Case Histories - Diabetes
A 37-year-old man had been suffering from insulin-dependent diabetes
for ten years. When it first started his main symptoms were thirst,
hunger and an irregular heart beat. From a Chinese perspective,
the thirst indicates Lung-Heat and the hunger Stomach-Heat; thus,
in Chinese medicine, this patient's disease falls under the categories
of "Upper and Middle Wasting". However, I find that in
chronic, insulin-dependent diabetes, the main underlying patterns
are a deficiency of Qi and Yin of the Stomach and Spleen. In fact,
this patient's tongue was pale and with swollen sides. He also suffered
from tiredness. His pulse was generally weak and floating-empty
on the right guan position. I diagnosed a deficiency of Qi of the
Spleen and Stomach with some Dampness. I prescribed Central
Mansion, 2 tablets 3 times a day. He noticed that the formula
reduced the blood-sugar level two hours after taking the tablets.
In the long term, he also noticed that his blood-sugar levels were
stabilized, avoiding the peaks and troughs that characterized them
before; he was also able to reduce his insulin intake. |
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