The Tanaduk Clinic of Tibetan Medicine
CLINIC APPOINTMENT INFORMATION
Upon requesting an appointment we ask that you please send a brief medical history, age, weight, height, and diet history. Please make a list of foods and liquids consumed and the times you consumed those foods during the day; do this for five days. List medications and supplements taken and, if possible, blood pressure, stool regularity, sleep patterns and any information you feel important to include.
If you cannot make a physical appointment to the clinic then we also request 4 photos of your tongue - one top rear, one top front, one of each side of the tongue and one full body photo. After reviewing the above information a healing protocol will then be designed for you by the physician and sent.
You can contact the Tanaduk clinic office to request an appointment for a consultation with our physician. Call: 1-360-376-8272 or .
Depending on the Tibetan clinic you are visiting the consultation ranges from $150 to $300 per visit. The initial consultation at the Tanaduk clinic is $150 and following visits or consultations are $85. Tibetan pill medicines available through the Tanaduk clinic are very inexpensive and range from nine cents each to twenty one cents each. The Precious Jewel Pill medicines are more costly.
How to prepare yourself for a visit to a Tibetan Medical Clinic
Because Western patients most often have a history of unsuccessful allopathic treatment, years of suffering and disappointing experiences with Western modes of treatment, they turn to alternate healing systems. Not knowing the holistic approach of Tibetan medical treatment, many patients expect a miraculous cure; exchanging their allopathic tablets with Tibetan herbal pills without making any diet or lifestyle modifications.
Tibetan medical treatment requires the patient to participate, to take responsibility for their life force and make the necessary diet and behavior modifications needed. Not wanting to take such responsibilities for one's health may lead to further disappointment and misinterpretation of the Tibetan medical culture.
More and more patients from different cultures world wide are seeking appointments with Tibetan trained physicians. Most patients do not know the basic principles of Tibetan medicine at the time of their appointment. Consultations usually last 30 to 50 minutes, and precious time should not be wasted with questions such as "What is WIND, BILE and PHLEGM?" That information will be provided to the patient if they do not have it already.
To help patients to prepare themselves for a visit to a Tibetan clinic the following recommendations have been outlined.
GENERAL PREPARATIONS
1. Avoid comparing Tibetan with Western ways of diagnosis and treatment. They are two completely different systems that should be viewed in their own historical context. They cannot be easily amalgamated, even though they can benefit from each other.
2. If possible read about the principles of Tibetan medicine prior to your consultation. These are well explained in introductory literature widely available. Having a basic idea will help you to understand the nature of your imbalance and why certain changes in food and habits are being advised. (e.g.: CLIFFORD, TERRY. Tibetan Buddhist Medicine and Psychiatry: The Diamond Healing. 1977. S. Weiser, York Beach, Me. 1984.)
3. Be clear about your expectations and know that Tibetan holistic healing treats the root causes and the symptoms, and requires the patient to participate in their healing process. It is a truly well thought out 'Three Phase System' of compassionate healing.
PREPARATIONS ON THE DAY BEFORE YOUR CONSULTATION
1. Beginning at least one day before the consultation, cultivate a peaceful frame of mind; do Tai Chi and yoga. Stay with a moderate diet, avoid alcohol, meat, strong tea or coffee, excessive sexual activity, lack of sleep, over-exertion, heavy sports, traveling, etc., as they will change the quality of your pulse and urine, diverting from the actual problem you want the doctor to perceive clearly and treat correctly. This is to avoid causing major imbalances in the elements and humours that would affect the pulse and urine diagnosis.
2. When brushing your teeth the morning of the appointment do not brush your tongue. Do not consume any liquid or food that will stain the tongue or take vitamins as they will colour the tongue and the urine.
3. If you are a practitioner, you may prepare yourself through the practice of the Medicine Buddha. In the Tibetan medical texts it is said that the patient should visualize the doctor as the Medicine Buddha. The doctor will do the same while attending to you. The consultation should be held in an atmosphere of meditation and a peaceful state of concentrated mind.
PREPARATIONS ON THE DAY OF YOUR CONSULTATION
- Avoid a hot shower in the morning as the subtle channels and the pulse will be affected.
- Collect about 100 ml of the medium part of your morning urine in a clean glass vessel.
- If the consultation is before 10 AM, skip breakfast. Light tea or any drink with balancing effect is advisable. Again, balance should be kept. Patients coming in on an empty stomach, waiting for two hours, being under-sugared by the time they reach the consultation room will have signs of weakness and low blood pressure in their pulse.
- Do not rush to the clinic. Take your time to sit relaxed for at least ten minutes before the pulse diagnosis. The vibrations of a long and exhausting travel can be felt in the pulse even one day after your arrival.
- Inform the Tibetan doctor about your present intake of Western medication, especially if you are under hormone treatment or other medications that have to be taken regularly. Tibetan medicine and Western medicine, including homeopathy, can often be combined with a few hours of difference between the medications.
- Make notes of diet and medicine prescription. Take information where and when to see a Tibetan doctor next and when medicine will be provided. There should be a regular check-up either physically or by phone/email, every two to four weeks. The Tibetan formulas can affect and change the humoural imbalance and internal organ function after a few weeks and, in chronic disorders, the medication may continue for three months without change. In each of the three phases of treatment there are two to four sets of Tibetan formulas depending on the patient and the disorder.
- The intake of the medicines may be supported by reciting the Medicine Buddha Mantra. Buddhist teachings explain how to look at the medicines as being precious jewels. These have been offered to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas turning them into the nectar of life, filling the body and mind with the power of healing. This practice can be applied with any drugs, also allopathic medication. There are various versions of such a practice of blessing the medicines. (For example: "A concise Sadhana of the Medicine Guru and his entourage and the way to bless the medicines" published in: "Transformation into the exalted State", Opuscula Tibetana Fasc. 18. by CAROL SAVVAS and LODRO TULKU, Rikon, Switzerland 1987.)
- Keep a diary noting down effects and changes occurring during your treatment. This documented feedback can be of help to the physician.
- Further history of Tibetan medicine, resource information and directions to the clinic will be sent to you prior to your scheduled appointment.
May All Beings Be Happy!
May All Beings Be Free!
All information herein provided is for educational use only and not meant to substitute for the advice of your family Doctor. ©1975-2007 by The Tanaduk Institute, L.L.C. No part of this email information, images or attachments may be used in any way or posted on commercial sites without written permission from The Tanaduk Botanical Research Institute.