Guest guest Posted November 1, 2006 Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 Christine, I'm not a TCM practitioner nor I am well versed in Chinese medicine. I'm barely at the beginner's level but I'd like to make a few suggestions & hopefully, if anything wouldn't be suitable for you, others more knowledgeable will step in & correct me. First, it's difficult for a person to self-diagnose themself in TCM. The easiest & probably the best for a new one to TCM is tongue analysis. It's the most straightforward & obvious. Checking the pulse is impossible unless one is well trained & experienced in this. So I heavily stress seeing an experienced TCM doctor for a correct diagnosis. Knowing exactly what is wrong will make it much easier then to treat yourself with some herbs & foods. I've eaten soy almost every day for 33+ years. I'm now 56 & have never had a hot flash & only twice do I remember a PMS occurrence so soy can definitely help in this area. My background is more science oriented so my knowledge in this area is better. Soy contains plant estrogens that can link onto estrogen receptors in our body & help with menopause or female related troubles. Plant estrogens are very short-lived & break down in a matter or hours or a couple of days at most. That's why it's good to eat them daily. One possible concern with many plants that contain phyto-estrogen is they often can block the hormone made by the thyroid gland. A diet heavy in soy, yams, & Brassica family foods (like broccoli, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, etc) can cause a person to show a hypothyroid condition. But not always - it seems to depend on other things too but if you eat soy regularly & eat Brassica vegetables too, it may be worth asking your regular doctor for a thyroid test to make sure. Symptoms can show as tired-sleepiness, poor memory, hair thinning, slower metabolism & feeling cold, feeling sluggish, & one very obvious one most don't know about - thinning eyebrows, especially at the far corners near the temples. I wonder if you may have gotten a fungal infection in your toenail. It's rare for a young person to get such but if you ever banged your toe hard & damaged the nail, then it's possible for the fungus to invade in the damaged area under the toenail if you were exposed to it. Wearing socks & shoes all the time, especially socks with synthetic fibres, can make one more liable to fungal infections. While this may not be TCM, the principles of not using strong drugs is the same - you may find that after washing your feet, applying some peroxide to the toenail, trying to make sure it penetrates around the skin & nail well, & then when dry, putting a little tea tree oil on will help IF the problem is a fungal infection. I strongly suggest buying a few good quality, soft wool socks to wear with shoes or slippers since wool breathes & also keeps feet warmer than any other fibre. If your Liver needs strengthening, don't forget what Victoria said in a recent post of hers: " In 5 Element Theory, the Kidneys are recognized as the " Mother " of the Liver (which is the " Son " ). The Mother-Son rule states that whatever is done to the Mother will have the same effect on the Son. If the Mother is tonified, the Son automatically will be. If the Mother is sedated, the Son automatically will be sedated also. " I'd work at strengthening both together so you get better results. Have you checked out www.acuxo.com at all? You might wish to start at http://www.acuxo.com/meridianPictures.asp?point=LR1 & meridian=Liver for the Liver & see if any acupoints are tender. Then, check out the acupoints along the Kidney meridians. As I said, I'm not knowledgeable about TCM but there are a few basics that most of us can learn & understand. Since you haven't had many answers, I'm hoping this may point you in the right direction. Oh, as a side note, I'm still a big believer in eating healthy natural foods, albeit using the Yin-Yang principles of food. But I also take some vitamins, minerals, & other supplements (but I don't go overboard as I've seen some do). It was once thought that one could easily overdose on vitamin D & no more than 400 IU was ever recommended. And because milk & butter is fortified with a little D, it was thought few people needed extra. I've always taken between 1000-2000 IU vitamin D daily, although not religiously. It's now known that vitamin D does far more than strengthen bones & prevent rickets. It's found to have benefits in boosting the immune system. Perhaps my healthy eating & moderate habits have kept me healthy but I also believe my intake of vitamin D has contributed too. I never get sick with infections like most do. Only during times of *extreme* stress have I gotten ill. You might wish to review your eating habits & supplements if you take any. Best of health to you! Judy On Tuesday 31 October 2006 10:31 am, cyhomail wrote: > I don't usually get sick but my liver blood could well be > insufficient. I started getting hot flashes when I was 40 years old > working in a very stressful job. Ever since then my period had been > irregular. Now at 46, I have not had periods for two years. I eat > something soy every day and don't have hot flashes for a few years. > To boost my immune system, I started to put a few cloves of garlic > when I cook and I try to do chi gong everyday. Any other suggestions > to boost my immune system and improve liver is