Cryptorchidism (testicle not descended)

[Guest guest]

Hello,

 

our son, 19 months old, has one testicle (the right one) that hasn't

descended into the scrotum.

We have been told he needs an operation before his 2nd birthday to

avoid that the testicle would be damaged (because of being in a place

that is too hot, inside the body), but then again some people tell us

it is better to let things happen and wait until he is 5-7 years old,

and that often the testicle descends on its own without any further

problems.

 

We have very little faith in classic medecine, we know by experience

that often there is no sound basis for its conclusions - which change

periodically somewhat like fashions. And we would hate to operate our

son just because it's the fashion of the moment

On the other hand, we have a lot of faith in TCM. We are not

professionals, but try to apply as good as we can what we learned,

especially from Paul Pitchford's magnificent book " Healing with whole

foods " - with excellent results for ourselves. Thanks to our even

limited understanding of traditional chinese concepts, our health and

life quality have improved spectacularly over the the last few years.

 

So we are very interested in knowing what traditional chinese medicine

has to say about cryptorchidism... Or to hear about experiences by

other parents...

 

Thank you,

Bart and Yuri

Belgium

[Guest guest]

I'm sorry to hear about your son's problem. My next door neighbor

had this problem while growing up; I will ask my mother whatever came

of it.

 

The medicine in Belgium is probably better than here in the U.S. I

wouldn't rely on TCM all that much. I'm 40, single, and childless,

and after spending some $6,000 on TCM and Western medicine, would

probably try a combination of both if you're not into surgery. You

could always see multiple Western-type doctors and try to get a

consensus, or try some kind of TCM massage to try with your baby to

help the testicle descend. I don't know where you could even

research this to see how TCM would cover it. There should be a

database, I would think.

 

I'll ask my mom this wknd and post by Mon or Tues, if that helps.

 

glenn

 

 

we are very interested in knowing what traditional chinese medicine

> has to say about cryptorchidism... Or to hear about experiences by

> other parents...

>

> Thank you,

> Bart and Yuri

> Belgium

>

[Guest guest]

Hello Bart and Yuri:

 

I'm sorry I don't have a lot of time right now to

respond, but I do recall reading something about this

in TCM, if I had more time I'd do some research for

you.

 

In any event, Chinese medicine does have a method, to

my knowledge, and it would be best not to rush into

surgery.

 

I'd be happy to do more research for you later.

 

Kind regards,

 

Jack

 

--- apchat2000 <lionhearted38 wrote:

 

> I'm sorry to hear about your son's problem. My next

> door neighbor

> had this problem while growing up; I will ask my

> mother whatever came

> of it.

>

> The medicine in Belgium is probably better than here

> in the U.S. I

> wouldn't rely on TCM all that much. I'm 40, single,

> and childless,

> and after spending some $6,000 on TCM and Western

> medicine, would

> probably try a combination of both if you're not

> into surgery. You

> could always see multiple Western-type doctors and

> try to get a

> consensus, or try some kind of TCM massage to try

> with your baby to

> help the testicle descend. I don't know where you

> could even

> research this to see how TCM would cover it. There

> should be a

> database, I would think.

>

> I'll ask my mom this wknd and post by Mon or Tues,

> if that helps.

>

> glenn

>

>

> we are very interested in knowing what traditional

> chinese medicine

> > has to say about cryptorchidism... Or to hear

> about experiences by

> > other parents...

> >

> > Thank you,

> > Bart and Yuri

> > Belgium

> >

>

>

>

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

" In any event, Chinese medicine does have a method, to

> my knowledge, and it would be best not to rush into

> surgery. "

 

Thank you very much, that's already very good to know.

After reading some more articles, a.o. the one on cryptorchidism in

Wikipedia, where it is stated that it is still controversial if the

operation really makes a difference concerning fertility and cancer

risk, we decided not to operate before having (a lot) more information.

 

> I'd be happy to do more research for you later.

 

Thanks, that would be great.

 

In the meanwhile, we have a rendez-vous feb. 12 with a renowned

Tibetan doctor which does consultations every two months in Brussels

in the Tibetan Center. I'll post the results here.

[Guest guest]

SMALL UPDATE - Reading some more, I found out that cryptorchidism is

related to estrogens in the environment, a hormonal imbalance in other

words (rather obvious). (And also to damaged sperm at the time of

conception).

 

I also read that f.i. dang gui root is very effective in regulating

hormone balance in women in the menopause. Isn't there some herbal

remedy to (help) regulate hormones for men and/or boys?

[Guest guest]

I did a Google for the exact phase " Chinese medicine " and must also

contain " cryptorchidism. Most of what came up was just websites

trying to sell herbs with no useful info. (I only checked the first

page of sites.) However, I did find one site that may be helpful from

a TCM standpoint:

 

http://www.andrologyjournal.org/cgi/reprint/22/2/173.pdf

 

Scroll down to p. 176 (which isn't far because the article starts on

page 173), or use the search function for cryptorchidism.

 

The article lists 4 possible Roots for cryptorchidism. (There may be

other or more imbalances operating in individual cases.) The 4 are

Kidney Essence Vacuity (Deficiency), Kidney Yin Vacuity (Deficiency),

Stasis obstructing network vessel, and/or Liver channel Damp-Heat

pouring downward.

 

The article will give you a little information on some of the

symptoms of the possible Roots. People on here can give you more

details.

