Kidney Yang Deficiency

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>Colleen DeLaney <herbdocs

>discusschineseherbs

>learnchineseherbs , discusschineseherbs

>[discusschineseherbs] Herbs & Things January 2001

>Sat, 13 Jan 2001 19:05:31 -0800

 

>Colleen DeLaney is a Licensed Acupuncturist and Medical

>Herbologist in private practice with her husband, John

>Struthers, L.Ac.

 

This is some more information on the TCM syndrome given in the

discusschineseherbs newsletter.

 

>Come winter, this woman feels tired, depressed, and

>withdrawn. She doesn't want to go out in public. She

>craves warm drinks, hot baths, and spends a great deal

>more time sleeping. Normally active, she loses interest in

>working out and complains of foggy thinking and overall

>heaviness. Her tongue is pale and puffy, her pulse is deep

>and submerged. When you ask, she tells you that she has to

>get up two or three times a night to urinate and that her

>digestion has been sluggish and bloated.

>

>What is your diagnosis? What herbs would help most?

>(see answers at bottom)

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>ANSWERS TO QUIZ

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>Approach this puzzle in a step-by step fashion as you've

>learned.

 

What she's done here is to demonstrate the 8 Principal Patterns analysis.

This is when one considers if the condition is Hot or Cold, Exterior or

Interior, Excess or Deficiency, and Yin or Yang. The 8 Principal Patterns.

 

>HOT OR COLD?

>The symptoms are worse in cold weather and relieved by

>warm drinks and hot baths. Combined with the pale tongue,

>this adds up to Cold.

>

>EXCESS OR DEFICIENT?

>Fatigue, excess sleeping, deep and submerged pulse-- all

>adds up to Deficient Cold rather than Excess Cold.

>

>INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL?

>Symptoms are all Interior-- no signs of Exterior.

 

Exterior conditions are characterized by things like problems in the head

(headaches, though headaches can come from Interior conditions), the arms

and legs, the muscles, the neck, the meridians (pathways of energy). When a

condition affects the inside of the trunk of the body and the Organs, it's

Interior. Note the changes in digestion and urination. Also note the

excess sleeping. This is the Interior being affected. Changes in emotions

also point to an Interior condition. Exterior conditions can move to the

Interior as in the case of Exterior Cold (cold weather) invading to the

Interior, and people who are Yang Deficient (or Qi Deficient) tend to be

more sensitive to Exterior Cold. So how did she know that the main problem

is an underlying Yang Deficiency and not the winter weather (Excess Cold)

invading to the Interior? The overall picture - in particular the on-going

fatigue, the pattern of excess sleeping, and the deep and submerged pulse.

While it's true that when a person is freezing to death (extreme Excess Cold

invading to the Interior) s/he will get sleepy, the Yang Deficiency

sleepiness is one that occurs when others are not feeling cold or feeling

only slightly cold and when temperatures aren't even below freezing. (There

are some other ways to tell the difference between Interior Excess Cold and

Interior Deficiency Cold, but I don't want to go into those too much here.

Speech and movement will tend to be slow in all cases of Cold, but with

Excess there tends to be a forceful or loud quality (slow but forceful or

loud in the case of Excess Cold) whereas with Deficiency there tends to be

weakness (slow and weak in the case of Deficiency Cold). Think back to the

last time you felt cold. Chances are you were moving around very forcefully

trying to warm up, and your voice was quite strong and loud as you

complained of how cold you were. Yang Deficient people simply do not have

the energy to move around very much or with very forceful movement. It's

that fatigue thing. In addition to warming the body, Yang energy also

activates. Besides, in cases of Yang Deficiency things that normally warm a

person up - like moving around more or even exercising - usually doesn't

work or work well enough In extreme cases it may even make them more cold.

The very limited Yang energy which was needed to warm the body got used on

the increased activity, and now there's even less to warm the body.)

 

>YIN OR YANG?

>Cold, Deficient and Interior all add up to a Yin condition.

>Deficient cold can also be referred to as Yang deficiency

>(insufficient Yang energy to warm the body).

 

TCM and Chinese philosophy considers pairs of opposites. Cold is considered

Yin in contrast to Heat which is considered Yang. Wetness is Yin; Dryness

is Yang. Cold and/or wet conditions are Yin conditions. In this case the

Yin condition is being caused by the lack of enough Yang, so the condition

is called Yang Deficiency. Another term for Yang Deficiency is Deficiency

Cold.

 

Cold damages Yang, and Heat damages Yin.

 

>WHICH ORGAN IS MOSTLY AFFECTED?

