Tips for seeing a CM doctor

“You feel sick. Have you described your symptoms clearly to the doctor?”

Seeing this title, many people will definitely be disdainful, thinking to themselves, “even though I can’t treat a disease, can’t I tell the doctor that I’m sick?”

Let’s listen to Dr May’s explanation. Different from the “quick” consultation of Conventional medicine, Classical Chinese medicine requires a careful and detailed consultation, and also requires the four examinations of “looking, smelling, and palpating” (usually at least 20-30 minutes, and sometimes it takes 1 hour for the first visit or complicated patients, because the human body is too sophisticated and complex). At this time, it is very important if the patient can describe his or her symptoms relatively accurately and in detail.

Here are some common questions that I ask:

☞urinate

Normal urine should be light yellow, clear, without turbidity and obvious odor; Western medicine mainly observes the total amount of urine of the patient in a day, while CCM observe the amount of urine each time, especially the morning urine (the first urine after getting up in the morning).

＊The amount of urine of an adult each time (referring to the time when the urine is more urgent) is 160-180ml, which is called “Smooth urination” in Chinese medicine. Less than 120ml is not good enough, which we call “difficult urination”. * When the Chinese medicine doctor asks you about the amount of urine, it generally refers to the amount of urine discharged in one time when you have not drunk water within 1-2 hours and are in a hurry to urinate.

* Pay attention to the color, amount and turbidity of the urine (use a glass measuring cup to hold the urine, and observe it after 15 minutes). You can buy a transparent measuring cup as shown below to facilitate accurate observation of urine.

Clear urine is considered by TCM to be a sign of kidney deficiency. Such patients may also experience low back pain, nocturia, urination after drinking (needing to go to the toilet to urinate a short time after drinking), and a deep pulse.

Red urine is believed by traditional Chinese medicine to be a sign of pathogenic factors entering the blood, which means the disease is at a deeper level. In this case, you should seek medical attention immediately.

Turbid urine is considered by Classical Chinese medicine to be caused by dampness in the body. If this happens to you, you should avoid dairy products (including milk, yogurt, milk tea, cream, cheese, etc.), animal fat foods, and fruits.

☞Night Urin

Pay attention when you are asked by Three Gifts how many times you have nocturia? This refers to the number of times you wake up to urinate during sleep because you have to urinate. If you do not sleep well at night and have the habit of urinating after waking up, it cannot be called nocturia, but the number of times you get up to urinate at night.

☞Stool

Normal stools for adults are moderately soft and hard, long and yellow, without bleeding, undigested food residues or mucus, etc., and occur 1-2 times every 1-2 days. Some patients will be “constipated”, but they should also clarify with the doctor how often they defecate, whether there is a regularity, whether they feel abdominal discomfort when constipated, or whether they feel no discomfort at all, whether the stools are like sheep dung or chocolate, one by one or in strips? Is the stool smooth?

＊Difficult stool — Some patients have a hard time defecating, so pay attention to whether the stool is dry, hard, and whether there is bleeding. (Here we would like to remind everyone not to develop the bad habit of playing with mobile phones in the toilet);
* Granular stool, the big ones are like chocolate, the small ones are like sheep dung;

* Loose stool — the stool is paste-like or porridge-like;
* Watery stool — the stool is watery;
* Tenesmus — abdominal pain and urgency before defecation, but the stool is heavy and difficult to defecate, and the defecation is uncomfortable;
* Hanging toilet — the stool is sticky and sticks to the inner wall of the toilet, which is not easy to flush clean;
* Unsmooth feeling — the stool has been defecate but there is still a feeling that it is not completely discharged, and there is still stool left in the anus;

☞Do you have an appetite? Does the food taste good?
One is that the food tastes good and the appetite is good, which we call “good appetite” in CCM;
The other is that I have no appetite and the food does not taste good, but can still be eaten, which Chinese medicine calls “able to eat”;

☞How much do you eat?

Do you feel uncomfortable after eating? For example, acid reflux, belching, hiccups, bloating, vomiting, nausea, dizziness, etc. Do you get hungry easily? For example, after breakfast, you feel hungry at 9 or 10 o’clock;

☞Sweating:

Where do you sweat? Do your thighs and calves sweat? How long does the sweating last? What is the color of the sweat? Is it thick or thin? Is there any odor? Does the sweating stain light-colored clothes black or yellow?

Especially for colds, fevers, skin diseases, etc., the symptoms of sweating are very important.

☞Pain

The location of pain. Because the meridians/channel of the human body have different circulation zones, when patients accurately point out the location of pain and discomfort, it can better help doctors determine the location of the disease. The quality of pain, such as tight pain, burning pain, distending pain, cold pain, etc. We briefly explain some pain properties that are not easy to understand. For example, stabbing pain—needle-like pain.

＊Heavy pain—Heavy feeling. If it is in the head, it may even feel like “the head is heavy as if wrapped”, just like the head is wrapped with a heavy object;
＊Falling pain—Feeling of heavy falling downwards;
＊Hidden pain/dull pain—Hidden pain, less severe;
＊Throbbing pain/beating—Feeling that the painful part jumps;
＊Running pain—Pain wandering or wandering pain;
＊Empty pain—Pain with a sense of emptiness, like to press;
＊Soreness—Pain with a sore feeling. Just like the soreness of your calf after running 5,000 meters.
＊Pulling pain—The painful part has a throbbing feeling or pulls other parts to hurt at the same time;
＊Colic—Pain is like a knife twisting, and the pain is very severe;
＊Dull pain—Pain is not sharp, like being hit by a fist.
＊Causes of pain attack, such as sudden headache, did you catch a cold, get caught in the rain, etc.? For abdominal pain, did you go out to eat or eat something different from usual? Have you ever suffered from any trauma to cause lower back pain?

Conclusion: In fact, there are many more contents in CCM consultation, which are not listed here one by one. As an ordinary patient who does not have professional knowledge of Chines Medicine, when seeing a doctor, you should try to describe your condition truthfully, in detail and accurately, so that the doctor can diagnose and treat the disease relatively accurately and comprehensively. Remember, doctors and patients are teamworker in the same front.