Abdominal Pain and Bloating for Over 30 Years

Dr. Zhu Weimin

A 57-year-old female patient had suffered from lower abdominal pain and bloating for more than 30 years. For the past two months, she had also experienced pain in her left hip. The pain level in both the abdomen and hip was 5/10.

She worked as a human resources officer and had no particular dietary abnormalities. She did not like raw or cold foods. At work, she often had conflicts with colleagues and frequently felt emotionally distressed.

She had previously sought treatment from many Western medicine doctors, but none had been effective. She had often been told, “You cannot eat this, you cannot eat that,” which caused her great distress. Despite many different treatments, her symptoms had never improved. She had also tried one acupuncture treatment, but it had no effect.

Clinical Examination

The abdomen was distended, resembling a woman who was seven or eight months pregnant.
The abdomen was hard and tender to palpation.
There was also tenderness in the stomach area.
Marked tenderness was present at the gallbladder area.
The pain in the left hip was located along the outer edge of the iliac crest.

Pulse (both sides): deep and slow.
Tongue: thin coating, dark in color.

Treatment

A tender point was found on the outer edge of the right acromion (shoulder). Two needles were inserted there, and the hip pain disappeared immediately.

Two needles were inserted on each side of the chest to treat the lower abdomen.
Two needles were inserted below the center of the abdomen to treat stomach pain.
One needle was inserted in the lower left abdomen to treat the gallbladder.

After the needles were inserted, the pain decreased significantly.
After 20 minutes of needle retention, all pain had completely disappeared.

The patient was then asked to lie face down. Several tender points on the back were found and treated with massage and acupuncture.

The patient stood up, touched her abdomen, and said:

“Oh! My belly is clearly much smaller than before. I don’t feel any bloating or pain at all. In the forty years I’ve spent seeking treatment everywhere, I have never experienced a feeling like this.”

Recommendations

Some dietary advice was given to the patient:

It would be best to avoid eating fish.
Apart from that, starting today she could eat whatever she wanted.

She was told that if the pain recurred, she could call and return for one or two more treatments, after which she would recover completely.

The patient repeatedly expressed her thanks and left happily.

February 2026