Depression and Anxiety

Menopause

M.E. Syndrome

Migraine

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

 Depression and Anxiety

A medical expert predicted that depression will be one of the most common problems in the twenty first century. A recent research shows that almost ninety per cent of the patients seeing doctors suffer from stress or depression. It looks as if there are more people suffering from depression and anxiety nowadays than in the past. The reason is partly that the pace of life has become faster and faster and partly  that there are more pressure  from work and domestic affairs, which makes people feel more stressful.

Western medicine quite often can not give good answer to the problem. Anti-depression drugs only suppress the symptoms but not address the root cause. They can also give patients a lot of side effects. The researches on this problem focus too much on the brain and central nerve system  and ignore the imbalance from other parts of the body.

TCM approach to depression

With a long tradition to treat depression and anxiety. Chinese medicine is a very effective way to treat different emotional problems. In Chinese medicine, it is called ‘Yu Zheng’(Depression syndrome ). TCM believes that depression and anxiety not only come from disorders in central nerve system but also come from imbalance in other organs that  is quite often the underlying root cause for the problems. Generally, in the early stage of depression, patients will have an imbalance in their livers. Liver Qi (liver energy) stagnation is a term in TCM to describe this diagnosis. By TCM, liver is an organ to spread energy to the whole body. So any blockage or stagnation in Liver energy will bring about a lot of stress related problems such as headache, high blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, PMT etc. Liver energy stagnation can also generate heat, ‘fire’, or phlegm in the body which are common pathogenic factors in the body of a patient with depression or anxiety. When patients suffer from emotional problems for a long period of time, some deficiency can be found in their bodies, especially in their heart, spleen and kidney, which make all the symptoms even worse.

How does TCM treat the problem

The practitioner will use either acupuncture or herbs or both to calm down the  emotional aspects of the patient naturally and let patient feel more positive and happier. At the same time, the treatment is also directed to smoothes Liver energy to resolve the stagnation and accordingly to clear the heat or ‘fire’, or phlegm. This physical rebalance will help to break the vicious emotional – physical cycle and allow the patient to obtain a real recovery. To treat patients with chronic depression or anxiety, the practitioner need often to address the deficiency as well. Treatment will help to strengthen  heart, spleen or kidney according to the diagnosis.

In our clinic, we have treated a lot of patients with depression, stress or anxiety, with very good successful rate. Many of them  are totally back to normal. Some of them saw great improvement in their cases and can enjoy a normal life.

Back to top

Menopause

Menopause is a term to describe the physical change of women around the age of 50. The menstrual cycle gradually becomes less regular and stops altogether finally. Most women will suffer more or less some symptoms such as hot flushes, restless, night sweating, insomnia, headache and dizziness, constipation, weak low back and knees, etc.

This is due to the  weakness of ovary function and  hormones production.

 TCM diagnosis of menopause

Chinese medicine believes menopause is mainly caused by deficiency in Kidney which will disturb the functions of many other organs such as Liver. Heart, Spleen and Stomach, etc. and result in the imbalance of Yin and Yang elements in the body, In terms of TCM, Kidney is also associated with hormones reproduction, menstruation and strength of the bone, which can help to explain why all the symptoms occur during the menopause.

 TCM treatment of the menopause

In the West, Hormone Replacement therapy is commonly used for menopause, yet some women experience some side effects when taking HRT, e.g. nausea, weight gain and even risk to develop breast cancer.

But in China, millions of women rely on Chinese medicine to cope  with the problem because of the awareness of the side effects of HRT. When treating menopause, Chinese medicine naturally strengthen the Kidney to balance the Yin and Yang of the body. It also helps to treat osteoporosis because Kidney can strengthen the bone. Other treatment may need depend on differentiation of the diagnosis. Generally, for mild cases, acupuncture and herbal tablets are sufficient to treat the problem. For severe cases, dry herbs will be used to alleviate the symptoms and address the root cause as well. The treatment for different patterns  are as follows:

1.     Deficiency of Kidney Yin

Patients with this pattern  normally suffer from hot flushes, irregular periods or short cycle with heavy bleeding, night sweating, dry mouth, constipation, scanty and yellow urine, a red tongue without coating and a thin and rapid pulse. Treatment is focused on nourishing Kidney and liver Yin and anchoring the rising Yang. It also helps to harmonise the Heart and kidney(fire and water) to calm the mind. The are a lot of traditional herbal formulas to treat specially this pattern of menopause.

2.     Deficiency of Kidney Yang

Patients with this pattern have the symptoms of  a longer cycle with scanty flow, tiredness, restless, loose stools, bloating, frequent urination, oedema, a pale tongue with thin white coating and a deep, thin and weak pulse. Treatment helps to warm kidney Yang, strengthen the Spleen and improve urination and digestion.

3.     Mixed patterns

Sometimes patients may have a mixed pattern of both Yin and Yang deficiency, or other complications such as Heart blood deficiency, Spleen deficiency or damp and phlegm obstruction. Then the treatment will be more complex to deal with all the conditions.

