Chinese Medicine Graves Disease

Low Thyroid function or Hypothyroidism is an increasingly common chronic health condition in the United States.  This condition is more common in women, however, it does occur in men as well.  Both men and women showing signs of low thyroid function can benefit greatly from acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine.  At out clinic we use Western lab testing, traditional therapies, modern nutrition and thyroid glandular supplements to reverse low thyroid function.

To understand why optimal thyroid function is so important for health we can start with the basic facts: Every cell in the human body has receptors for thyroid hormone.  With every organ system “listening” to the thyroid, it’s function has impacts on all major systems of the body. A thyroid disorder can cause a range of health problems and often influence the following body systems: immunity (or autoimmunity), reproduction, libido, digestion, cardiovascular, and muscular.  In addition, physical symptoms are most often accompanied with emotional problems, including depression or anxiety.

Current medical treatment for thyroid disorders (excepting iodine-deficiency goiter) are often not adequate to restore full health and optimal thyroid function.  As a result, patients often experience only partial relief of symptoms based on an incomplete approach to all body systems involved in thyroid function. Due to these limitations of basic Western treatments for thyroid disorders, it is recommended that patients investigate the use of natural treatments including acupuncture, herbal medicine and functional thyroid supplements to augment or replace Western treatments.

Light On Thyroid Eye Disease

The World Health Organization (WHO) lists over forty diseases that acupuncture can treat effectively.  Thyroid dysfunction is one of the conditions on the WHO list.

Yes! We help you make the most out of your insurance plan! For more information check out our page on insurance coverage. If you have coverage for acupuncture, we provide you with a superbill so you can get the maximum possible reimbursement.

The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.

Treating Hypothyroidism With Acupuncture

The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.

The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.

The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.Graves' disease, also known as toxic diffuse goiter, is an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. It frequently results in and is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism. It also often results in an enlarged thyroid. Signs and symptoms of hyperthyroidism may include irritability, muscle weakness, sleeping problems, a fast heartbeat, poor tolerance of heat, diarrhea, and unintentional weight loss. Other symptoms may include thickening of the skin on the shins, known as pretibial myxedema, and eye bulging, a condition caused by Graves' ophthalmopathy. About 25 to 80% of people with the condition develop eye problems.

Understand 4 Possible Ways To Cure Thyroid Permanently

Graves’ ophthalmopathy, also known as Graves’ eye disease, represents the most frequent non-thyroidal manifestation of Graves’ disease and is characterized by bulging eyes. Ophthalmopathy occurs in 50 percent of Graves’ cases with severe forms affecting 3 to 5 percent. Graves’ ophthalmopathy is more frequent in women than in men with a 1:4 male-to-female ratio; it is more common among cigarette smokers. Graves’ disease and Graves’ ophthalmopathy are chronic diseases with both physical and psychological symptoms ranging from no manifestations to severe manifestations.

The tissues and muscles behind the eyes become inflamed and swell. Since the eye socket is inflexible and cannot accommodate the larger eyeball, the eye bulges out. This eye condition is caused by an abnormal increase of fat tissue within the orbital cavity as well as overdevelopment of the eye muscles. The result is not just bulging eyes, but headaches, pressure sensation, and tearing. In extreme cases, the pressure can cause optic neuropathy leading to a loss of vision.

Treatment for Graves’ Disease includes anti-thyroid drugs, radioiodine and thyroidectomy (surgical excision of the gland). There are both minor and major side effects from antithyroid drugs. The minor side effects occur in approximately 5% of patients and include cutaneous reactions (usually urticaria or macular rashes), arthralgia, and gastrointestinal upset. Major side effects occur only occasionally and include polyarthritis (1—2%), agranulocytosis (0.1—0.5%), hepatotoxicity (0.1—0.2%) and vasculitis (rare) .

Acupuncture Treatment For Thyroid

Radioiodine therapy is inexpensive, highly effective, easy to administer, and safe. However, radioiodine also causes permanent hypothyroidism in virtually all those receiving this therapy. It also worsens conditions of existing ophthalmology and can also induce post-radioiodine aggravated hyperthyroidism due to radiation related thyroiditis (inflammation of the thyroid) .

