General Description

Diabetes mellitus is a common endocrine metabolic disease. It is characterized by abnormal increase of blood sugar concentration, glycosuria and decrease of glucose tolerance. Clinically, there is no symptom at the early stage, and polyphagia, polydipsia, polyuria, thirst, susceptibility to hunger, tiredness, and emaciation may appear later. Serious cases may have ketoacidosis and hyperosmotic nonketonic coma. There are also some common complications and concomitant diseases, such as acute infection, tuberculosis, atherosclerosis, renal and retinal angionosis, neuropathy, etc. The disease can be found at any age, but it is more common in the middleaged and old people. The morbidity increases with the age, with higher morbidity found in the people aged 45 and older and the highest in the people aged 60. The morbidity of diabetes in western countries is as high as 2 % to 5 %. In China it is 1.5 % to 2.3 % and the total number of patients suffering from diabetes is estimated to be about 20 million. Since it causes damages to many organs of the human body, bringing about higher mortality rate and disability rate, and seriously affecting the people's health and life quality, diabetes has been listed as the third serious disease following cardiovascular disease and tumor in many countries in the world.

The disease is closely related to the advance of age, obesity, reduction of physical labor and the habit of taking food of high caloric, high fat and high protein. Its basic physiopathologic changes are caused by the absolute or relative insufficiency of insulin secretion, leading to metabolic disturbance of carbohydrate, protein, fat, water and electrolyte, and even the acidbase imbalance in severe cases.

According to its clinical manifestations, diabetes is categorized in TCM as "xiao ke" or "xiao dan", both of which mean diabetes. It is attributed to yindeficiency diathesis, improper diet, emotional disorders, overstrain and excessive sexual activities. The main pathogenesis lies in consumption of yin fluid leading to endogenous drynessheat in the body, with yin deficiency as the principal aspect and drynessheat as the secondary aspect, and often with the presence of blood stasis and phlegm reten-tion. If prolonged yin deficiency impairs yang, this will result in deficiency of both yin and yang as well as deficiency of both qi and yin.

Essentials for Diagnosis
(1) The onset of the disease is slow and the patients are mostly of middle and old age or have the family history of the disease.

(2) Polydipsia, polyphagia, polyuria, emaciation, and weakness. There may also be pruritus vuluae or pruritus cutanea, numbness of limbs, sensory disturbance of extremities, blurred vision, lumbago, hyposexuality, irregular menstruation, impotence, sterility, etc.
(3)Laboratory examination reveals fasting bloodGlucose£¾7.0 mmol/L, or bloodglucose two hours after meal>11.1 mmol/L, decrease of sugar tolerance, fasting urine sugar positive over three times in succession.

(4)Insulin determination, insulin release test, serum cpeptide determination, glycosylized hemoglobin determination, ketonuria test, and urinometry are helpful to the diagnosis of the disease.

Syndrome Differentiation and Treatment

The syndrome differentiation of the disease should aim at the predominance of yin deficiency or drynessheat. Generally at the onset, yin deficiency predominates. As the disease progresses, there appears the coexistence of yin deficiency and drynessheat, and yin deficiency predominates again at the late stage. Clinically, the disease is classified as the following syndromes:fluid consumption due to lung heat, excessive fire in the stomach£¬deficiency of kidney yin, deficiency of both qi and yin, and deficiency of both yin and yang. The treatment is based on the principle of eliminating heat by nourishing yin, moistening dryness and promoting fluid production. According to the condition of the principal and secondary aspects, deficiency and excess, as well as the location of pathological changes of the disease, the following methods are respectively adopted: clearing heat and purging fire, resolving phlegm to activate meridians, promoting blood circulation to remove blood stasis, removing dampness, nourishing the kidney to replenish yin, invigorating the spleen to tonify qi, replenishing both yin and yang, etc.

A. Fluid Consumption due to Lung Heat

Chief Manifestations: Polydipsia, thirst right after drinking, dry tongue and mouth, polyuria, insufficient saliva, red tongue with yellow thin coating, bounding and rapid pulse.

Therapeutic Methods: To clear away heat to moisten the lung, promote saliva production to quench thirst.

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This two kinds of pills not only can help you to clear away heat to moisten the lung, promote saliva production to quench thirst, but also can Nourishing the liver and kidney, boosting the immune system, promoting the blood circulation, improving the physical condition and metabolism, and regaining vigor from weakness and fatigue, promoting the production of body fluid to relieve thirst, nourishing Yin and the kidney, restoring the function of the pancreas step by step.

B. Excessive Fire in the Stomach

Chief Manifestations: Polyphagia with susceptibility to hunger, emaciation, dry mouth, thirst, constipation, red tongue with dry yellow coating, and smooth,

solid and forceful pulse.

Therapeutic Methods: To clear away stomach heat, moisten dryness, nourish yin and produce fluid.

Prescription: Ginseng, Rhizoma Rehmanniae Praeparata, Rhizoma Alismatis, Poria, etc.

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Prescription: Radix puerariae,cortex astragali seu hedysari, aadix trichosanthis, stigma maydis,etc.

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This two kinds of pills not only can help you to clear away stomach heat, moisten dryness, nourish yin and produce fluid,

but also can Nourishing the liver and kidney, boosting the immune system, promoting the blood circulation, improving the physical condition and metabolism, and regaining vigor from weakness and fatigue, promoting the production of body fluid to relieve thirst, nourishing Yin and the kidney, restoring the function of the pancreas step by step.

C. Deficiency of Kidney Yin

Chief Manifestations: Polyuria, cloudy urine, dry mouth and lips, emaciation, sore and weak knees and loins, red tongue with little coating, deep, thready and rapid pulse.

Therapeutic Methods: To nourish yin and strengthen the kidney.

