Deficient & Can't Receive Tonification/ Adrenal Fatigue in some cases?

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This is a subject that I wanted to learn more about and check out more

before posting about it, but several recent posts have convinced me

that it should be introduced for discussion now.

 

This post is written for all the 3 major groups on the list - the

people new to TCM, the TCM students, and the professional healers - so

I will be going into the basics as well as more advanced concepts.

 

For the list members who are new to TCM, one thing your healers

consider is if your problems are Excess or Deficiency (or mixed (some

Excess problems and some Deficiency problems)).

 

Excess problems are those caused by there being too much of

something. For example any Blood Stasis or Qi Stagnation is too

much. (Don't worry about what these are for the time being.)

Deficiency problems are caused by there being not enough of something

a person needs. For example, Qi Deficieny, Blood Deficiency, Yin

Deficiency, and Yang Deficiency.

 

Excess is treated by taking away the Excess. (I'm simplifying here).

Deficiency is treated by providing what the person needs. This

sometimes is called " tonification " . For example, Qi Tonic herbs are

those that supply Qi (pronounced " chee " , roughly though inadequately

translated as " energy " ) to the body. Blood Tonic herbs promote the

building of healthy Blood. Yang Tonic herbs increase Yang; Yin Tonic

herbs add Yin to the body.

 

Sounds very straight-forward, doesn't it? It's not always. There is a

condition called Deficient and Unable to Receive Tonification. The

tonic herbs that the person obviously needs create problems. (For the

students on the list, these reactions fall into 2 basic categories:

Signs and symptoms of Deficiency Fire will predominate (dry lips and

mouth, irritability, headache, etc.) or digestive system upsets will

prodominate. There may be a combination of symptoms.)

 

There are various treatment strategies (depending on the individual's

specific problems). Sometimes the treatment strategies are 100%

successful, but often they are only partially successful or not

successful at all. This post is about one possible way to treat some

(not all) of these Deficient And Can't Receive Tonification cases that

are not responding well. The possible treatment involves a

combination of Western alternative healing and TCM.

 

From time to time there are discussions on this list about why some

people respond quicker and more dramatically to TCM than other people

do. In every single one of the quick responding cases that I know of,

the person was doing other things in addition to TCM. For example, a

very good diet, taking extra vitamins and minerals, doing Qi Gong

exercises, getting enough rest, etc. In these cases the TCM is like

the missing ingredient that when added completes what the person

needs. In some cases, TCM alone eventually will add all or most of the

needed " ingredients " . That is provided there aren't problems like

Deficient and Can't Receive Tonification that are complicating

treatment. In other cases the person has been so sick for so long that

TCM alone will not be enough.

 

I want readers to keep in mind that TCM evolved in a natural setting.

People in cultures where TCM is practiced frequently have

less " missing ingredients " than people in Western nations. It's not

just a matter of herbs and TCM healers being more available. It's that

the culture as a whole encourages healthy TCM practices. For example,

there are foods available that aren't available in most Western

communities. And the people are brought up to know what constitutes a

healthy diet from a TCM standpoint. In short, many more people in TCM

cultures often may be better nourished than people in rich, Western,

industrialized countries.

 

There is another factor to consider. TCM evolved in times and places

where there simply weren't the stresses that modern life can bring.

When the body faced danger and released hormones and other substances

that got used for what they are needed for: Flight or fight. One

either survived by running away from a wolf or by killing it. These

days the " flight or fight " substances get released, but they don't get

used up in the ways that nature evolved them to be used. Not only

that, but the frequency of stresses in the modern world often is far

greater than in times past. There can be a constant or near constant

assault on the adrenal glands. Before the body has time to recover

from one stress, another has appeared. And another, and another, and

so on.

 

A reminder that TCM Organs are not equivalent to anatomical organs.

TCM Organs are collections of functions. For example, the TCM Kidneys

not only include many of the functions of the kidneys, they also

include many of the functions of the adrenal glands. In some (not all)

cases of Deficient and Unable to Receive Tonification there may also

be a background of adrenal fatigue. Treat the adrenal fatigue using

adrenal extract, and the person is then able to accept tonification.

Or, the person may be tonified by the adrenal extract. Any other herbs

the person needs for other problems may then be able to work more

quickly and more dramatically than before. Some very

critical " missing ingredients " have been supplied.

 

Part 2 will go into more detail on adrenal fatigue. Also on " missing

ingredients.