 

When it comes to decisions regarding any surgery, it is important to

keep in mind that TCM Organs are not equivalent to anatomical

organs. They are collections of functions. Also to consider that

allopathic medicine doesn't recognize the existence of channels

(meridians) and problems associated with channels. Surgery can

correct a manifestation of a TCM imbalance, but unless the TCM

imbalance also is corrected, it's going to keep getting worse and to

manifest in other ways as time goes by. The reason why there is a

higher than normal cancer rate for cryptorchidism and why surgery is

of limited effectiveness in some cases is that in those cases both

the cryptorchidism and the cancer are manifestations of the same

imbalance: Kidney Yin Deficiency. One can correct manifestations, but

this by itself will not correct the underlying imbalance.

 

Sometimes surgery will be needed. There is simply no other way or

effective enough way to correct a problem. The Chinese use surgery

when it's needed, but they also correct underlying imbalances. They

also use herbalism and acupuncture to prevent or correct problems

that surgery can cause. For example, any time there is any trauma to

the body (surgery or accident), it creates Blood Stasis. Sometimes

the Blood Stasis problems will resolve because the person includes

something in his or her diet that corrects Blood Stasis or does Qi

Gong exercies or something else. But sometimes the Blood Stasis will

continue for years, long after the bruises have faded.

 

Was your baby circumcised? The possibility of lingering Blood Stasis

is one of the things that a TCM healer is going to consider and rule

in or rule out. However, surgery is not the only possible trigger of

Blood Stasis. Some other things like Cold also can trigger it. Nor

is Blood Stasis or Qi Stagnation the only Root that can underlie

cryptorchidism. A properly trained TCM healer is going to look at the

total person and identify and treat all imbalances. As much as

possible at the same time.

 

If the Root is Kidney Deficiency, this can take some time to correct.

[Guest guest]

Chinese Traditional Medicine , " Bart " <bartovan wrote:

>

> I also read that f.i. dang gui root is very effective in regulating

> hormone balance in women in the menopause. Isn't there some herbal

> remedy to (help) regulate hormones for men and/or boys?

>

Women are more Yin than males are, and men are more Yang than females

are. BUT both males and females contain both Yin and Yang. Both need

both, just in differing ratios. Sometimes males will need Blood tonic

herbs like dang qui and Yin tonic herbs, and sometimes women will

need Yang tonic herbs.

 

If a male has Kidney Yin Deficiency, he is going to need Yin tonics

to correct the imbalance. If a woman is Kidney Yang Deficient, she is

going to need Yang tonic herbs.

 

Both males and females can suffer from Yin and/or Yang Deficiency,

and both males and females can suffer from Yin or Yang Excess. One

goes by the symptoms and signs, not the gender. If either a male or a

female has symptoms like feeling cold a lot of the time, having

trouble warming up, has crippling fatigue, wants to sleep a lot, not

feeling thirsty very often and prefering warm liquids like soup when

one does drink, producing a lot of colorless urine when one does

consume liquids, and having low or no sexual desire, that's Kidney

Yang Deficiency regardless of the gender. If a male or a female is

having symptoms like night sweats, a " malar " (blotchy) flush, feeling

hot a lot - especially in the afternnoon and at night, feels thirsty

a lot and prefers cool liquids, has trouble cooling off, is restless,

has heat in the soles of the feet and palms of the hands and chest,

and produces scanty urine which is dark in color, that's Kidney Yin

Deficiency regardless of the gender.

 

BTW, when a person is Kidney Yin Deficient, the person is almost

certain to also be Kidney Yang Deficient though to a lesser extent.

Likewise, the same for Kidney Yang Deficiency. This is why Kidney

Yang tonic formulas will contain one or more Yin tonic herbs, and

Kidney Yin tonic formulas will contain one or more Yang tonic herbs.

TCM treats all the imbalances at the same time (as much as possible)

in order not to worsen other problems.

 

One of the most characteristic symptoms of Damp Heat is a very strong

stinking smell. If the feces, urine, vomit, discharge, etc. is

particularly stinky, that points very strongly to Damp Heat.

 

The information contained in this post and others is not for self-

diagnosis and treatment but to help readers better understand TCM and

what a TCM healer may tell one.

[Guest guest]

As promised, I asked my mother about the kid next door who had this

problem. We were the same age, but never got along (long story!).

Anyway, Mom said his mom told Mom about it when the kid was about 5

years old or younger, saying he'd need the surgery. He is married

and has kids -- I do not know if they are his, however; Mom thought

they might be his wife's. We really don't know if he can father

children. No one in the neighborhood associates with them, so

there's no one else to ask.

 

Mom said to talk to your dr. -- or several -- and to get a concensus

of opinions.

 

If it helps, as I'm 37 and have a swollen prostate from dampness

(mentioned before), one urologist said there was a " chance " I'd be

sterile if I had the problem surgically corrected. Another said

there was " no chance, " that it would make me sterile, as the

procedure cuts through a lot of the gates that control the flow of

fluids, and that I wouldn't be able to father children naturally.

The one dr. actually lent me a video on the one procedure, and it

was more like a commercial to have the surgery! There was no

contrasting view at all! I learned about the procedure by going to

the library to see what I'd be in for, saw how " uncomfortable " I'd

be -- conscious or no! -- and decided against it.

 

Bottom line: Dr's have boats and vacations to take, and it might

just be you who's paying for it!

 

 

Glenn