TCM Treatment

The house didn't look like much. It was a single-story detached structure in a tired residential area of the city, with clapboard exterior walls and cement front steps. An older Kia hatchback was on the driveway and the lawn was weedy. The neighboring houses looked to be about the same style. I double-checked the house number against the paper in my hand, and this is the place. It certainly didn't give me a good first impression.

Nevertheless I parked my car on the street in front, took a deep breath, and came out to approach the house door.

My name is Kevin, I'm a 55-year old divorcee, healthy and fit, but shy. I'm an introvert and overly cautious, and really not very confident in myself. I've tried to work on that but it's hard. So coming here is not something I feel comfortable with but I had to build up my courage to do it because I guess it is important for my health. The paper in my hand was given to me by my doctor as a suggestion for my condition.

A few days ago, I was in her office to discuss my symptoms. My urination was frequent and in small amounts. I would wake up at least once in the middle of the night to pee.

Dr. Radley told me that the ultrasound showed I had an enlarged prostate gland, and the PSA level in my blood test showed it was elevated. She also had me face the table and drop my pants and briefs so she could insert her finger into my anus to feel the prostate.

"This is a very common condition for men as they get older," she explained. "Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of options for this. I'll cover them, but I am also concerned about the PSA test. If this keeps going up, there would be an increased risk of prostate cancer."

That did not sound good at all.

She continued. "Your prostate is enlarged because there is too much fluid build up and that's squeezing your urethra. That's why peeing is so difficult. There are some changes to your diet that may help. Have less coffee, alcohol, and spicy food." She described pills she'll prescribe that may help but will reduce my libido, and some lifestyle considerations, but everything had words like "may" and "could" and nothing gave me any confidence about reducing this risk. "We would have to closely monitor it and if it keeps getting worse and the risk increase, we'd need to look at surgery by a urologist to remove the prostate." The prostate provides a man's seminal fluid. So no prostate, no ejaculation. Fuck.

There was a silence as she let me take all this in. Doctors sometimes have to give bad news to their patients.

I finally spoke up. "Doctor, isn't there something else you can do? That I can do? Is there any kind of specialist for this?"

"I can send you to a urologist but I expect you'll hear the same thing. This is not unusual, like I said, though usually to little older men than you are."

"Do you know about herbal medicine? Can anything like that help? I've taken different things over the years from these natural medicine stores. I think they helped for different situations. I guess I'm not really sure though."

She looked at me and said, "look, I'm a physician and my training and experience is in western science-based medicine. I'm afraid I can't really suggest any of those herbs. I know about the drugs I can prescribe to you." She looked at my dejected expression and desperation. She seemed to be thinking about something else to say.

"Kevin, you've been my patient for a long time and it's frustrating for me not to be able to offer more to you. I've committed myself to helping my patients using what I know." She paused. "I'm going to give you a referral to someone that I've provided to a few other patients in the past. I don't really know what is the treatment here so you'll have to ask about it. And it wouldn't be covered by your health insurance. But I've had patients tell me it's made a world of difference, and their PSA levels also went down a lot."

I perked up. There is some hope. "Really? What is it?" I asked.

"There's a clinic for traditional Chinese medicine. Now understand they're whole approach and philosophy to medicine is completely different and a lot of it doesn't make sense to western medicine. They're whole approach to how the body works is different. So this will not be an official referral. It will not be for the record, and I can't take any responsibility for what they do. I'll be leaving it up to you."

I've heard about traditional Chinese medicine. I have no experience with it, and I have no idea what it includes. But I thought about it and considered that China is a civilization of thousands of years, with great philosophy and knowledge. Perhaps they have a different approach to this kind of medical condition.

"Yes, please. I'd like to give it a shot."

So Dr. Radley wrote down a phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to me. "Give them a call and mention my name. I really hope it'll help. Good luck with it." She smiled. "Regardless, I'll need you to come back for a follow-up. And I'll still give you that prescription for the drugs if you decide to take it."

That afternoon, I called the number on the paper. A woman answered and spoke Chinese.

"Hi, do you speak English?" I asked. More Chinese in reply. Then there was a pause, and another female voice came on.

