Cushing's Syndrome

[Guest guest]

Information taken from The Treatment of Modern Western Medical

Diseases with by Bob Flaws and Philippe Sionneau.

 

" Cushing's syndrome is a constellation of clinical abnormalities due

to chronic exposure to excesses of cortisol or related

corticosteriods. " (p. 203)

 

" Chinese Disease Categorization " The main clinical manifestations of

this condition are categorized a neng shi shan ji, ability to eat

with rapid hungering, shui zhong, water swelling or edema, fei pang,

obesity, yi nu, easy anger or irritability, zi han, spontaneous

perspiration, dao han, thief sweating, i.e., night sweats, and shi

mian, loss of sleep, or bu mian, insomnia. " (p. 203)

 

" Disease Causes: Former heaven natural endowment insufficiency "

(genetics, something that happened in the womb during

gestation), " internal damage by the seven affects " (emotions),

unregulated eating and drinking, over-taxation, aging, enduring

disease, and iatrogenesis " (caused by treatment). (p. 203).

 

Flaws and Sionneau say you'll see two main types of manifestation in

Cushing's Syndrome: Spleen Qi and Kidney Yang Vacuity (Deficiency)

with Dampness and Phlegm and Yin Vacuity with Efflulgent

Fire. " Spleen-kidney vacuity may be due to faulty diet, over-

taxation, aging, enduring disease, and/or iatrogenesis. Kidney yin

vacuity is commonly due to former heaven natural endowment

insufficiency, aging, enduring disease, and/or iatrogenesis. " (p.

203) (Vacuity taxation refers to a person becoming deficient because

of over-doing. This can be over-work damaging the Spleen, or it can

be too much sex damaging the Kidneys.)

 

Here's where the Flaws and Sionneau material gets really

interesting. When we think of iatrogenesis - treatment caused

problems - we automatically think of prescription drugs. There are a

lot of cases where people on long-term prednisone treatment have

developed the symptoms of Cushing's Syndrome. But herbs when

improperly prescribed also fall into the iatrogenesis category.

 

" When Cushing's syndrome is due to iatrogenesis, its mechanisms are

essentially similar to overprescribing acrid, windy natured

medicians. Coirtisosteriods, such as prednisone, clear heat by out-

thrusting it, while they stop pain by forcefully moving the qi. In

this way, prednisone is something similar to Radix Bupleuri (Chai

Hu_. When acrid, windy, exterior-resolving medicinals are wrongly or

overused, they A) out-thrust and therefore, damage yang qi and B)

plunder and consume yin fluids. Thus their side effects are to cause

qi and ultimately yang vacuity on the one hand, and yin vacuity with

vacuity heat on the other, with phlegm congelation being assoicated

with either or both of these two mechanisms. " (p. 203)

 

Flaws and Sionneau go on to list patterns commonly seen in people

suffering from Cushing's Syndrome: 1. Yin Vacuity with Ascendant

Liver Yang Hyperactivity Pattern, Yin Vacuity-Fire Efflugence

Pattern, 3. Ascendant Liver Yang Hyperactivity with Phlegm Fire

Pattern, 4. Yin Vacuity with Heat Toxins Patern, 5. Spleen Qi Vacuity

with Phlegm Dampness Pattern, 6. Spleen-Kidney Yang Vacuity Pattern,

and 7. Yin and Yang Dual Vacuity Patterns. One or more of these may

underlie Cushing's Syndrome. These are general guidelines. " As with

all other conditions in Chinese medicien, treatment should maily be

based on th patients' personal pattern discrimination. The above

protocols are only meant as illustrative examples. " (p. 208)

 

Flaws and Sionneau also point out that " Many patients prescribed

steroids already suffer from qi and yin vacuity with damp heat, and

steroids may aggravate any of these three disease mechanisms. " (p.

208)

 

WARNING: Anyone on corticosteroids MUST consult a doctor for help

coming off the drugs. This is one medication one most definitely

does not want to go " cold-turkey " from as the sudden stoppage of the

drugs can result in death. One has to be weaned off these drugs with

decreasing dosages and a doctor monitoring the clinical picture in

case the person starts to run into problems.

 

Victoria

[Guest guest]

> " Chinese Disease Categorization " The main clinical manifestations of

> this condition are categorized a neng shi shan ji, ability to eat

> with rapid hungering, shui zhong, water swelling or edema, fei pang,

> obesity, yi nu, easy anger or irritability,

 

Interesting, up until this point this sounds more like the metabolic

syndromes than cushings, which is usually associated with later stage

symptoms in horses such as the following:

 

zi han, spontaneous

> perspiration, dao han, thief sweating, i.e., night sweats

 

> Flaws and Sionneau say you'll see two main types of manifestation in

> Cushing's Syndrome: Spleen Qi and Kidney Yang Vacuity (Deficiency)

> with Dampness and Phlegm and Yin Vacuity with Efflulgent

> Fire.

 

That's the first time I have heard of Cushings associated with yang

vacuity - it has always been yin thus far, including the research summary I

purchased from Blue Poppy!!

 

Though I guess looking at the list below, they could almost be progressive

syndromes within the disease. I have great difficulty working out the

secondary patterns - a combination of phlegm, heat and damp that I cannot

'decipher'.

 

 

> Flaws and Sionneau go on to list patterns commonly seen in people

> suffering from Cushing's Syndrome: 1. Yin Vacuity with Ascendant

> Liver Yang Hyperactivity Pattern, Yin Vacuity-Fire Efflugence

> Pattern, 3. Ascendant Liver Yang Hyperactivity with Phlegm Fire

> Pattern, 4. Yin Vacuity with Heat Toxins Patern, 5. Spleen Qi Vacuity

> with Phlegm Dampness Pattern, 6. Spleen-Kidney Yang Vacuity Pattern,

> and 7. Yin and Yang Dual Vacuity Patterns. >

 

Thanks Victoria.

 

Jackie