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The Yin and Yang of the Thyroid
A Look at Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture for Thyroid Disease
-How does Chinese medicine view a thyroid problem such as hypothyroidism?
-Whenever any patient comes to me, regardless of the problem, I have them fill out a very thorough health history. I invite them to bring in any lab tests they have. I proceed through the "four examinations," and then add up all the signs and symptoms I find. This then leads me to a pattern diagnosis, which, as mentioned earlier, will be a statement of that particular patient's uniqueness. A properly worded pattern diagnosis will lead me to a treatment principle, which is a statement of how to proceed. This, in turn, leads the way to a basic medicinal formula which has to be altered to fit the patient's uniquenesses.
So, what symptoms might we have in hypothyroidism? Let's say the patient's complaints are hair loss, dry skin, mental depression, cold hands and feet, weight gain and disturbed sleep. All classic hypothyroid symptoms. But let's say this patient also has dizziness on occasion, blurry vision at night, low back and knee soreness and weakness, night sweats, lateral rib achiness, red eyes, acne, breast distention, is easily angered, has a bitter taste in the mouth, and feels bloated and gassy after meals. To treat only thyroid symptoms would be missing the boat with this patient. Additionally, we couldn't help this patient with the same medicinal formula that we'd treat another patient with who may have the exact same hypothyroid symptoms but an entirely different range of other symptoms.
-How does Chinese medicine view a thyroid problem such as hyperthyroidism?
-Well, again, one can look at some of the classic hyperthyroid symptoms such as weight loss, rapid heartbeat rate, elevated body temperature, insomnia, and profuse sweating, but have other symptoms that would need to be factored in. So let's say we have a patient with the above symptoms who also has a reddish facial complexion, gnawing hunger, acid regurgitation, frequent belching, and ringing in the ears. This patient could not be treated with the same formula and treatment as someone with the same hyperthyroid basic symptoms but a different group of other symptoms. We would follow the same approach as described for hypothyroid cases which would involve a customized formula to treat the patient's uniquenesses, dietary advice, and other lifestyle suggestions as appropriate. Our medicine is based upon pattern diagnosis rather than a Western-style disease "label."
-When someone has an autoimmune thyroid condition (such as Hashimoto's, Thyroiditis, or Graves' disease), using some of the common "immune-boosting" Chinese herbs such as ginseng, codonopsis, astragalus, schisandra, and isatis.
-Whenever any patient comes to me, regardless of the problem, I have them fill out a very thorough health history. I invite them to bring in any lab tests they have. I proceed through the "four examinations," and then add up all the signs and symptoms I find. This then leads me to a pattern diagnosis, which, as mentioned earlier, will be a statement of that particular patient's uniqueness. A properly worded pattern diagnosis will lead me to a treatment principle, which is a statement of how to proceed. This, in turn, leads the way to a basic medicinal formula which has to be altered to fit the patient's uniquenesses.
So, what symptoms might we have in hypothyroidism? Let's say the patient's complaints are hair loss, dry skin, mental depression, cold hands and feet, weight gain and disturbed sleep. All classic hypothyroid symptoms. But let's say this patient also has dizziness on occasion, blurry vision at night, low back and knee soreness and weakness, night sweats, lateral rib achiness, red eyes, acne, breast distention, is easily angered, has a bitter taste in the mouth, and feels bloated and gassy after meals. To treat only thyroid symptoms would be missing the boat with this patient. Additionally, we couldn't help this patient with the same medicinal formula that we'd treat another patient with who may have the exact same hypothyroid symptoms but an entirely different range of other symptoms.
-How does Chinese medicine view a thyroid problem such as hyperthyroidism?
-Well, again, one can look at some of the classic hyperthyroid symptoms such as weight loss, rapid heartbeat rate, elevated body temperature, insomnia, and profuse sweating, but have other symptoms that would need to be factored in. So let's say we have a patient with the above symptoms who also has a reddish facial complexion, gnawing hunger, acid regurgitation, frequent belching, and ringing in the ears. This patient could not be treated with the same formula and treatment as someone with the same hyperthyroid basic symptoms but a different group of other symptoms. We would follow the same approach as described for hypothyroid cases which would involve a customized formula to treat the patient's uniquenesses, dietary advice, and other lifestyle suggestions as appropriate. Our medicine is based upon pattern diagnosis rather than a Western-style disease "label."
-When someone has an autoimmune thyroid condition (such as Hashimoto's, Thyroiditis, or Graves' disease), using some of the common "immune-boosting" Chinese herbs such as ginseng, codonopsis, astragalus, schisandra, and isatis.