"Hello, I speak English. Can I help you?" This voice was younger than the first.

"Yes Hi. I was referred to by Dr. Radley. She said you can help me."

"One second," she said. I then heard her speak to the other woman in Chinese. "My mother asked what is the problem."

This felt pretty awkward to speak about on the phone. I felt too uncomfortable to describe the medical condition to the daughter interpreter of the other woman. I didn't even know how old this daughter was. She could be a kid for all I know.

"Umm, Dr. Radley said she referred other patients to you in the past. With my problem. Can I explain it, not on the phone?" My voice was uncertain and a bit shaky. I was uncertain about the whole thing frankly.

"One second," she said. More Chinese talking in the background. "She said okay. Can you come Thursday at eleven?" That was two days from now. I said I can. She gave me the address and I wrote it on the same piece of paper.

I heard the mother say something. "She said to make sure you don't eat anything starting tomorrow afternoon." Well, in a way you get that kind of instruction with western medicine too. I acknowledged this and that was that.

So that is how I found myself now knocking on the wooden door of this house. The door opened and a middle aged Chinese woman answered with a smile. She had a thin average figure, with full breasts and shoulder-length hair, and wore a dress for comfort. Her arms and legs were bare, and her shoes were thin slippers. "Hello," she said in a heavy accent.

"Hi, I'm Kevin," I said. She stepped out of the way so I could enter the house and she closed the door behind me. I looked around and the living room was furnished inexpensively but in comfort.

She said something in Chinese and led me to the living room and gestured to the sofa. I sat down and she sat in a chair right in front of me. A young woman then joined us and sat next to the older woman. "Hi, my name is Linghi. We spoke on the phone. My mother doesn't speak much English so I'll be translating." She spoke warmly and had a softer Chinese accent.

I looked at Linghi. She seemed to be about twenty give or take a year or two, and pretty with long black hair. She wore a fitted sleeveless top with no bra over her mid-sized breasts, shorts, and Croc shoes. I felt shy with someone like this so I just said "hi" meekly to her.

"My mother would like to know why you came."

I looked at the mother. She was assessing me intently. I looked back at Linghi and said, "umm, well, my doctor thought I, that maybe someone in traditional Chinese medicine can help me."

"Yes, my mother practices traditional Chinese medicine. She has helped many men in China and here. Usually her patients are Chinese men so she can speak Chinese with them. But I can translate. I also help her because she wants me to learn her medicine too."

"Oh okay," I said. I started stammering uncomfortably. "I have an enlarged prostate..." and described my peeing symptoms. The mother asked me if I was married. I wasn't expecting such a question and said I was divorced for over eight years. She asked for my age, and also confirmed with me that I hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon.

"My mother says she can help you. She has helped many men with this problem. She will need to first assess you and then do a traditional treatment."

"Okay that's good. When can we start?"

"Yes, here, now!"

"And how much will this cost?"

Linghi conferred with her mother. "One hundred dollars per visit. Cash."

Fortunately I was prepared for this. Frankly, if this helps, I'd pay a lot more given the alternatives. "Yes, okay, no problem," I said.

The mother said something to Linghi at length, and Linghi looked at me, then down at my midsection a couple of times, and nodded to her. Then the mother stood up and walked towards the hall. Linghi also stood and said, "please come this way." I stood and followed the mother, with Linghi behind me. My legs felt shaky.

They led me to a bedroom. In the middle was a single bed, much narrower than a twin-size. There was no pillow. At the head of the bed was a headboard with makeshift posts. The room had a window with opaque glass and the floor had cheap vinyl tiling. It wasn't exactly a Boston General OR.

The mother spoke to me and Linghi interpreted. "Please remove your shoes and socks and pants. And your shirt too."

I started by bending down to my shoes, but then asked her, "are you staying in the room?"

"Yes of course. I will be helping my mother."

"Um, if I may ask, how old are you?"

"I am nineteen." So I'll be taking my pants off in front of a teenager. Great.