Case  Example

We have treated many menopause cases with satisfactory results.

Case 1 A lady from West End suffered from typical menopause symptoms. TCM diagnosis showed that her underlying condition is Kidney Yin deficiency. We gave her some patent herbal tablets and within two weeks she felt much better. Then the case went up and down a little bit because of the stress from her job. We adjusted the treatment principle accordingly to treat her stress and insomnia as well. After one and a half month all the symptoms were almost totally gone and she started to enjoy her normal life again.

Case 2.  A lady from Botley area with menopause suffered from all main symptoms plus severe migraine , insomnia, osteoporosis and oedema. HRT could not help her. Her has a mixed pattern of both Yin and Yang deficiency. We treated her with acupuncture and herbs. She was amazed because just after the first treatment her migraine and sleep were much better. In the next a few weeks her other symptoms such as hot flushes, periods, PMT, oedema were all much improved. She then had fortnight treatment for a short period of time to top up, until she felt happy to stop.            

Back to top

M.E Syndrome

M.E is a chronic fatigue syndrome  characterised by  general tiredness, muscle pain, poor concentration, etc. Patients quite often have to give up their jobs because of the illness. Although the pathology of M.E is still not clearly known, doctors generally believe that virus infection is normally the initial trigger of this long term illness.

 TCM  approach to M.E

The understanding of the pathology of M.E in TCM has some similarity to a condition called ‘Wei Syndrome’. The root cause of M.E  in terms of TCM is a deficient Spleen and Kidney, which bring about accumulation of dampness in the body. Dampness is heavy and turbid in nature. Thus the symptoms of a dampness related illness are usually marked by heavy feeling in the body and aching muscles. The dampness can also block the energy channels to cause tiredness.

Some factors should be blamed to generate internal dampness.

1.     Too much dairy products can weaken the function of Spleen and stomach, resulting in accumulation of dampness.

2.     Over use of antibiotics for virus infection can also give body more dampness because antibiotics are generally cold in nature, which can disturb the function of  spleen and Stomach  and  generate dampness.

3.     Bad life style  is also liable to the problem: over work, less exercise, less sleep, smoking, drinking, unhealthy eating, etc. All these will damage the normal function of Kidney, Spleen and Liver, weakening the immune system and accumulating more dampness.

 TCM Treatment

The treatment of M.E by TCM is normally conducted in two lines:

1. To resolve the deficiency by tonifying Kidney and Spleen and strengthen  the immune system accordingly. This will strengthen the body and improve the energy flow, and let the patient feel more energetic and positive.

2.  To clear the dampness directly although stronger function of Kidney and Spleen will improve the circulation of body fluids to reduce the accumulation of dampness.

Other symptoms may also be looked after depend on the cases. Both acupuncture and herbs are used to treat M.E. Sometimes we also use Guasha therapy(scraping with oil) to boost Yang energy and strengthen the immune system.

                               Case example

1.A middle-aged lady in Southampton came to our clinic a few years ago. She suffered from chronic M.E with all the symptoms like tiredness, achy limbs, poor concentration and indigestion. She could not carry out her daily work  We initially gave her herbal tablets then dry herbs. After a few months she felt much better: more energy,  no pains, better concentration and digestion and returned to her job. She was very happy with the treatment and recommended us to other patients.

2. A lady from Winchester suffered from  M.E and sinus problem. She was poorly at that time and was unable to do her creative work as an artist.  We treated her initially with acupuncture , herbal tablets and Guasha. After her M.E symptoms were improved, we gave her dry herbs .to treat  both M.E and sinus problems. After a few months, she  felt so much better that she could do her creative work again. She had herbal treatment for another two months before she  felt like a normal person and stopped the treatment.  She was very active in the next year, creating a lot of pictures and doing quite a few exhibition as well. To express her thanks for our help, she sent us one of her works – a very nice picture.       

Back to top

Migraine

 Migraine  is usually on one side of the head, accompanied by visual disturbances  or nausea and vomiting. Migraine affect about one of in ten of the population and about 70% of all migraine sufferers are women. It is believed that changing hormone levels during menstruation, ovulation and menopause may trigger attacks.

In Chinese medical opinion , there are different types of migraine .

Rising of Liver Yang

Due to stress ,Liver Qi stagnation, or Kidney Yin deficiency , causing the Liver Yang to rise which disturbs the head.

The symptoms are including blurring vision, irritable , thirst , feel heat; which are made worse by stress. This type is often seen in hypertension sufferers.

The  treatment for this type of migraine needs acupuncture and herbs to calm the Liver and suppress Yang.

Blood deficiency

This type migraine  are caused by failure of the blood  to nourish  and supply the head correctly. The symptoms are pale complexion, tiredness, dizziness, palpitation, often it is worse in the afternoon. In women, it often associated with a heavy period, many of them are anaemic.

The treatment for this type of Migraine is focused on nourishing and tonifying the blood and Yin, harmonizing body and clearing the Migraine.