appreciated. > > Thank you. > Christine > > > I have black toe nail for a long long time, probably > > > 20 years, and > > > cannot get rid of it. My doctor wanted me to take > > > pills for it and > > > thought I need to have it cut. > > > > > > My 2nd toe nail is very thick and discolored for > > > probaby last ten > > > years. I did reading on the topic and most books > > > said my immune > > > system is weak. > > > > > > For about two months, I tried 1/2 water and vineager > > > solution to soak > > > feet for 15 min a day and toe nail is slowing > > > turning off grey. > > > Effect seems slow so for the last month, I used > > > cotton ball to put bit > > > of vinegar on toe nail and let it dry. Would > > > appreicate some feedback > > > or suggestions if I am on the right track. > > > > > > thanks. > > > > > > christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 Hello, Thank you for your replies. I will check out Xin Liang Jia. I live in Vancouver, BC Canada (near Seattle Washington USA). I tried my western doctor and she wanted to take culture of my toe and thought I would probably need to take some medications over a very long period of time. I saw two TCM doctors over last few years, once for my lack of period and another time for stress reduction. They hardly explain anything even when I asked -- they gave me herbal prescriptions and accunpunture treatments. It is very difficult to find good TCM doctors. I do not have hypothyroid condition related symptoms you listed but I will check it out. I do think I got fungal infection in my toenail from walking bare feet in shower area in the gym. I will check out www.acuxo.com and review my food and vitamin intake. Thanks again for your feedbacks. Christine Chinese Traditional Medicine , Judy Wilkins <isomorphix wrote: > > Christine, I'm not a TCM practitioner nor I am well versed in Chinese > medicine. I'm barely at the beginner's level but I'd like to make a few > suggestions & hopefully, if anything wouldn't be suitable for you, others > more knowledgeable will step in & correct me. > > First, it's difficult for a person to self-diagnose themself in TCM. The > easiest & probably the best for a new one to TCM is tongue analysis. It's the > most straightforward & obvious. Checking the pulse is impossible unless one > is well trained & experienced in this. So I heavily stress seeing an > experienced TCM doctor for a correct diagnosis. Knowing exactly what is wrong > will make it much easier then to treat yourself with some herbs & foods. > > I've eaten soy almost every day for 33+ years. I'm now 56 & have never had a > hot flash & only twice do I remember a PMS occurrence so soy can definitely > help in this area. My background is more science oriented so my knowledge in > this area is better. Soy contains plant estrogens that can link onto estrogen > receptors in our body & help with menopause or female related troubles. Plant > estrogens are very short-lived & break down in a matter or hours or a couple > of days at most. That's why it's good to eat them daily. > > One possible concern with many plants that contain phyto-estrogen is they > often can block the hormone made by the thyroid gland. A diet heavy in soy, > yams, & Brassica family foods (like broccoli, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, etc) > can cause a person to show a hypothyroid condition. But not always - it seems > to depend on other things too but if you eat soy regularly & eat Brassica > vegetables too, it may be worth asking your regular doctor for a thyroid test > to make sure. Symptoms can show as tired-sleepiness, poor memory, hair > thinning, slower metabolism & feeling cold, feeling sluggish, & one very > obvious one most don't know about - thinning eyebrows, especially at the far > corners near the temples. > > I wonder if you may have gotten a fungal infection in your toenail. It's rare > for a young person to get such but if you ever banged your toe hard & damaged > the nail, then it's possible for the fungus to invade in the damaged area > under the toenail if you were exposed to it. Wearing socks & shoes all the > time, especially socks with synthetic fibres, can make one more liable to > fungal infections. While this may not be TCM, the principles of not using > strong drugs is the same - you may find that after washing your feet, > applying some peroxide to the toenail, trying to make sure it penetrates > around the skin & nail well, & then when dry, putting a little tea tree oil > on will help IF the problem is a fungal infection. I strongly suggest buying > a few good quality, soft wool socks to wear with shoes or slippers since wool > breathes & also keeps feet warmer than any other fibre. > > If your Liver needs strengthening, don't forget what Victoria said in a recent > post of hers: > " In 5 Element Theory, the Kidneys are recognized as > the " Mother " of the Liver (which is the " Son " ). The Mother-Son rule > states that whatever is done to the Mother will have the same effect > on the Son. If the Mother is tonified, the Son automatically will > be. If the Mother is sedated, the Son automatically will be sedated > also. " > I'd work at strengthening both together so you get better results. > > Have you checked out www.acuxo.com at all? > You might wish to start at > http://www.acuxo.com/meridianPictures.asp?point=LR1 & meridian=Liver > for the Liver & see if any acupoints are tender. Then, check