I took off my shoes and socks and Linghi took them and put them next to a chair in the corner. The floor felt cold to my bare feet. I then opened my pants and removed them from my legs, and she took them too and put them on the chair. Then I took my shirt off, and she took it. I stood in front of her just wearing my briefs. The mother was watching me intently the whole time. I felt very small and self-conscious. I couldn't look them in the eye, and mostly looked down.

The mother spoke, and Linghi said, "please lie on the bed on your back."

I looked at the bed and sat on it. Then I swung my legs over to the end and lay down resting on my elbows with my head up.

The mother came towards my head and said something in a soothing tone. With her hands, she showed she wanted me to lie fully down and leave my arms on my side. Then she put her hand on my abdomen and said something else. "She said you can relax, do not be nervous. Do not be shy. She has seen many men."

I took a deep breath and looked straight up at the ceiling. Her hand on my abdomen actually felt calming.

Linghi stood right beside the bed on my right, and spoke with her mother. Her mother was on my left.

The mother started by feeling the pulse on both my wrists. Then she felt my neck with both hands. Her touch was gentle and confident. Then she raised my left arm in one hand and felt my armpit with the other. Then she did the same on the other arm. Linghi said, "please stick out your tongue." I did and the mother examined it. Then she moved to my feet and examined the pulse at my ankles. Then she put both hands on my abdomen above my briefs and held them there. They exchanged more words.

"She says you have an imbalance with your chi."

"What does that mean?" I asked. They exchanged some more words.

"She will explain more to you," Linghi said.

The mother lowered her voice and said something to Linghi and they both looked at my briefs. The mother put her hand on my forehead gently and Linghi said, "She said not to be shy, everything is safe."

And with that, Linghi hooked her fingers on my briefs and pushed them down to my knees. I glanced down and then back up to the ceiling. My heart skipped a beat. I gulped, and started breathing hard. They both stared at my flaccid cock.

I waited for one of them to do something but it seemed like time stopped as I lay in that exposed state. Finally they exchanged words almost in a whisper, and the mother moved to my midsection.

She lifted my cock with one hand and pulled up the scrotum with the other. Her attention was on the scrotum as she felt my balls. They exchanged words. "She said you have a big cock. Your wife was very lucky."

I didn't know what to say to this. My wife and I had a sexual life but she was very conservative and religious and was actually afraid of my cock. That is to say, she didn't exactly feel any joy from any blessing I had. And, sad as it is to say, I've had no one since then.

I looked at Linghi and her mother, and they both were transfixed by it.

Her mother moved her hand off my balls and underneath the scrotum and felt me there, applying some pressure. Then she took both hands off me and came towards my face and spoke.

"She said you have a chi imbalance. It is in your blood flow and liver. Your prostate is holding too much fluid and giving you bad health." They exchanged again. "She said your prostate needs to be treated or your health will get worse. She said she can make it much better for you. It will be with a traditional treatment."

"Okay," I said. "That's good to hear. What will you do?"

"It will be on your prostate. Have you ever done acupuncture?"

I've never done acupuncture. But did she just imply that needles are going down there?

"No I haven't. Umm, where will this be?"

"Oh it will be here. She will do it."

"No, I meant where will the acupuncture be on me?"

More exchange. "It will be local. Your meridien lines flow from there."

That wasn't very clear to me. Maybe the vocabulary wasn't quite there to explain this properly. I nodded to the mother. She nodded back with a smile. They exchanged words.

The mother walked to the end of the room where there was a cabinet with various items. Linghi then took my briefs down my legs and right off. I was completely nude now.

Linghi then took one of my legs by the calf up over my waist, bending my knee and reached behind my head to a belt at the bottom of one of the headboard posts. "Please relax. I will put your legs up so she can treat you." That belt looped around that leg and held it up. Then she did the same with the other leg using the other post's belt. Then she adjusted the belts so that my legs were raised and spread wide, raising my ass and spreading its cheeks. It wasn't exactly like I was binded since my arms and body could move but my legs were pretty stuck.

They both stood behind my legs facing my exposed crotch. My cock had grown a bit and was pointing towards my chest. The mother started rubbing some ointment or gel on my perineum.

"She will shave this area. It cannot have hair. Please don't move."

