They also assist the body’s processes of healing injuries and recovering from illness by releasing tension that would otherwise impede recovery. Join Gail Sky, a certified advanced Relax and Renew ™ teacher and Master Level Reiki practitioner, for a weekly dose of Restorative Yoga. Receive some Reiki as well, if you like. Please bring an eye pillow if you have one. No yoga experience necessary.

Now, where can I find an eye pillow?!?!?!