Traditional Chinese Medicine and Infertility by Dr. Mike Berkley

Each of the "Four Examinations" can take years to master, and while these diagnostic tools are not replacements for that which Western medicine can provide in analyzing and treating disease, they have the ability to offer information which, when understood in the context of TCM, provides additional opportunities in mapping out patterns of disease and arriving at greater treatment success.

The doctor of TCM must approach a patient with a clear and calm mind, without a

preconceived diagnosis and etiology. This mind-set will enable the practitioner to yield clinical gems which are clues about the individual who sits before us! This is the stuff of TCM.

The subjective, interpretive and objective evidence of an individual obtained via the 'Four Examinations' leads to the discovery of the etiology of disease while concomitantly opening a window to the 'Whole Person", thus revealing where in the individual's life the pathogenesis started and what initiated it. The practitioner of TCM must utilize his own interpretive skills, which takes into consideration what is verbalized by the patient and what is observed, while considering what the patient does not verbalize as well. Often, that which is not said can be as clinically enlightening as the information which is freely provided. The tone of the voice, the complexion, the condition of the eyes (in TCM, the Shen or spirt of an individual is said to be revealed through their eyes. Who can deny the clinical efficacy of this? Is there a different expression revealed through the eyes of a clinically depressed individual than from those of a happy, well adjusted one?), the facial expression, the overall demeanor, how one walks, sits, and stands are all observed and utilized by the doctor of Chinese medicine as part of the information required to arrive at a differential diagnosis. The doctor must be able to note and sense inconsistencies in an individual that are expressed by the patient even without the patient being cognizant of the chasms which exist between what they verbally express and what their spiritual presentation divulges. The sensitivity to and awareness of these human idiosyncrasies enables the TCM doctor to develop an understanding of who the patient is even before the 'main complaint' is discussed.

Proper treatment in TCM is more than the elimination of pathological processes. In addition to attacking a pathological factor(s), it is the responsibility of the TCM doctor to support the individual in his or her goal of achieving overall health which includes aspects of physical-psycho-emotional and spiritual health. This paradigmatic approach is an inexorable part of the process of healing. Without it, we are merely chasing the sickness and forgetting about the patient. With this approach, the patient is seen as a whole person, representing the sum of a lifetime of experiences if you will, not just an embodiment of pathology.

Pathologies are guests (and we hope temporary ones!) in a home which serves as a gracious host - our physical, emotional and spiritual selves. TCM first is concerned with strengthening the immune function which includes homeostasis of the physical, emotional and spiritual attributes of the patient, so as to be able to assist the patient in his or her endeavor to do battle and destroy the enemy at the gates (or inside them). When people are chronically exhausted from lack of sleep resulting from anxiety or depression, they can become chronically sick as a result of a lowered immune system.

In TCM the point of departure from Western medicine is not to view the acute

presentation (called "the branch" in TCM) as primary, but to treat the etiology (called "the root" in TCM) which is the anxiety and depression which causes the insomnia then facilitating exhaustion and lowering the immune function which can lead to chronic illness.

So, rather than prescribing antibiotics repeatedly, we might address the patient's anxiety/depression syndrome or refer them out to a psychotherapist for appropriate intervention while simultaneously providing treatment.

In Part II we'll look at the mechanisms of action in infertility.

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BIO:

Dr. Mike Berkley has been treating fertility disorders since 1996 with amazing results. He works exclusively in the area of

reproductive medicine and enjoys working in conjunction with some of New York’s most prestigious reproductive

endocrinologists. Sign up for his free newsletter at www.BerkleyCenter.com

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