Experience in identifying and treating uterine fibroids

  Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumors of the female genitalia, and are considered to belong to the category of Y obstruction and accumulation in ancestral medicine, also known as intestinal tumor and stone obstruction. The main clinical manifestations can be seen as menstrual changes, irregular vaginal bleeding, excessive menstrual flow, prolonged periods or shortened cycles. Based on the principle of cooling the blood without leaving stasis and eliminating evil without harming the righteousness, Prof. Liu proposes to use the formula of eliminating Y to cool the blood and eliminate stasis, strengthen the spleen and dispel phlegm during the non-menstrual period, and to take in blood and treat the symptoms during the menstrual period to improve the patient’s discomfort. In addition, the patient’s menstrual condition and physical condition will be combined with flexible additions and subtractions for comprehensive management.  Uterine fibroids; herbal treatment; experience of famous doctors Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumors of female genitalia, consisting of smooth muscle and connective tissue. It is commonly seen in women aged 30-50 years old and rare under 20 years old. According to statistics, at least 20% of women of reproductive age have uterine fibroids. Because fibroids are mostly asymptomatic or rarely symptomatic, the clinically reported incidence is much lower than the true incidence of fibroids. According to the clinical manifestations and signs of uterine fibroids, it is considered to belong to the category of obstruction and accumulation in Chinese medicine, and is also known as intestinal tumor and stone obstruction. The main clinical manifestations are menstrual changes, irregular vaginal bleeding, excessive menstrual flow, prolonged periods or shortened cycles, lumps in the abdomen in a few patients, and pain or pressure symptoms when the fibroids are too large.  In addition, symptoms such as increased leucorrhea, infertility and secondary anemia are also seen. Professor Liu has been engaged in Chinese medicine gynecology for more than 30 years and has rich clinical experience. The author has the honor to study with his teacher and has been deeply taught.  1., etiology and pathogenesis Uterine fibroids belong to the category of Y obstruction in traditional Chinese medicine literature, which occurs mainly due to the lack of positive qi, internal invasion of wind-cold-damp-heat evil, or emotional factors, room injury, and inappropriate diet, resulting in the malfunction of the internal organs, qi stagnation, blood stasis, phlegm drink, dampness, and other tangible real evil condensation does not disperse, accumulate in the lower abdomen and uterus, and gradually become. Due to the long duration of the disease, the righteousness is weak, and qi, blood, phlegm and dampness interact with each other, so they are mostly intermingled with each other and have a bias, rarely pure qi stagnation, blood stasis or phlegm and dampness. Professor Liu believes that since the evil is tangible and fixed in the uterus, it is always phlegm and stasis. For example, “Ling Shu – the beginning of all diseases” cloud: “blood clotting wrapped and not dispersed, fluid astringent seepage, and not go, and the accumulation of all into carry on.  2, the identification and treatment, emphasizing the phased treatment of the “medical zong jinjian – gynecology heart method key” pointed out: “where the treatment of the Y accumulation, should first examine the body shape of the strength and weakness, the disease of the slow and urgent, and treatment.” Patients with uterine fibroids mostly have shortened menstrual cycle, increased menstrual flow or incomplete menstruation, dizziness and dizziness, lack of color, red tongue, thin pulse and other signs of deficiency of yin and blood, which should be treated by adding and subtracting from the clinical symptoms. The principle of treatment mostly follows the Internal Canon: “Cut down the firm, remove the guest, disperse the knot, and attack the one who stays” and “attack and supplement both”. It is also necessary to follow the principle of “stopping after decaying most of it”, and not to attack violently and harshly, so as not to damage the vital energy.  In “Introduction to Medicine – Women”, it is said that “those who are good at treating Y obstruction should regulate its qi and break its blood, eliminate its food and expel its phlegm, and stop when the majority of it has decayed.” It also indicates the importance of restoring the vital energy of the body by tonifying the Qi and Blood. Therefore, Professor Liu’s treatment of uterine fibroids did not focus on eliminating stasis, removing phlegm and eliminating Y. Instead, he took into account both the elimination of evil and the support of positive energy. A statistical analysis found that Chinese medicine is more effective in treating interstitial fibroids, especially in those with small fibroids, solitary and short duration of disease, suggesting that uterine fibroids should be detected early, diagnosed early and treated as early as possible.  Professor Liu, based on the principle of cooling blood without leaving blood stasis and dispelling evil without harming the righteousness, proposed to use the formula of eliminating Y during non-menstrual period to cool blood stasis, disperse nodes and eliminate Y, and strengthen the spleen and dispel phlegm, which is composed of Zhi Mu 12g, Scutellaria baicalensis 12g, Radix Codonopsis pilosulae 18g, Radix Astragali 18g, Radix Paeonia lactiflora 9g, Radix turtle nail 12g (first decoction), Pu Huang 15g (packet), Kun Cao 12g, Poria 12g, Atractylodes macrocephala 12g, Radix Aromaticus 9g, Radix Long Mu 30g each (first decoction), Chen Pi 9g, Seaweed 12g. In this formula, Zhi Mu and Scutellaria Baicalensis clear heat, remove fire and detoxify toxins, and pharmacological experiments have also proved that Zhi Mu Saponin and Scutellaria Baicalensis Flavonoid A have anti-tumor effects; Radix Codonopsis Pilosulae and Radix Astragali tonify Qi, strengthen the spleen and support the righteousness, while improving secondary anemia caused by excessive menstrual blood in most patients; Radix Paeoniae, Pu Huang and Kun Cao cool the blood and resolve blood stasis without increasing the amount of blood away from the menstrual flow; Radix Turtle A, Sheng Long Mu and Seaweed nourish Yin and submerge Yang, eliminate phlegm, soften hardness and disperse knots, of which Sheng Oyster Salty, astringent, slightly cold, can resolve blood stasis and disperse nodules, clear heat and benefit yin, subtle yang, solid astringent, straight into the blood chamber, roasted turtle shell “main heart and abdominal obstruction firm accumulation”, into the liver and spleen blood, blood circulation, disperse nodules, eliminate Y, have the effect of nourishing yin and subtle yang, soft and disperse nodules; Poria, Atractylodes, Scabious, Chen Pi regulate qi and strengthen the spleen, eliminate phlegm and dampness, while taking care of the spleen and stomach to fund the source of blood, and Pharmacological experiments have proved that Poria decoction has anti-tumor effects.  The whole formula clears heat and phlegm, moves Qi and blood, eliminates blood stasis and eliminates Y. During menstruation, the blood is taken in to treat the symptoms, according to excessive menstruation, prolonged menstruation or abdominal pain during menstruation and other symptoms to give Gong Ning granules, Long Xue Dou tablets and other drugs to stop bleeding and fix pain, to stop bleeding without leaving stasis and improve the patient’s discomfort.  For excessive menstrual flow, we add Panax notoginseng powder, Radix notoginseng and Aconite to strengthen the function of removing blood stasis and stopping bleeding; for abdominal pain during menstruation, we add Yuanhu to increase the effect of removing blood stasis and fixing pain; for those who have symptoms of liver stagnation and qi stagnation, we add Chaihu and Mu Xiang; for those who have heavy dampness, we add Coix seeds and Ze Lan to reduce dampness and remove stasis. For those with secondary anemia caused by excessive menstrual bleeding, iron supplements such as Yi Qi and blood granules and blood tablets should be given without hindering the stomach, complementing the traditional Chinese medicine and significantly improving anemia symptoms such as weakness and dizziness.