>Symptoms are worse in winter, which is the time of year

>when imbalances of the Kidney energy may become more

>apparent. Add to that the foggy thinking (the brain is seen

>as the Sea of Marrow, controlled by the Kidney energy) and

>the frequent nocturnal urination, and once again the signs

>point to Kidney deficiency.

 

In the above paragraph, she switches to Organ Analysis in order to pinpoint

the Root more exactly so that treatment can be more exact.

 

The part about wanting hot drinks is general to all Cold conditions. People

with Cold conditions tend to not feel thirsty very much (even when they

should) and to want hot drinks or hot soups when they do. People with Hot

condtions tend to feel thirsty and want cold drinks.

 

Note the mention of the having to get up two or three times a night to

urinate. This zeros in on the Kidneys being affected. Anytime you hear of

urination being affected, that the back (espcially the lower back) is sore

and/or weak, the knees are sore and/or weak, there are problems with the

hearing and/or ears, there are problems with the teeth and/or bones, the

libido is affected, automatically think " Kidneys! " and rule in or rule out.

 

The digestive system problems point to Spleen Yang Deficiency. It is not

surprising that there also would be Spleen Yang Deficiency. The Kidneys

supply the Yang (and the Yin) for the rest of the body. If there's not

enough Yang for the Kidneys, there's not enough for the rest of the body.

In this particular case the Kidneys and Spleen are being particularly taxed

by the shortage. Spleen Yang Deficiency can occur by itself, but it is

common for both Kidney Yang Deficiency and Spleen Yang Deficiency to occur

together. In this case, the problems with urination and the other symptoms

of Kidney involvement point strongly to the Kidney Yang Deficiency being the

trigger for the Spleen Yang Deficiency. Kidney Yang Deficiency sometimes is

refered to as general Yang Deficiency because the Kidneys supply Yang to the

rest of the body.

 

Note: In extreme cases of Kidney Yang Deficiency the person may be having

to get up and urinate a lot more than two or three times a night. During

the day the person may be unable to drink half a cup of water before having

to go to the bathroom.

 

Note: Whenever Kidney Yang Deficiency is present, you can just about bet

that there's also some Kidney Yin Deficiency. And vice versa. In cases of

extreme Yang Deficiency, the Kidney Yang Deficiency may completely mask the

Kidney Yin Deficiency. For this reason, at least one Kidney Yin tonic herb

usually is included in formulas for Kidney Yang Deficiency, and at least one

Kidney Yang tonic herb usually is included in formulas for Kidney Yin

Deficiency.

 

>Even the TYPE of depression points to Kidney imbalance--

>first, because it occurs in winter, and second, because it is

>characterized by withdrawal from the outside world,

>indicating the person lacks sufficient Will (a Kidney

>attribute) to face the world and its difficulties. (In contrast, a

>depression caused by grief and loss would be more Lung

>related, a depression characterized by frustration and anger

>would be more Liver related, and so on).

 

The Lungs are most vulnerable to grief and loss, and when in imbalance will

predispose a person to feeling grief and loss. The Liver is most vulnerable

to anger and frustration, and when in imbalance will predispose a person to

feeling anger and frustration. The Kidneys and Bladder are most vulnerable

to fear, and imbalance in the Kidneys will predispose a person to feeling

fear. The Kidneys are most vulnerable to Cold; hence, the increased

problems in winter and in some cases, following winter (if the Kidneys are

not built back up). (The Lungs to Dryness, and the Liver to Wind.) In

addition, each meridian has a proper direction of flow of energy, and each

emotion can have an effect on the direction of flow of Qi. Fear frequently

causes Qi to descend. People wet their pants when frightened. In children

fear and/or insecurity almost always causes Qi to descend and can be the

cause of a child wetting the bed at night. (Foods which cause Qi to descend

also can do this.) However, Maciocia has found that fear can have more

variable effects in adults. In some cases, it will cause Qi to descend.

But in other cases it can trigger Kidney Yin Deficiency which in turn

triggers Deficiency Heat (Yin Deficiency) in the Heart. Fear also " depletes

the Essence " (Jing), and " blocks the Upper Burner " (Heart and Lungs) " which

makes Qi descend to the Lower Burner " (Kidneys, Bladder, Intestines)

according to the Simple Questions. (Maciocia, Foundations, p. 132)

>

>The poor digestion can be seen as Spleen weakness where

>the Spleen's digestive fire is not adequately stoked by the

>Kidney Ming Men fire.

