Some East/West Differences in prescribing medication

[Guest guest]

In the West, drugs usually are prescribed on a one drug per problem, attack the

problem basis. This is due in large part to the way medical research is done in

the West. You test for one variable at a time. You often treat each problem with

a separate drug. For example, a patient may be on one drug or drugs to control

high blood pressure, another to control asthma, other drugs to control digestive

system problems, and an ointment for a skin rash.

 

The concept of a " tonic " (and I'm using the Western definition of tonic here) is

very suspect to many in the West (and with good reason considering a lot of

inflated claims about tonics in the past). A tonic in the Western sense is a

substance or formula which will clear up mulitple problems at the same time.

For example, a tonic may help a person's high blood pressure, asthma, and

digestive problems all at the same time because all three are coming from the

same root problem.

 

The closest thing that Western medicine has to one prescription clearing up a

host of problems is when underactive glandular problems are treated. Then

doctors and patients expect to see a host of problems clear up with one

medication. For example, when you replace thyroid hormone in a person who is

hypothyroid, this one substance will cause a lot of problems to clear up -

fatigue, slowed reflexes and thinking, edema, constipation, hair and skin

without luster, etc.

 

In TCM herbalism, a formula (and in some cases a single herb) is expected to

clear up mulitple problems. For example, when you treat Kidney Yang Deficiency,

a whole host of problems start to disappear. Not only does the person start to

warm up and be less bothered by cold, the abundant and clear urine problems

start to clear up, the fatigue lessens, back pain problems lessen, the person

starts to move and speak faster, etc. Immune response may also improve.

 

In the West, the emphasis is on treating symptoms, usually via a one medication

per symptom approach. In , the emphasis is on identifying and

treating root causes.

 

There is another difference between East and West. In the West, most treatments

are based on attacking the problem/ symptom. Look at how many drugs are called

" anti " - antihistamines, anti-inflammatories, antiacids, etc. The main

exceptions to this are glandular replacement therapies and vitamins and mineral

therapies (and a lot of doctors look down on the idea of using vitamins and

minerals to treat most conditions with the exceptions of things like B12 for

pernicious anemia, potassium replacement in some cases of high blood pressure

and potassium depletion caused by some of the treatments for hypertension).

 

Chinese medicine also will attack problems. For example, there are herbs to

expel Wind Cold and Wind Heat, herbs to drain Dampness, herbs to get rid of

Internal Cold, etc. But attacking Pernicious Evils is only part of the Chinese

Medicine treatment strategy. Another part of the strategy is to build up and

restore balance. Thus, when a person has a problem of say frequent headaches

caused by Wind Chill, part of the strategy may be to expel the Wind Cold and

part of the strategy may be to increase Protective Qi (Wei Qi) so the person

will not be so vulnerable to External Attack by Wind Cold in the future.

 

The definition of " tonic " in the Chinese medicine sense is an herb which will

add a certain type of energy to a person who is Deficient in that energy. Yang

Tonic herbs are those that add Yang energy. Qi Tonic herbs add Qi, Yin Tonic

herbs add Yin energy, and Blood Tonic herbs improve the quality of the Blood.

Remember that the TCM definition of Blood differs some from the Western concept

of blood. In TCM some endocrine functions are included in the concept of Blood.

Also, the term " blood deficiency " in the West makes a lot of people think only

of something like anemia due to there not being enough iron or enough red blood

cells. TCM is also concerned with the quality of the cells and a lot more.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Victoria wrote:

 

> In the West, drugs usually are prescribed on a one drug per problem,

> attack the problem basis.

 

True, this is very often the case.

 

> You often treat each problem with a separate drug. For

> example, a patient may be on one drug or drugs to control high blood

> pressure, another to control asthma, other drugs to control

> digestive system problems, and an ointment for a skin rash.

 

This is because we don't know of drugs that will help many diseases at

the same time.

 

> In TCM herbalism, a formula (and in some cases a single herb) is

> expected to clear up multiple problems.

 

This is great! Does TCM have some herbs that will *cure* diabetes,

hypertension, asthma, etc? Heck, even if it cured just one of those

diseases it would be great.

 

> There is another difference between East and West. In the West,

> most treatments are based on attacking the problem/ symptom. Look

> at how many drugs are called " anti " - antihistamines,

> anti-inflammatories, antiacids, etc.

 

Well, this is due in part to our understanding of disease. We think ---

via scientific study --- that arthritis is predominantly a disease with

an inflammatory etiology. So we treat it with anti-inflammatories. We

think infections are caused by bacteria and viruses, so we use

antibiotics and anti-virals. We think diabetes is caused by both insulin

lack and insulin resistance...so we treat it with drugs that influence

insulin.