Prescription: Ginseng, Rhizoma Rehmanniae Praeparata, Rhizoma Alismatis, Poria, etc.

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Prescription: Ginseng, Rhizoma Rehmanniae Praeparata, Rhizoma Alismatis, Poria, etc.

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Prescription: Radix puerariae,cortex astragali seu hedysari, aadix trichosanthis, stigma maydis,etc.

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This three kinds of pills not only can help you to Nourishing the liver and kidney, boosting the immune system, promoting the blood circulation, improving the physical condition and metabolism, and regaining vigor from weakness and fatigue, but also can reinforcing the kidney and strengthening the body, benefiting the vital energy and promoting the production of body fluid, improving sexual endurance, Promoting the production of body fluid to relieve thirst, nourishing Yin and the kidney, restoring the function of the pancreas step by step.

D. Deficiency of Both Qi and Yin

Chief Manifestations: No obvious polydipsia, polyuria or polyphagia but dry mouth and throat, lassitude, palpitation, short breath, spontaneous sweating, night sweating, feverish sensation of the chest, palms and soles, insomnia, dreamfulness, scanty dark yellow urine, constipation, red tongue with reduced saliva, swollen tongue or with teeth marks, thin coating or geographic tongue, wiry and thready pulse or smooth and rapid pulse.

Therapeutic Methods: To replenish qi and nourish

Prescription: Ginseng, Rhizoma Rehmanniae Praeparata, Rhizoma Alismatis, Poria, etc.

Chinese Patent Drugs: Multi-Functional Tonic Pills to Invigorate Yin

Prescription: Radix puerariae,cortex astragali seu hedysari, aadix trichosanthis, stigma maydis,etc.

Chinese Patent Drugs: Diabetes Pills

This two kinds of pills not only can help you to nourishing the liver and kidney, boosting the immune system, promoting the blood circulation, improving the physical condition and metabolism, and regaining vigor from weakness and fatigue, but also can promoting the production of body fluid to relieve thirst, nourishing Yin and the kidney, restoring the function of the pancreas step by step.

E. Deficiency of Both Yin and Yang

Chief Manifestations: Frequent urination with cloudy urine (as frequent as once after each drink), dark face, sore and weak loins and knees, cold body, aversion to cold, impotence, pale tongue with white coating, deep thready and forceless pulse.

Therapeutic Methods: To warm yang and nourish the kidney to induce astringency.

Prescription: Ginseng, Rhizoma Rehmanniae Praeparata, Rhizoma Alismatis, Poria, etc.

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Prescription: Ginseng, Rhizoma Rehmanniae Praeparata, Rhizoma Alismatis, Poria, etc.

Chinese Patent Drugs: Pills to Invigorate Yang

Prescription: Radix puerariae,cortex astragali seu hedysari, aadix trichosanthis, stigma maydis,etc.

Chinese Patent Drugs: Diabetes Pills

This three kinds of pills not only can help you to to warm yang and nourish the kidney to induce astringency, nourishing the liver and kidney, boosting the immune system, promoting the blood circulation, improving the physical condition and metabolism, and regaining vigor from weakness and fatigue, but also can reinforcing the kidney and strengthening the body, benefiting the vital energy and promoting the production of body fluid, improving sexual endurance, Promoting the production of body fluid to relieve thirst, nourishing Yin and the kidney, restoring the function of the pancreas step by step.

F. Deficiency of Both Qi and Blood

Chief Manifestations: Prolonged course of illness, lassitude, drowsiness, weakness, short breath, hypologia, pale lips and nails, lusterless hair, emaciation, dry mouth, thirst, cloudy and sweet urine, emaciation with good appetite or anorexia with abdominal distension, inclination for sitting and dislike for moving, palpitation, in-somnia, white and dry tongue coating with reduced saliva, thready and weak pulse.

Therapeutic Methods: To tonify blood, replenish qi, moisten dryness and promote fluid production.

Prescription: Ginseng, Rhizoma Rehmanniae Praeparata, Rhizoma Alismatis, Poria, etc.

Chinese Patent Drugs: Multi-Functional Tonic Pills to Invigorate Yin

Prescription: Radix puerariae,cortex astragali seu hedysari, aadix trichosanthis, stigma maydis,etc.

Chinese Patent Drugs: Diabetes Pills

This two kinds of pills not only can help you to nourishing the liver and kidney, boosting the immune system, promoting the blood circulation, improving the physical condition and metabolism, and regaining vigor from weakness and fatigue, but also can promoting the production of body fluid to relieve thirst, nourishing Yin and the kidney, restoring the function of the pancreas step by step.

G. Phlegm Stagnation and Blood Stasis

Chief Manifestations: Fat physique, heavy head and body, localized stabbing pain on certain part of the body, dark purple lips and extremities, or numbness of limbs, sensation of stickiness and greasiness in the mouth, loss of appetite, dark purple tongue with ecchymosis, thick and greasy coating, smooth or unsmooth pulse.

Therapeutic Methods: To resolve phlegm, activate blood, remove blood stasis and dredge meridians.

Prescription: Ginseng, Rhizoma Rehmanniae Praeparata, Rhizoma Alismatis, Poria, etc.

Chinese Patent Drugs: Multi-Functional Tonic Pills to Invigorate Yin

Prescription: Radix puerariae,cortex astragali seu hedysari, aadix trichosanthis, stigma maydis,etc.

Chinese Patent Drugs: Diabetes Pills

This two kinds of pills not only can help you to resolve phlegm, activate blood, remove blood stasis and dredge meridians, nourishing the liver and kidney, boosting the immune system, promoting the blood circulation, improving the physical condition and metabolism, and regaining vigor from weakness and fatigue, but also can promoting the production of body fluid to relieve thirst, nourishing Yin and the kidney, restoring the function of the pancreas step by step.