out the acupoints > along the Kidney meridians. > > As I said, I'm not knowledgeable about TCM but there are a few basics that > most of us can learn & understand. Since you haven't had many answers, I'm > hoping this may point you in the right direction. > > Oh, as a side note, I'm still a big believer in eating healthy natural foods, > albeit using the Yin-Yang principles of food. But I also take some vitamins, > minerals, & other supplements (but I don't go overboard as I've seen some > do). It was once thought that one could easily overdose on vitamin D & no > more than 400 IU was ever recommended. And because milk & butter is fortified > with a little D, it was thought few people needed extra. I've always taken > between 1000-2000 IU vitamin D daily, although not religiously. It's now > known that vitamin D does far more than strengthen bones & prevent rickets. > It's found to have benefits in boosting the immune system. Perhaps my healthy > eating & moderate habits have kept me healthy but I also believe my intake of > vitamin D has contributed too. I never get sick with infections like most do. > Only during times of *extreme* stress have I gotten ill. You might wish to > review your eating habits & supplements if you take any. > Best of health to you! > > Judy > > On Tuesday 31 October 2006 10:31 am, cyhomail wrote: > > I don't usually get sick but my liver blood could well be > > insufficient. I started getting hot flashes when I was 40 years old > > working in a very stressful job. Ever since then my period had been > > irregular. Now at 46, I have not had periods for two years. I eat > > something soy every day and don't have hot flashes for a few years. > > To boost my immune system, I started to put a few cloves of garlic > > when I cook and I try to do chi gong everyday. Any other suggestions > > to boost my immune system and improve liver is appreciated. > > > > Thank you. > > Christine > > > > > I have black toe nail for a long long time, probably > > > > 20 years, and > > > > cannot get rid of it. My doctor wanted me to take > > > > pills for it and > > > > thought I need to have it cut. > > > > > > > > My 2nd toe nail is very thick and discolored for > > > > probaby last ten > > > > years. I did reading on the topic and most books > > > > said my immune > > > > system is weak. > > > > > > > > For about two months, I tried 1/2 water and vineager > > > > solution to soak > > > > feet for 15 min a day and toe nail is slowing > > > > turning off grey. > > > > Effect seems slow so for the last month, I used > > > > cotton ball to put bit > > > > of vinegar on toe nail and let it dry. Would > > > > appreicate some feedback > > > > or suggestions if I am on the right track. > > > > > > > > thanks. > > > > > > > > christine > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 3, 2006 Report Share Posted November 3, 2006 Chinese Traditional Medicine , " cyhomail " <chrisyho wrote: > > Hello, > > Thank you for your replies. I will check out Xin Liang Jia. I live > in Vancouver, BC Canada (near Seattle Washington USA). I'm not sure how far you live from Seattle or if it is a reasonable drive, but there is a good school with a clinic in Seattle that you might try. It's called Bastyr University. They are one of the only schools in the US to offer the DAOM degree (Doctoral of acupuncture and oriental medicine), so they should have well qualified professionals. You might also try a clinic like this because they probably have several practitioners, and it would be easier to find one that matches with you better, and of course that is a big part of treatment success. They offer different treatment modalities such as naturopathic medicine, acupuncture and Oriental medicine, nutrition counseling, Chinese herbal medicine, ect. Here is some additional info you might find useful The website for the clinic http://www.bastyrcenter.org The website for the school http://www.bastyr.edu Clinic location on mapquest http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?searchtype=address & country=US & addto\ history= & searchtab=home & formtype=address & popflag=0 & latitude= & longitude= & \ name= & phone= & level= & cat= & address=3670+Stone+Way+N. & city=seattle & state=wa\ & zipcode= Call 206.834.4100 to schedule an Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine appointment. From what mapquest says, it's about 13 miles from the school to the clinic. These are the directions to the University from Vancouver: Southbound on I-5 Take EXIT 177 (Lake Forest Park) onto Ballinger Road NE. Follow Ballinger Road NE for about 3 miles to Hwy 522, also called Bothell Way. Turn LEFT on Hwy 522/Bothell Way to 68th Avenue NE in Kenmore. Turn RIGHT on 68th Ave NE, which becomes Juanita Drive NE, and follow it south to sign on the right indicating Bastyr University (NE 145th). Turn RIGHT and follow drive until it forks. Continue straight ahead until you reach Bastyr University. It looks like to get to the clinic you just take I-5 until about exit 169. Depending on where you live in Vancouver, it looks like the clinic is about 120 miles away, which should take about 2 hours. I hope this helps, and good luck with everything. If you end up going to the clinic I would be really interested to know your experience as I am thinking about going to school there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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