Linghi then pulled up my scrotum away from where her mother was applying the gel. I then felt a razor blade scraping my most sensitive skin. Linghi looked very closely at what her mother was doing, and adjusted the pull on my scrotum to keep the skin tight where her mother was shaving. When the mother finished, she then used a wet towel to wipe the skin clean. Then she ran her fingers to check. After they exchanged words, Linghi used her other hand to also carefully feel the skin.

Linghi kept the pull on my scrotum. Her mother then wiped that same perineum skin with alcohol. Then she put a lubricant liberally on my anus. All this gave me a raging hard-on.

With the area prepared, they both stood up and her mother looked at my cock and said something. Linghi also looked at it. They stared at my erection. Her mother walked to the side of the bed and held it like she was weighing it. She said something to Linghi who then also used her other hand to hold it.

"You have a big cock."

I again didn't know what to say. "Thanks," was the best I could come up with.

Her mother went back to my perineum. She took out a set of needle packages and removed one. She inserted it in the tube and held it against my perineum. Linghi started gently stroking my cock and my balls. Her mother snapped her finger on the tube and the needle penetrated me.

"Ouch," I said with a jump. Linghi looked at my face and smiled. "It's okay," and kept her stroking to keep the sensations away from the needles.

Her mother then repeated with a second needle, and then a third and a forth. She then took a small plastic bowl and placed it on my pelvis under the tip of my cock.

Then her mother inserted two fingers into my anus, and I grimaced. Linghi said, "yes, just relax. It is okay. She is going to your prostate."

I felt her fingers reaching in and pressing me somewhere. It felt like I had to pee.

"Um, sorry, I think I have to pee!"

They exchanged words. "No it is not that. It feels like you do but that happens when she presses your prostate."

Her mother then used her other hand to swirl the needles one at a time. And she kept rubbing my prostate inside me.

The sensations were building up. First I saw a few drops of a liquid leaving the tip of my cock into the bowl. This became a trickle. Linghi was looking at this and smiled. "This is good!" She kept stroking my cock with her hand wrapped around the shaft, and massaging and pulling my balls. I was feeling an orgasm coming. The feeling was incredibly pleasurable.

They kept exchanging words. Linghi took one of her fingers and pressed down at the base of my cock while her mother was stimulating my prostate. My cock kept releasing a fluid into the bowl, and I was ready for a big orgasm, I wanted a big orgasm. But that finger was holding it back.

Then she released her finger and I felt a massive release, a flow through my cock. Linghi spoke in Chinese but was clearly elated. Her mother's tone was also happy. They kept up this stimulation and I kept flowing.

My cock then started to hurt. I said, "please, it's hurting." They exchanged words, and Linghi stopped rubbing my cock but her mother kept her stimulation on my prostate. She was trying to get more fluid out. Drips kept getting added to the bowl.

Finally her mother stopped. She pulled out her fingers and plucked each needle out. Linghi just held my cock and balls as my cock softened. Her mother used a wet towel to wipe the gel off me, and then took the bowl away. I was relieved and felt empty. And honestly Linghi's hold was wonderful. This kid is sweet.

They exchanged words. And then Linghi removed her hands. "How do you feel?" she asked, smiling,

"I feel, that felt really good."

"Yes, I think a lot came out of you. There should be less in your prostate now. It will be better."

"Thank you. Can you take my legs from these now?"

Her reaction was like she had forgotten about the belts. She smiled embarrassingly and muttered to her mother, who also reacted like it slipped her mind. Linghi moved to take the belts off my legs and my legs came down on the bed. They both looked at my cock. More exchanged words.

"She said you will need more treatments. You should come again next month."

"Okay, sure no problem. Can I get dressed now?"

"Yes of course."

As I dressed, her mother spoke and Linghi said, "she said it is important for you to release often. Umm, you can do it for yourself, yes?" She was embarrassed by this question to me.

I was embarrassed too. "Uhh, yes..."

"My mother said it is always better with another woman, uhh, girl. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No," I replied sullenly.

More exchanges. "When was the last time you had sex with a girl?"

I wondered if her mother used the Chinese word for woman or girl in these questions. "A long time. Eight years, I think."