Correlating Chinese and Western Medicine

Dear Dr. Du,

I am a Doctor of Medicine, and my practice is mainly allopathic or Western type of Medicine. Although I am just a beginning student of Chinese Medicine, I have a very difficult time correlating the TCM concepts with my medical training.

One time when I am examining a patient with a psychiatric problem, I tried to diagnose her with what I have learned so far from my TCM studies. Since she has chronic anxiety disorder with agitation, I diagnosed her to have some disturbance in the Liver Organ (since it is the seat of emotions) probably an excess of Qi (since she is agitated). Was my TCM diagnosis correct?

Since I am not yet adept in acupuncture treatment, I prescribed her with SSRI (a new type of antidepressant with anxiolytic effect). After 2 weeks she was very much improved.

I wonder if her excess of Liver Qi (if I was correct) has been treated with the medication? Are TCM diseases amenable to western type of treatment?

If someone has given her acupuncture treatment at the same time that I gave her SSRI, would there be any difference in the treatment outcome?

Can I give a patient allopathic medicine and acupuncture at the same time?

Is there a method which I can successfully integrate Western and Chinese Medicine?

Suggestions from anyone will be appreciated.

Mike

Dear Mike,
I think you've grasped something of TCM, more or less!

Yes, you have a very good thinking mode, the liver is indeed understood to be related with the emotions, e.g. the anxiety, or agitation.

But we never say the liver Qi is in excess, the Zang organs are seldom excessive.
So, the exact term is liver Qi stagnation.

For sure you should treat the patient with western medicine, in which you are specialized, but later if you could also do acupuncture, or furthermore the Chinese herbal medicines, all could be combined, i.e. the combination of traditional Chinese and western medicine.

Of course the combination is better effective than any one alone.
That's often done in China, I mean in the TCM circle.

That's also an advantage in the public health system in China, we have more choices, or two legs are better than one.

Tutor