How does the doctor diagnose diabetes in TCM

Condition analysis:
When evaluating patients with a chronic illness such as Diabetes, TCM practitioners take a detailed, multi-system case history and supplement this information with observations that give information about the state of the patient’s health. These observations include the shape, color, and coating of the tongue; the color and expression of the face; the odor of the breath and body; and the strength, rhythm, and quality of the pulse. Many practitioners will palpate along meridians to detect points of tenderness that may indicate a blockage in the flow of Qi at that point.

One of the most common ways of differentiating symptoms and syndromes in TCM is according to the Eight Principles-four pairs of polar opposites: Yin and Yang, Interior and Exterior, Cold and Heat, and Deficiency and Excess.

Instructions:
Formulas promote the effective use of herbs. A typical formula has four components, including:

1, The Chief (principal) ingredient, which treats the principal pattern of disease,

2. The Deputy (associate) ingredient, which assists the Chief ingredient in treating the major syndrome or serves as the main ingredient against a coexisting syndrome,

3. The Assistant (adjutant) ingredient, which enhances the effect of the Chief ingredient, moderates or eliminates the toxicity of the Chief or Deputy ingredients, or can have the opposite function of the Chief ingredient to produce supplementing effects, and

4. The Envoy (guide) ingredient, which focuses the actions of the formula on a certain meridian or area of the body or harmonizes and integrates the actions of the other ingredients.