Accumulating research is expanding the understanding of how Chinese medicine helps with Graves Disease and what outcomes we can expect. One research concluded that Chinese herbs are an effective and alternative option for hyperthyroidism induced by Graves’ Disease, especially for patients who have an allergic reaction caused by thioamides. Another research found that a Chinese herbal remedy could significantly improve the symptoms of experimental hyperthyroidism. Yet another study into Graves ophthalmology concluded that a Chinese herbal preparation was capable of inhibiting preadipocyte proliferation and enhancing adipocyte apoptosis.

Studies have also been promising in using Chinese herbal preparations as an adjunct to normal therapy, including reports of improvement in palpitations, hidrosis (excess sweating) and a reduction in adverse reactions. Further studies showed that some Chinese herbs when used in combination with antithyroid drugs could induce cell apoptosis (removal of excess tissue in the thyroid) and that Chinese herbal preparation combination therapy was much more effective on the functional remission of thyroid and energy metabolism in patients than that of using Tapazol therapy alone.

How To Treat Hyperthyroidism With Tcm

Based on my own experience, I believe the cause for this disease in TCM term is kidney imbalance, maybe kidney yin deficiency or kidney yang deficiency.

A term in TCM. It is a type of kidney deficiency. It refers to the deficiency of kidney yin liquid, also known as insufficient kidney water or true yin deficiency. It is due to the loss of kidney yin, lack of nourishment, and endogenous asthenic heat.

Kidney yin’s material base is the Qi of the kidney, and it plays a role in nourishing and moisturizing the organs. Together with kidney yang, kidney yin is the basis of human life activities. If the kidney yin is full, the yin of the whole body is full; if the kidney yin is deficient, the yin of the whole body is deficient; if the kidney kin is depleted, the yin of the whole body is depleted, and the life will end. If the kidney yin is insufficient, the secretion of body fluid is reduced, which is characterized by low yin and endogenous heat, and low yin and excess yang.

Graves' Eye Disease (graves' Ophthalmopathy Or Graves' Orbitopathy (go))

The general principle is to replenish what is insufficient, don’t inhibit what seems to be in excess, and support Yin to consume excess Yang, Liuwei Dihuang Wan is the classic prescription for this purpose. However, the appropriate formula to use should depend on the specific causes and symptoms. For example, for lack of kidney yin, thirst and dry throat due to insufficient saliva production, cleft lip, constipation, one should use cochinchinese asparagus, dwarf lilyturf root, glossy privet fruit, etc. For symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, palpitations, insomnia, one should use adhesive rehmannia root, kakuda figwort root, turtle shell, Chinese wolfberry root-bark, etc. For soreness and pain in the waist and knees, nocturnal emission, dizziness and tinnitus, pre-mature graying, menstrual disorder, one should use Radix rehmanniae, Polygonum multiflorum, medlar, mulberry, etc.

Use Shen Shu (BL23), Guan Yuan (BL26) and San Yin Jiao (SP6). Use filiform needle and reinforcing method, or even reinforcing and reducing method. Add Shen Men (HT7), Xin Shu (BL15), and Bai Hui (DU20) for insomnia and amnesia; add Ting Hui (GB2) and Yi Feng (SJ17) for

Tinnitus and deafness; add Zhi Shi (BL52), Da He (KI12) and Tai Xi (KI3) for nocturnal emission; add Yin Bai (SP1), Nei Guan (PC6), and Tai Xi (KI3) for uterine bleeding. Generally, moxibustion is not used.

Autoimmune Disease And Acupuncture

Regarding the treatment of kidney yin deficiency, we should keep in mind the opposition and interdependence of yin and yang. Kidney deficiency includes kidney yin deficiency, kidney yang deficiency and kidney yin and yang deficiency. Kidney yin deficiency is due to excess consumption of substance, and kidney yang and kidney Qi are functional. If the substance is overly consumed (kidney yin and kidney essence), such as too frequent sexual life, or overexertion of one’s body (mentally or physically), it will lead to kidney yin deficiency. When yin is not enough to oppose yang, it results in endogenous asthenic heat in the body.

Because the yin and yang of the kidney are Yuan Yin (original yin) and