HERBS FOR PARKINSON'

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On Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 3:19 PM, ragon209 <ragon209 wrote:

 

HI I HAVE HAD PARKINSONS' FOR 10 YEARS AND IAM WONDERING IF SOMEONE KNOW

ABOUT ANY SUPLEMENTS FOR THIS DESEAS

THANKS

 

Hi,

 

As for Chinese medicine, I've seen acupuncture, herbs, and massage to be of

some benefit, but at no point do we talk about cure.

 

Parkinsons is from a Western standpoint a deficiency of a particular

neurotransmitter called dopamine. There are other causes, many of which are

unknown that also give rise to Parkinsonian type conditions.

 

From the Chinese standpoint, most Parkinsons symptoms look like rigidity

and/or " internal wind " which makes things shake such as you'll find with the

tremors often associated with Parkinsons.

 

The question then becomes, what causes rigidity and/or tremors. In Chinese

medicine (CM) we look to the Liver as the key organ to address these issues.

I'm capitalizing " Liver " to make sure you understand that this is a

different idea from the blood filtering organ beneath your ribs that doesn't

get capitalized (the usual conept of the liver).

 

The Liver dominates the tendons and is said to nourish them and keep them

flexible. All of the key organs in Chinese medicine manifest their health in

other tissues. For instance, the Kidney dominates the bones and the Spleen

dominates the " flesh " (muscle mass).

 

Each organ is also associated with a " climate " or weather condition. The

Kidneys are related to cold for instance. I know that when I go out for a

bike ride in the (Southern California) winter, I have to use the bathroom

during my ride, but when it is warm, I do not. The Spleen is associated with

dampness. Finally, the Liver is associated with wind. Wind can manifest in a

number of ways.

 

If wind is found just under the skin, we can call that a cold or a flu. If

it gets into the joints, we can call that migratory arthritis. If it goes a

little deeper into the acupuncture channels, it can become tics and/or

tremors such as you'll find in Parkinsons. The deeper it goes, the more

profound the disorder. If wind gets directly into the organs, epilepsy can

be the outcome.

 

However wind doesn't always originate outside the body, sometimes it arises

from within. The Liver is said to " store the blood " , and when there isn't

enough Liver blood in the body, the Liver can get dry and inflexible,

leading to movement disorders such as tics, tremors, stiffness, and the

other Parkinsons symptoms.

 

The Liver can also generate these same problems when there aren't enough

yin-body fluids too, and that is the job of the Chinese medicine

practitioner to know which is lacking, the Liver yin or the Liver blood.

(hint for practitioners: it's the tongue body color - red for yin

deficiency, pale for blood deficiency)

 

There are a few other things such as yang-warmth or qi-energy that can be

deficient leading to Liver wind, however I find these things to be a little

less common. Still, in theory, they should show up. However qi deficiency

should be more associated with weakness than rigidity. Add symptoms of

internal cold and we'll call that yang deficiency.

 

So, the question then is what can we do to nourish the blood and/or yin of

the liver to nourish and lubricate the tendons and extinguish the internal

wind causing tremors. I might add also that nourishing the Liver can also

address depression that can arise from a chronic disease as well.

 

There are other background contexts too that can give rise to what we're

calling Parkinsons beyond yin or blood deficiency however it would be

difficult for you to harm yourself with the formulas that I'll describe.

 

Popular formulas for tics and/or tremors include:

 

- Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin (Gastrodia and Uncaria Decoction)

- San jia fu mai tang (Three-Shell Decoction to Restore the Pulse)

- Da Ding Feng Zhu (Major Arrest Wind Pearl)

 

Popular formulas for yin or blood deficiency include:

 

- Si Wu Tang (Four Substances Decoction) - blood deficiency

- Liu Wei Di Huang Wan (Rehmannia Six decoction) - yin deficiency

 

There are actually oodles of other options that may or may not apply to you.

Many CM practitioners will modify these formulas with the following

ingredients to address your unique clinical presentation such as:

 

*Insects for tremors:* quan xie, bai hua she, wu she, wu gong, jiang can, ma

qian zi (toxic only 2g/day)

*Extinguish Wind herbs:* tian ma, gou teng, fang feng

*Heavy materials to sedate tremors:* mu li, zhen zhu mu, shi jue ming, zi

shi ying

*Digestives:* mu xiang, huo xiang, sha ren, shan zha, mai ya, ji nei jin

*Jing, Yin and Blood Tonics:* he shou wu, shu di huang, zi he che

*Blood stagnation:* da huang, dan shen

 

Sorry that these are all in Chinese, but you can track them down by

seraching for them online.

 

Acupuncture can be used to stimulate flexibility too. I had a patient who's

key Parkinsons issue was stiffness in the neck and shoulders. I put needles

into his neck and shoulders once or twice a week and he was very pleased

with the outcome.

 

There's also a group of people who have a unique take on the treatment of

Parkinsons and use a light massage therapy to address the problem, here's

more <http://www.pdrecovery.org/>.

 

-al.

 

--

, DAOM

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.