 

 

Sam

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[Guest guest]

>This is great! Does TCM have some herbs that will *cure* diabetes,

>hypertension, asthma, etc? Heck, even if it cured just one of those

>diseases it would be great.

 

What gets treated in TCM is not asthma, hypertension, etc. but an underlying TCM

syndrome. Different TCM syndromes can manifest as asthma, hypertension, etc.

The treatments for Kidney Refusing to Receive Qi are different for the treatment

for Liver Fire Attacking Lungs (Earth Insulting Metal) even though both can

manifest as asthma.

 

There are cases where asthma, hypertension, etc. disappear once the underlying

TCM syndrome is treated. In other cases Western drugs are needed to treat the

problem in addition to the TCM. What often happens in these cases is the person

requires less of the Western drugs and doesn't suffer some of the other

conditions associated with the medical problem. For example, diabetics may not

only require less insulin if TCM is used but doesn't suffer some of the other

problems associated with diabetes such as circulation problems, loss of vision,

etc.

 

I also want to caution readers that TCM is NOT the One True medical system that

is going to cure all ills and has all the answers. For example, sometimes asthma

will respond best to chiropractic or DO treatments. In other cases of asthma,

spinal adjustments may do nothing. It depends on the root of the problem.

 

>Well, this is due in part to our understanding of disease. We think ---

>via scientific study --- that arthritis is predominantly a disease with

>an inflammatory etiology. So we treat it with anti-inflammatories.

 

In TCM arthritis and rheumatism are seen as painful obstruction by Cold, Wind,

and/or Dampmess. It's called Bi Syndrome, and this is one of the few TCM

syndromes that do correspond (in most cases) to a Western medical condition.

Heat can also play a role in Bi Syndrome. Most of the herbs for Expelling Wind

Dampness are herbs used for treating Bi Syndrome. But in TCM, Bi pain is seen as

a manifestation of a deeper Root disharmny. So treating Bi Syndrome in TCM is

based on using herbs to Expel Wind Dampness plus herbs to correct the underlying

Root problem. The Expel Wind Dampness herbs will help the pain of Bi Syndrome

but not the Root cause of the Bi Syndrome. I want to caution you that there are

different causes of pain in TCM, and herbs that Expel Wind Dampness do not work

for all cases of pain.

 

>We

>think infections are caused by bacteria and viruses, so we use

>antibiotics and anti-virals.

 

I found a combination of attack and restore very effective in treating chronic

mononucleosis. Throughout may life I have suffered from repeated bouts of mono.

The last time an EBV (Epstein Barr Virus) panel was done, the pattern was that

of chronic mononucleosis. The doctor told me that I probably would never be

free of the mono and never see another negative monospot test. But I did. In

fact, finding out I had mono again was the start of my getting really involved

in alternative medicine. I knew from many years experience that Western medicine

has very little to offer in treating mono, so I turned to alternative medicine.

I followed the recommendations for herbs to combat the virus and other problems

(echinacea, golden seal, garlic) and vitamins and minerals to help and restore

my immune system. Sometimes a substance can be both. For example, echinacea is

NOT an immune system booster (as is commonly believed)but is an immune system

enhancer. Echinacea will boost parts of the immune system that need boosting

but will gear down parts of the immune system that are in overdrive. This can be

an especially good herb for some people with CFIDS whose immune systems show

signs of deficiency in some areas but being too active in other aspects.

Echinacea also can play a role in treating allergies because of its property of

gearing down parts of the immune system which are in overdrive. (Note to other

readers: CFIDS and chronic (or recurring) mononucleosis are NOT the same thing,

but some (not all) PWCs (People With CFIDS) also suffer from chronic

mononucleosis. The CFIDS Association of America is a good source of info on the

mixed immune system problems in CFIDS. The bulk of the research on echinacea has

been done in Europe, especially in Germany where it is a very highly regarded

herb. German doctors prescribe both herbs and prescription drugs. According to

the NIH in this country, Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) accounts for around 90% of the

cases of mono, and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) accounts for most of the remaining 10%.

Both belong to the herpes family of viruses. For some reason that no one has

ever figured out, PWCs tend to have elevated titers to multiple viruses, but

especially to viruses in the herpes family. It's not known in most cases if the

elevated titers are due to an active infection or to something being haywire in

the immune system and it pumping out high amounts of antibodies to combat

viruses that no longer are active.)

 

Anyway, I found the joint attack and restore strategy very effective in treating

mono. At this time in my life (when I was the sickest), I didn't know about TCM.

TCM considers things like Latent Heat, Damp Heat, ShaoYang-stage Evil, the

strength of the Qi, and other things in cases where there is a manifestation of

recurring infections.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

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