Yesterday I talked about provings, today I want to share about the remedy itself that I helped prove.
Ganoderma Tsugae is a mushroom -Reishi is the Japanese name, and in China it is called Ling zhi.
The Reishi mushrooms are found all over the world – Ganoderma Lucidum, Ganoderma Tsugae and Ganoderma Sichuanese describe different forms of Reishi mushrooms. However when buying them they can be mislabelled, often those labelled Ganoderma Lucidum should more correctly called Ganoderma Sichuanese (although fortunately they have similar properties), or may not contain a Ganoderma substance at all.
This particular remedy was made from Ganoderma Tsugae, which grows on the side or roots of 300+ year old Hemlock trees and is most commonly found in Eastern North America, although also in parts of China and in Southwest USA.
Collectively Reishi mushrooms are known for immune modulation and cancer, with a Cochrane review finding patients taking Ganoderma Lucidum were 1.27 times more likely to respond positively to chemotherapy and radiation.
Ganoderma Tsugae is suggested as a remedy for people who are sensitive to grief and feel better for crying, and they can be irritable with their partner. It is also useful for anxiety.
The provers had a number of curative symptoms which means this remedy has potential to become a widely used remedy. Some of the cured symptoms included feeling less stressed during busy days for one prover and another had a physical relaxation with tense jaw relaxing, shoulders going down and body straightening, then inward relaxation following.
Another prover had background anxiety levels diminish, and even a month after the remedy the anxiety level was much lower and panicky feelings passed a lot more quickly. Less sensitivity to traumatic stories, feeling compassion but not tearful.
13 of the 19 provers felt relaxed and positive with a desire for quiet – the mushroom was often taken by Taoist monks in China to bring them back to their centre and promote calmness. Along with this was a sense of timelessness, or time slowing down while they were relaxed and calm – so this could be a remedy for people who feel time poor and rushed.
Irritability with family was lessened – with husbands and also the ability to laugh at things their children did. One prover noted that discussions with their ex about children was more friendly than previously.
There was also confusion and forgetfulness for words, mistakes on the computer, unable to do simple arithmetic.
Physical symptoms are always important as well, and there were a range of different symptoms.
Some provers were very fatigued, while others felt energised – suggesting it would be a useful remedy for people who are low in energy.
Sleep was affected with some provers finding they slept more deeply, others with broken sleep, waking between 2-5am.
Dizziness was a repeated symptom among provers, and headaches were described as pressing or drawing. The position of headaches varies from behind the eyes (more often left eye), forehead, temples or occiput.
The eyes can be affected with sticky, inflamed eyes and a change in vision – one proved struggled to see things in the distance while another had clear vision and could see details more easily.
A number of provers had clear running nose, lots of sneezing, or a blocked nose. There was an increase in salivation, and several provers had a sore or irritated throat.
There was an increased appetite, and cravings for sweet foods – cake, chocolate or ice cream. One prover experienced a marked decrease in their craving for sweets, which lasted for over 6 months after the proving.
There was some lower abdominal heaviness or pain, and stools tended towards diarrhoea, offensive flatulence, and bleeding haemorrhoids even with a soft stool.
Provers with periods that were too long and too heavy had a curative response moving to a shorter more normal cycle length and shorter and lighter period.
Pressing or stitching back pain in the thoracic spine, lumbar or sacrum. Left sided numbness, or drawing pain in extremities. In the lower limbs there was a feeling of heaviness, and muscle cramps in the legs.
This is only a brief summary of a remedy that seems to have many applications. The proving is only the first step in adding this to our Materia Medica – now we need to see how it is in practice, and add the information from cured cases to deepen our understanding of the remedy and get to the true essence.
Image is from pixabay – it is a reishi mushroom, but without more details about the photo it is hard to know if this is ganoderma tsugae, or another ganoderma variety. This website Fungi Woman has some useful information and many more pictures about ganoderma tsugae.