21 replies to this topic

[adultacnegirl30]

I now use only very gentle products (a cleansing lotion for sensitive skin that I don't have to rinse off with water - my skin can't tolerate tap water

Can you tell me the name of the cleansing lotion you use that does not need to be rinsed with tap water?
Thanks!

[TCMinterested]

Hello:

I use saw palmetto in conjunction with Traditional Chinese Medicine Herbs. I have studied Chinese herbs/acupuncture exclusively for four years (two months in China) and Saw Palmetto was brought to my attention by an excellent instructor from China.

I experimented with it on myself, as I experienced a drastic influx in facial hair all at once at the age of 38. (I am female)

Western medicine doctor said it was early menopause. In TCM we don't believe that. Symptoms are treated accordingly.

I requested the blood work and told him I believed I had elavated testosterone levels.

He disagreed, but did agree to the blood work.

It came back very high but still within the normal range. He suggested HRT in the form of horse urine extract.

At 38 I refused this, but remembered that high testosterone in males and females according to TCM is considered a yin deficiency.

I started on the saw palmetto for one simple reason; the side effect in males taking it for prostatitis is enlarged breasts. The symptoms I was experiencing from the yin deficiencey/elevated testosterone was a shrinking of the breasts - common in menopause.

I used a high quality tincture from a reputable western herbalist. I did end up increasing the dosage to 45 drops 3times per day.

The results were excellent. My breasts became normal again as did other TCM symptoms relating to yin deficiency. It only took about 3 bottles total. (I think - it was years ago now)

Of course I used many TCM herbs as well, mostly to nourish the yin, given my symptoms.

I now use saw palmetto in the form of tinctures for prostatitis, menopause, and other gynecological problems with a yin defiency as the root cause.

A thorough diagnosis is needed. Acne can be caused by many different patterns according to TCM. It can also take up to 8 months to get balanced.

Greasy and spicy foods are very bad for acne caused by damp-heat.
Acne from a hormonal imbalance could be helped with saw palmetto, but hormone levels should be checked. As per the other excellent article on saw palmetto posted on this site, testosterone should be elevated, as it was for me. (My face did clear up, by the way, and I now do the odd bottle here and there, maybe 1 -2 times per year depending on my TCM diagnosis and if I am yin deficient.)

I can not comment on Naturopathic Doctors as I am unsure of what they study. I do know that they do one year of training (in Canada) in TCM compared to a TCM doctor who does four years in the one discipline.

The main thing is to get results and be comfortable with the diagnosis. It should make sense to you, but could take a while, no matter who treats you.

THe advantage of raw chinese herbs is that the formula can be adjusted as symptoms change. This is very important while trying to achieve balance in the zang (solid) organs.

Good luck!