Slow digestion

February 25, 2020

 When the appetite goes well, it's as Chinese as Gallic!

Ms. Vachon, a bank advisor, consults for slow digestion. She often feels bloated, occasionally has heartburn and diarrhea. Her doctor gave her the usual tests, which reveal no physiological cause. She suffers from troubles functional problems that plague the quality of life of people, but which western medicine most often considers psychosomatic or related to stress. The patient then has the impression that everything is going on in his head when in fact everything is in the Qi! Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers in these cases very precise solutions; functional disorders are also one of the favorite areas of TCM.

 1- Question

The acupuncturist asks his patient to describe his discomfort with the more precision possible. To qualify its slow digestion (what some call "having a slow liver"), Ms. Vachon speaks of discomfort in the upper abdomen and a bloated feeling in the navel area that she especially feels after eating. On the advice from her mother, she drinks hot water after meals, which facilitates its digestion. She also experiences burns occasional stomach. 

Asked about her eating habits, Ms. Vachon says she is snacking often because she quickly feels full during meals. She eats a salad every noon, with his work colleagues, so as not to start again the weight she lost so hard. Besides, she says, she is fattening easily. Supper is usually taken late due to scheduling. work and activities of the small family. 

Heartburn usually occurs in the evening or after have eaten spicy foods such as pizza or spaghetti. She then feels like a burn going up all the way through the esophagus until the throat. The acupuncturist pays particular attention to food cravings: Mrs. Vachon confesses, with guilt, to experience sweet cravings which she cannot resist. It can then get out of hand and get to the bottom of a box of cookies in one evening.

As for the stools, they are generally soft and normal color. Ms. Vachon mentions having occasional diarrhea, but don't really feel pain in your lower abdomen. On the energy side, Mme Vachon is often tired after lunch; she experiences also having trouble concentrating at work at this time of the day. 

 2- Auscultate 

Using a stethoscope, the acupuncturist examines the depths of Ms. Vachon's abdomen. It is easy to hear the characteristic sounds digestion when the patient is lying on her back, since the transit intestinal is then stimulated. The presence of rumbling exaggerated could signal poor digestion. But the complete absence of sounds could also signal a pathology. Ms. Vachon's abdomen reveals normal functioning: the bowel movement is stimulated by the pressure of the stethoscope, without generate pain or excessive noisy borborygmas.

 3- Palpate 

The pulse is fine and slightly empty in the zone corresponding to the Medium right hearth (see Viscères). The abdominal palpation of the viscera reveals a painful area around the navel, which corresponds to the area of ​​the Spleen / Pancreas. Palpation of the four quadrants is also important in order to verify that there is no pain indicative of a disorder Body, like isolated constipation, for example. Abdominal percussion is added the tools that allow you to do this verification.

 4- Observe  

Ms. Vachon has a pale complexion. His tongue is pale with a light coating thick and white, and is indented, that is, it has teeth marks on the sides. 

There are many reasons for slow digestion. First, a Too cold eating is often the cause. So, digest a salad – mainly composed of Food cold of nature – requires a lot of Qi on the part of the Spleen / Pancreas which must first warm up food before processing (see Food). The Spleen / Pancreas is exhausted after this digestion, hence fatigue after meals and lack of concentration to do intellectual work. In addition, salads are often watered fat-free dressings, which in fact are often very sweet, which further overloads the Spleen / Pancreas.

Ms. Vachon's sugar cravings mean that the Spleen / Pancreas is out of balance, because this organ claims its invigorating flavor, the Sweet (see Five Elements). However, succumbing to this rage maintains a vicious circle where too much Sweet imbalances the Spleen / Pancreas. In addition, the Sweet Excess increases Heat in the stomach, hence the burns. These same burns are enlivened by Acid (tomato sauce) and when meals are taken late, this leads to Stagnation Acid in the Stomach. Indeed, he does not have time to bring down the food before Ms. Vachon doesn't go to bed, and the horizontal position is less conducive to this surgery. 

The context of meals may also be involved. Eating with colleagues while talking about serious things like political issues, or annoying like conflicts at work, harms digestion. On the one hand, it solicits Doubly the Spleen / Pancreas which must perform digestion at the same time it provides the energy necessary for reflection; on the other hand, emotions stir the Liver, which then negatively affects the Spleen / Pancreas. 

Finally, the constitution of Mme Vachon, who says that fattening easily, testifies an already weak Spleen / Pancreas (she suffers from slowness which brings it to store fat), which adds to the factors precedents.

To lay the energy balance, we notice that in Mme Vachon, the signs of a Low Spleen / Pancreas include: 

  • The tendency to gain weight, sign of a fragile Spleen / Pancreas, therefore conducive to imbalances.

  • Bloating caused by consecutive Food Stagnation a Spleen / Pancreas who, due to lack of Qi, cannot do their job.

  • The rages of sweetness.

  • Indented language, which means that the Qi of the Spleen / Pancreas does not assume not its role of retaining the flesh: the tongue becomes larger and sags against the teeth.

  • The pale tongue and complexion as well as the thin, empty pulse denote that the Qi of the Spleen / Pancreas is not abundant enough to circulate well Blood in the vessels.

We also note that hot water relieves, because it brings a little Yang to poor Rate / Pancreas. The stool is soft because that the Large intestine don't get enough Qi to train them well. The abdominal area of ​​the Spleen / Pancreas is relieved by heat and painful on palpation, which confirms the Void of this Organ. Finally, fatigue and reduced concentration are the consequences a Rate / Pancreas that does not manage the Qi flow to the Brain and the muscles, which cannot provide their full performance. And it's worse after meals, because the little Qi available is found entirely mobilized for digestion, and there is little left for the functions annexes.

With regard to heartburn, which are signs of Heat, they result from the energetic union of the Spleen / Pancreas and the Stomach (see Five Elements). When the Spleen / Pancreas runs out, the Yin is not well produced and the stomach does not get enough. Her Yang nature requires a minimum intake of Yin to keep it balanced. When this minimum is not present, the Yang takes up too much space, hence Symptoms of Heat.

It will first be necessary to stimulate the Qi of the Spleen / Pancreas so that it regains the strength to transform Qi well and to control its circulation throughout the body. Consequently, the organs dependent on the spleen / pancreas, like the Large Intestine and the Stomach, will benefit from this improvement. In addition, we will facilitate the work of the Spleen / Pancreas by dispersing the Excess Heat present in the Stomach. 

Points on the Meridian of the Spleen / Pancreas will therefore be chosen to tone the Qi of this Organ. On the Meridian of the Stomach, certain points will be used to tone Qi, while others will be used to disperse it so as to reduce the Yang. Heat, through moxibustion (see Moxas), will have an important role to play, because it increases Qi and disperses Humidity. 

The positive side effects that Ms. Vachon may notice are, in addition to better digestion, better concentration, less burns and even a decrease in sweet cravings!

It will be essential that Ms. Vachon changes her eating habits if she wishes achieve solid and lasting results. It should favor Food cooked hot and lukewarm at noon, and rather neutral at night (see Food). Eat in a calm atmosphere, taking time chewing and talking about light and pleasant subjects will prove also beneficial; we say that to talk about cooking recipes, as we do in Gaul, stimulates gastric juices!