Member question related to EH of 6/10/19

[Cyd]

Hi Dr. Jeff & Dr.Christina, it was great to hear Dr. Nancy speak tonight. In case you are able to ask her my question about HA members being able to obtain Chinese herbs or consult, I wanted to clarify & enhance the question. In my case I would approach her with a TCM diagnosis in hand - the thing lacking presently at my end is a source for genuine complimentary TCM herbs. All 3 TCM vets with whom I've consulted in the past 3 years focus mainly on acupuncture accompanied by TCM diet guidelines. They might prescribe Chinese herbs, & if they sell herbs they only offer commercial, manufactured COMBINATION formulas that my animals cannot take for more than a couple of weeks maximum because a new imbalance is created, probably because although the formula might be the closest match available in their selection, in truth it is not the exact best herbal remedy for the specific patient. My gold standard has been what Cheryl Schwartz, DVM who wrote the book, 4 Paws 5 Directions provided, custom blended Chinese herbs in powder form (so no alcohol or binders needed) compounded from her Chinese herb apothecary. They weren't cheap, a typical pill bottle that often holds a round of antibiotics is what you would receive for $65, that was in 2002, but a 20 lb dog took 1/8 tsp/day, so they did last a reasonable time & we only required 2 of those bottles, & most importantly, they worked amazingly. Fortunately right now, I'm managing without Chinese herb therapy, I'm using other things like actual food, supplements & other natural approaches & things are going well. I would really like to be prepared for the future when I might get a diagnosis of something serious like kidney failure, or toxic liver/eczema from the acupuncture vet. It would give me peace of mind to have a plan & know that I have a serious, dedicated resource for the herbal medicine aspect of a complete TCM medicine practice & philosophy. Thank you so much, I really love the weekly EH's. P.S. I really feel that the TCM herb combos are similar in action to homeopathic "combo-wombo" remedies, the have too broad a focus to be truly curative, at least in my experience.

 

[ginnyw]

I've seen and experienced the actions of TCM formulas. They are not "combo" remedies in the same sense as homeopathic preparations, as the ingredients work synergistically and not just on the off chance that one fraction might address the complaint. But they also do not address the body's complaints in the same way - they are not energetic medicine on the same level as homeopathy. I think they are potentially useful for returning balance to systems that have been overwhelmed by toxins or even emotions, and that they can be quite useful to tune up organ function. But they do not address total body dysfunction caused by accumulation of insult over time - they cannot get to the root energetic disturbances, so in this sense are not "truly curative". As far as quality products, I have found and used this source: Welcome to Dr. Xie's Jingtang Herbal. They make formulas especially for animals, which must be prescribed by a practitioner.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi Cyd-

Dr. Sara may be able to help you out regarding ordering of the Chinese herbal formulas that Dr. Nancy mentioned.

However, I believe Dr. Sara is at a conference and will not be with us tomorrow (6/17/19).

She should be in contact and back on the forum by early summer (next week!).

Regarding Ginny's thoughts about the depth of action of individualized homeopathic medicines vs.TCVM, I agree in theory.

However, I don't have enough experience with TCVM to say for sure.

Perhaps @Dr. Christina does.