>

>There are also lesser signs of Qi deficiency-- heaviness,

>fatigue, deep submerged pulse, poor digestion, etc. Add

>this together with the Cold symptoms and our pattern adds

>up to Deficiency of Kidney Qi and Yang.

>

>NOW THAT YOU'VE NAMED THE PATTERN, YOU'LL

>KNOW HOW TO BALANCE IT

>

>Now that you know the pattern of disharmony,you choose a

>category of herbs that will balance it.

>

>The solution? Herbs that tonify the Kidney Qi and Yang.

>

>Korean red Ginseng would be helpful, as would other

>warming herbs and warming foods. A couple of appropriate

>(and inexpensive!) Chinese patent medicines to build the

>Kidney Yang and help with wintertime depression would be

>GeJieDaBuWan or BaWeiDiHuangWan, also known as

>Eight Flavor Tea or Rehmannia Eight tea.

 

My personal favorite is dried ginger. It's not classified as a Yang tonic

herb but as an herb to warm the Interior. Most texts list it as targeting

the Spleen, Stomach, and Lung systems though a few also list the Kidney

system. I suspect that it does target the Kidneys to a degree. Ginger is a

mild aphrodisiac, and this frequently indicates that an herb targets the

Kidneys (becaused the Kidneys exercise so much influence over libido).

(Kidney Yin Deficiency may manifest as excessive physical desire; Kidney

Yang Deficiency may manifest as below normal sexual desire.) In any event,

it definitely targets the Spleen and Stomach and helps digestion. Why can

this be so important in cases of Yang Deficiency? Because these can be

snowballing situations. Cold damages the Kidneys (and the Spleen also is

somewhat vulnerable to Cold). The Spleen is the system responsible for

extracting Qi from the food you eat. Part of that Qi becomes Protective Qi.

Protective Qi guards the body from Exterior Pernicious Evils, including

Cold. If the Protective Qi is Deficient, it's more likely that Exterior

Cold can invade and further damage the Kidneys and Spleen. The Exterior

Cold is added to the Deficiency Cold. Cold also damages Yang. What little

Yang there is is being depleted still more. The person becomes even more

Yang Deficient. There is even less Yang for the Kidneys to supply to the

rest of the body, including the Spleen. The Spleen is working worse than

before and extracting even less Qi from the food which means that less is

available for the Protective Qi which means that Cold is able to invade even

more easily, and so on. Anyway, if you're Kidney and Spleen Yang Deficient

with definite signs of Interior Cold, a cup of hot ginger tea can work

wonders. Use ginger cautiously when pregnant.

 

Epimedium (Yin Yang Huo) is classified as a Yang tonic herb, and targets the

Kidneys and Liver. This is a particularly good Yang tonic herb if the

person also has a tendency to or suffers from Wind Cold Dampness and/or

Painful Obstruction (arthritis) because it expels Wind Cold Dampness in

addition to tonifying (increasing) Yang. Its energy is warm. It's

contraindicated in cases of Yin Deficiency with marked symptoms of Heat.

 

Dodder seeds, aka Semen Cuscutae, aka Tu Si Zi is a Yang tonic herb which

has the advantage of also being a Yin tonic. It targets the Liver and

Kidneys, and its energy is neutral (neither warming nor cooling). In

addition to tonifying both Kidney Yang and Yin, it benefits Jing. This is a

good one if Liver Yin Deficiency is present in addition to both Kidney Yang

and Kidney Yin Deficiency and the person is having symptoms like tinnitus

and blurred vision. It's contraindicated in pregnancy except when used to

calm a fetus in cases of imminent miscarriage.

 

For those who rely heavily on cooking herbs (which tend to be more easily

available than many herbs), fenugreek seed, aka Hu Lu Ba, is a Yang tonic

herb. This one may be particularly good when there's marked Cold Damp in

the lower body. It warms the Kidneys and disperses Interior Cold. It gets

used a lot for hernias due to Cold and for pain and distension due to Cold.

It too is contraindicated in cases of Yin Deficiency where there is marked

Heat. (Even if Kidney Yin Deficiency is present to a lesser degree as

frequently is the case when a person is Kidney Yang Deficiency, there is not

going to be marked Heat if a person is fairly severely Kidney Yang

Deficiency because the Yang Deficiency is more severe and masks the Kidney

Yin Deficiency. Fenugreek seed sometimes is effective in treating mountain

sickness.

 

Note: All cases of SAD may not have a Root of Kidney Yang Deficiency. This

is one which definitely does. In making a TCM analysis you analyze TCM

imbalances, not Western-defined medical conditions.

 

Victoria

 

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