Slippery pulse with blood deficiency

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

A few things. First, the absolute best person to ask about what herbs are appropriate for you is your acupuncturist as they are most familiar with your history and issues. If they are unfamiliar with herbs you should consult directly with an acupuncturist who does both. Second, “blood deficiency” doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with your blood in western term (anemia, etc.) - while it is true that a person who is blood deficient in TCM terms might also be anemic, it is also true that they very well may not be. The “blood” in tcm terms is a much broader concept that is not in anyway limited to your blood as you know it. You might find my section on the “concept of blood in tcm terms” helpful.

With regards to your symptoms, I would start, if you haven’t already, with getting a standard western blood panel (liver function, blood quality, thyroid function, etc.). This will see if anything is functionally off internally in western terms and will be helpful to your TCM practitioner.

As you can see from our website jian pi wan is from the “reduce food stagnation” category. If phlegm is a significant part of your issues, you would likely want a formula or some combination of formulas from the "expel dampness " category first and then when the dampness/phlegm is cleared you will likely benefit from something in the “tonify the qi and blood” category or similar.

Herbal Medicine is a moving function in Chinese Medicine (as are all techniques) - so you take something for now to make “x” change, when that is clear, you do “y” to create a change, and then maybe “z” to avoid the problem in the future. This is why, among many reasons, you need to work closely with a practitioner over time.