Diagnosing "Patterns"

As more of my patients are using herbal therapy to help with their ailments, I am realizing that certain questions continually arise. One such common inquiry concerns my reasoning behind prescribing a certain herbal formula or herb. Without getting too technical in my explanation, I simply tell my patients that I am prescribing herbs based on the “patterns” I currently see. The patient typically follows up with: what does that mean?

To a TCM practitioner, a pattern is the fundamental aspect in diagnosing and then creating a subsequent treatment plan. This process is started during the initial intake. I have the patient fill out an intake form and then I perform a tongue and pulse diagnosis to gain additional insight.

What insight? The most common patterns seen in TCM include: Blood Stasis, Damp, Heat, Excess, Deficiency, and disharmony between Meridians. Again, it is imperative a TCM practitioner diagnose the correct pattern(s) to treat the patient successfully. After I explain to the patient which pattern(s), I diagnosed, I explain the rational in prescribing the herbal formulas/herbs for him to take.

Before continuing, it is important to realize that patterns may change during the treatment process. For instance, a patient maybe diagnosed with Damp Heat initially and thus, treatment, including herbal therapy, is focused on the Damp Heat. However, after a few weeks of treatment, the Damp Heat hopefully is minimized and an underlying pattern such as a deficiency comes to the forefront and, therefore, must be treated with Herbs etc. Again, the feedback from the patient is critical in continually diagnosing the correct pattern and is a point of emphasis I make in treating.

Herbal therapy is similar to a Western doctor prescribing medications for a diagnosed condition. However, the primary objective in prescribing herbs is to treat the actual pattern, not just the accompanying symptoms. Unfortunately, m any western drugs are prescribed to just treat the symptoms.