Improving Low Kidney Function?

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    • #8632
      canucktea
      Participant

      Does anyone have any thoughts –preferably supported by empirical evidence:)– about teas that enhance, or improve, deficient (low) kidney function? Thanks:)   

    • #10176
      Betty
      Participant

      I think most teas help to pee…

    • #10178
      canucktea
      Participant

      Not my question. But thanks anyway:)

    • #10179
      Hokusai
      Participant

      Do you mean yin energy problem?

    • #10181
      canucktea
      Participant

      My 80-year old father suffers from the following conditions:

      *anger issues and anxiety
      *chronic renal (kidney) deficiency caused by decades of excess alcohol and steroidal medications
      *poor cardiac function
      *muscle tension
      *sleeplessness
      *low energy
      *high blood pressure

      And I could continue:(

    • #10182
      Leo
      Participant

      @canucktea, this sounds really serious. Outside of the regular medical attention he must be be receiving now, which I think would be medications that deal with each individual symptom, I think it would be a good idea to seek out some fundamental remedial advice from an aptly capable TCM doctor. That’s because I think you are right in pointing out perhaps the renal deficiency issue is core to all that. However, it is quite key that you do not give him anything that suggests to be a supplement for it. Each person’s energy balance is unique and as such a supplement that works for one maybe bad for another. A TCM professional’s careful diagnosis is needed to build a solution upon.

      As Hokusai has guessed, it is a yin deficiency issue, but the condition sounds very deep and serious. There are a few things you can do meanwhile that are only general help:
      • Cut down on tea, esp green and black teas, also green style and ginseng oolongs 
      • Stay away from coffee, decaf or not
      • Stay away from cold drinks
      • Stay away from liquors
      • Stay away from deep fried foods
      • If when he is not having a flu or a cold, give him concoction of wild American ginseng. 
      • If that is too pricy for you, use ordinary American ginseng with any or all of these: fresh ginger, aged dried Mandarin orange peel, or a little bit of cinnamon. Use only raw sugar or honey if he needs to sweeten it.
      Other times, these are some safe and easily available tea alternatives for him: 
      • hot water with lemon
      • infusion of rose flower buds, whole
      • broths of chicken, fish, pork or vegetables (not beef or mutton)
      • concoction of pear with rock sugar and Chinese almond ( a smaller, heart shape version available in your local Chinese herbal shop)
      • Hot drinks with pure powder of almond, sesame, or walnut, add milk and raw sugar if preferred
      These are other things you can do with/for him regularly:
      • Walk about in the park or even in the street; if he can’t walk, even an outing on the wheelchair is important
      • Very moderate exercises if he has not been active (exercising with the elderly needs some basic concepts, pls research on that)
      • Hot baths
      • Massages
      • Light, but good music
      I hope you can find a good TCM practitioner where you live. Best of lucks!

    • #10183
      Betty
      Participant

      @Leo, why cut down on tea?

    • #10184
      Leo
      Participant

      @Betty, I am sorry for late response. The main reason for this person’s need to cut down on tea is because his condition is very complicated. Other than the risk of contradiction between tea and the many medications that he may be using, there is also the risk of further weakening of yin energy. 

      Let me explain. In usual circumstances, a 45 to 60 min separation between tea and medicine is amply safe. However, when there is the concern of emotional elements in the condition, it is better to run safe.
      In TCM terms, tea helps to pacify redundant yang energy and encourage its storage. In this particular case, the patient’s yin energy is depleted because of over drawn of yang energy. That means there really is no more yang energy to subdue. I worry about further lowering go the remaining yin energy when administered with an over balance of tea.
      That is why I recommend the use of very general tonic for the weak yin and over draft of yang. However, this person needs to reconstitute his yin in the faculty of kidney functions with a complex herbal formula tailored for his actual conditions. This is beyond me and beyond what the few words of description can do. 
    • #10186
      canucktea
      Participant

      Leo, thank you for the careful and comprehensive response to my question. I am very grateful.

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