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Diabetic Constipation abstracted & translated by Keywords: Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, diabetes mellitus, diabetic constipation
Duan Li-ping published an article titled, “The Treatment of 64 Cases of Diabetic Constipation with Liu Wei An Xiao Jiao Nang (Six Flavors Quieting Wasting Gelatin Capsules),” on page 89 in issue #2, 2002 of Zhe Jiang Zhong Yi Za Zhi (Zhejiang Journal of Chinese Medicine). A precis of this article appears below.
Cohort description:
All 64 patients in this study suffered from type 2 diabetes mellitus. Among them, there were 30 males and 34 females aged 35-70 years, with an average age of 52.5 years. The diagnosis of functional constipation consisted of two or more of the following: 1) three of less bowel movements per week, 2) difficulty defecating 25% of the time or more, 3) hard, pelletlike stools 25% of the time or more, and 4) slow defecation 25% of the time or more, plus no apparent organic disease of the colon or rectum.
Treatment method:
Liu Wei An Xiao Jiao Nang consisted of undisclosed amounts or proportions of: Radix Auklandiae Lappae (Mu Xiang), Radix Et Rhizoma Rhei (Da Huang), Rhizoma Kaempferiae (Shan Nai), Fructus Terminaliae Chebulae (He Zi), and Glauberitum (Han Shui Shi). These medicinals were made into gelatin capsule and 2 grams of this medicine was administered orally three times per day. It was forbidden to take any other purgatives for three days before starting this medicine. One week equaled one course of treatment.
Treatment outcomes:
After two courses of treatment, 50 of the 64 cases (78.1%) were judged to have gotten a marked effect. This meant that defecation no longer required excessive force, that the stools were expelled in 15 minutes or less, and that the patient had 1-2 bowel movements per day. Eleven cases (17.2%) got some effect. This meant that difficulty defecating was partially reduced, that defecation took 30 minutes or less, that the patient had more than two bowel movements per week, and that the form of the stool had changed. Three cases (4.7%) got no effect. Thus the total amelioration rate was 95.3%. In addition, there were no adverse side effects.
Discussion:
According to Dr. Duan, the disease mechanisms of this condition are that the spleen movement has lost its duty and the qi mechanism is not flowing smoothly. Therefore, the large intestine’s conduction and conveyance has also lost its duty and is not able to move. Hence there is intestine and stomach accumulation and stagnation. Within this formula, Da Huang drains heat toxins, breaks accumulation and stagnation, and dispels static blood. He Zi restains, constrains, and stops diarrhea. It is in the formula to protect against Da Huang from excessively descending and precipitating. Shan Nai treats heart and abdomen chilly pain and is a good medicinal for untransformed accumulated food. Han Shui Shi disinhibits the orifices, clears heat, and downbears fire, while Mu Xiang fortifies the spleen and harmonizes the stomach, moves the qi and stops pain. When all these medicinals are used together, the spleen is fortified and accumulation is dispersed, the qi is moved and stagnation is abducted.
Copyright © Blue Poppy Press, 2002. All rights reserved.
For more information on the Chinese medical treatment of diabetes and its complications, see Bob Flaws, Lynn Kuchinski & Robert Casañas’s The Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus with Chinese Medicine available from Blue Poppy Press in late Spring-early Summer, 2002. |