Blood Stasis type

Blood stagnation is the root cause  for  Migraine.

This type of migraine comes with pain in a fixed place and it is  a needle-like pricking pain. This may occur if the patients have a history of injury.

The treatment for this type of Migraine is disperse blood stasis and dredge the collaterals, we normal use the famous prescription: “Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang”

Case example

A lady working  in  hospital suffered from Migraine for many years. It got worse when she started her menopause. She had throbbing pain in her head almost three or four times a week. She also had hot flushes , night sweater and she felt very tired to cope with work and running the home. She tried different  pain-killer, but only worked for a little  while, which made her life difficult. She came to my Clinic for help. I gave her   acupuncture, using local points to clear her pain and also using general point to calm her Liver Yang, nourish her Kidney Yin. She felt much better after the first session of her treatment.  I also gave her herbal tablets to nourish her kidney Yin, clear her Liver Yang and fire. After a short period of treatment, her Migraine is totally gone. Hot flushes and other menopause symptoms also disappeared, even without HRT. She was very happy with our help.

Back to top

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable Bowel Syndrome ( IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal problems. In our practice we  have seen so many cases,  The patients vary from teenage to elderly people. Some came to our clinic  for treatment of IBS, some came for  other problems with  IBS symptoms. Traditional Chinese Medicine could treat IBS very effectively.

In Chinese medical opinion, IBS mainly results from stress and the dysfunction of the Spleen and Stomach. The Spleen and Stomach’s function is to digest food and transport the food into nutrition , then transport the nutrition to all part of body. The stress can cause Liver Qi stagnation , stagnated Liver Qi can invade Spleen and Stomach and cause Spleen and Stomach dysfunction. When The Spleen and Stomach dysfunction, the most common result is dampness retention in the digestive system, so that the patients would have some symptoms such as: frequent bowel movement with loose stools, painful abdomen, wind and bloated stomach , poor appetite, etc. However, each individual patient is treated with a different prescription according to the main treatment principles based on syndrome differentiation.

Stagnation of Liver Qi

This condition is mainly caused by stress and depression. It is characterised by tightness in the chest and around the rib regions , patients are usually emotional and sigh a lot. Other symptoms include : loose stools , poor appetite , painful abdomen , symptoms worse by stress.

The treatment  is usually using  acupuncture or herbal remedies to smooth  the Liver Qi  and harmonise the Spleen.

Cold – dampness

Cold – dampness is usually a direct result of dysfunction of the Spleen and Stomach. The condition is manifested by frequent bowel movement with loose,  watery stools, bloated abdomen, poor appetite.

The treatment : using herbal remedies to expel cold and eliminate dampness.

Heat- dampness

This type of condition has frequent bowel movement with smelling stools and a burning sensation, abdominal pain, thirst, and patients normally like cold drink.

The treatment  uses acupuncture or herbal remedies to clear excessive heat and dampness.

Deficiency of the Spleen and Stomach

Deficiency Spleen and stomach is a result of dysfunction of these organ system, it can be chronic  condition. It manifested other symptoms as well as poor appetite, nausea, abdominal bloated, tiredness, pale complexion.

The treatment should be to tonic the Spleen  and regulate the Stomach Qi.

Deficiency of the Kidney yang

When the Spleen deficiency develop it can damage Kidney yang, caused kidney yang deficiency. It is usually marked by loose bowels in the early morning with acute abdominal pain, cold limbs, weakness in the lower back and knees.

The treatment commonly used herbal remedies to warm the Kidney yang and to strengthen the Spleen Qi.

Case example

A boy, 17 years old,  suffered from IBS for several years, his symptoms are frequent bowel movement , sometimes over ten times daily, painful abdomen. It can be worse before go to toilet; tightness in the chest, tiredness, pale complexes.. Stress can make his symptoms worse . He had to leave the school and he could not find a job because this problems. His case is Stagnation type IBS. During the first session,  I gave him acupuncture to smooth his Liver Qi and used heat lamp and acupuncture to harmonise his Spleen. I also gave him a herbal tablet to balance his Liver and his Spleen. In the second visit, one week later, he told me that after first session, his abdominal pain was much better, he went to toilet 2-3 time a day, his appetite much better, he felt much stronger. I repeated the same treatment again. Three weeks later, his loose stools is much better, I showed him some Chi Kung exercises to release stress , and some massage to harmonise his Spleen. A few weeks later, he recovered from IBS, his bowel movement almost back to normal, his symptoms occasionally came back a little bit when he have some stress, but he leaned how to do Qi kung exercise to release  and control that. Now he is a   car  machinist, he  enjoys his work and his life.

Irritable Bowel syndrome, as we said, is normally caused by stress and dysfunction of the Spleen and Stomach. Apart from the treatment , lifestyle is also very important, we suggest our patients to do some relaxation exercises such as Chi Kung , tai Chi, Meditation,  and some suggestion about their diet. We also teach them some self-massage and acupressure point to harmonise their body, release and prevent problems.

Back to top