Posted by Hombre on November 23, 2010, at 7:00:42
In reply to Re: maximize supplements, lower meds? » Hombre, posted by sigismund on November 23, 2010, at 1:24:21
> >I expressed an interest in learning Chinese medicine, and he seemed to think it'd be a good idea.
>
> Why not?
>
> You'd probably be good at it and you have an inside view of (well, I have no idea of what your problem is, but presumably you have one) (shall we say) mental issues.Money. Money has always been an issue for me since I first got ill around 14-15 yrs old. I dropped out of a top university and was already in full-on depression by 18. Homeless by 20. I managed to get it together enough to work later on, but I had no dreams or the ability to make long term plans. What money I made seemed to slip through my fingers.
The hope is that I can get back on my feet, work hard, make some smart investments/business decisions, and maybe learn and practice herbalism formally later on. I'd love to retire and do it full-time. For now, though, I want to make up for all the living I didn't do in my 20s due to mental illness, low self-esteem, etc. Nothing crazy, just make decent money, afford to buy organic food/supplements, travel a little, not feel like a failure/loser.
> I went to the best TCM herbalst around here and got Wen Dan Tang (Bamboo and Hoelen) and An Shen Ding Zhi Wan (zizyphis and polygala). The idea seems to be that my liver thingo is screwed and therefore the heart fire cannot be quenched and wakes me at 1am.
Did you get pills, powder, or raw herbs? I'm thinking it's a bit odd you got two textbook formulas with no modifications, but perhaps it is more convenient. I'm very curious to see how the second formula works for you. I need to consult the internet oracles to see what the first one does.
They say that all mental illness ultimately effects the Heart. That's true in the literal and figurative sense. The Heart "houses the shen(spirit)", so if Heart blood and Yin is deficient, shen can't settle at night.
Liver stagnation leading to heat is pretty much par for the course for most people these days. Liver Yin can be consumed by the excess Heat, and the heat can spread.
According to the 5 Elements, Wood (liver)-> Fire
(heart), so heart yin will suffer from the excess heat as well. I think it has to do with balancing out the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous responses. There are tons of hormones that need to be produced, secreted, then processed and broken down, probably in the liver.The liver also produces, stores, and releases glycogen (long chain form of glucose), so that could have something else to do with it. You can see how it's almost easier to use the metaphorical terms because trying to tie all these various processes together would take a genius.
Ever notice how all these psyche drugs can induce or inhibit cytochrome p450 enzymes in the liver? So there's that to consider as well. I find it interesting that liver stagnation is always implicated with depression. See, all this stuff is related somehow, but it would still seem like magic to make the connections. So, we might as well talk about yin, yang, heat, cold, and follow the principles in the classics. Perhaps the old timer's lack of specific knowledge allowed them to see the forest and not get stuck on the DNA of the trees.
> Worked straight away, somewhat.Wow.
> The plan is to clear the heat and tonify the blood, for a start.
I think it is worth a shot. It might take some time, though, so I guess wait and see.
Best of luck with this treatment, and I for one look forward to any updates as they come.
poster:Hombre
thread:967069
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20100930/msgs/971059.html