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Diabetes affects over 10 million people in the United States and cause about 300,000 deaths each year.

Increased appetite
Weight loss
Excessive thirst
Increased urination (sometimes as often as every hour)
Fatigue
Nausea, possibly vomiting
Blurred vision
In women, frequent vaginal infections and, possibly, the cessation of menstruation
In men, impotence
In men and women, yeast infections

Insulin kit is used to test patient's own
insulin levels
and administer the required does.

Diabetes is caused by a deficiency of insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas and necessary for converting glucose to energy.

There are two types of diabetes - Type I and Type II.

Type I: diabetes results from a shortage of insulin.

Type II: results from the body's inability to process the hormone effectively

Type I diabetes is the more serious form. It is an autoimmune disease triggered when insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are attacked and destroyed. Diabetes tends to run in the families, although not all members who carry the gene will go one to acquire the disease. In addition to hereditary factors, damage to the pancreas may cause diabetes. Other factors that may cause the disease includes pregnancy, pancreas problem, and thyrotoxicosis.

Diabetes is called "wasting and thirsting syndrome" in Chinese medicine. It is usually classified as upper, lower, or middle wasting syndrome. Upper wasting syndrome is characterized by thirst, lower wasting syndrome by profuse urination (polyuria), and middle wasting syndrome by great hunger. They are seen as arising from disharmony or dysfunction of the Lung, the Kidney, and the Stomach and Spleen respectively. Very often all three syndromes are involved.

Chinese doctors treat Type I and Type II diabetics with acupuncture and a combination of herbs such as astragalus, wild yam, and rehmannia. With Type I diabetes, treatment must begin in the early stages of the disease for Traditional Chinese Medicine to be of any help. But it is quite effective, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners, especially at the beginning and intermediate stages of Type II. 

TCM can improve circulatory problems and slow down the process of neuropathy. The inflammation, pain, and swelling associated with neuropathy are reduced as a result of TCM treatment. TCM may also help to stabilize blood sugar levels in Type II diabetics by restoring balance to the endocrine system.Many TCM practitioners report success in treating diabetes with acupuncture. They suggest that the treatment of the spleen/pancreas point has effects which reduce the autoimmune component of diabetes. Acupuncture is also found to be helpful in reversing the neuropathy commonly found in long-term diabetics. Many diabetics find that they need substantially less insulin if they use acupuncture as a Complementary therapy.

Ear acupuncture is beneficial for Type II diabetes. It stimulates the sympathetic and autonomic nervous systems. Acupuncture alone is not sufficient treatment for diabetes. It is useful as a Complementary therapy with concurrent nutritional and conventional medical care.
Ginseng Shows Promise in Treating Diabetes
...The Chinese, who use ginseng root to treat a variety of ailments, have been in medicine for 5,000 years," Dr. Kaufman said. "Just as acupuncture has been proven to have a role in Western medicine, so too will ginseng. ?There is no doubt that natural products such as ginseng have a role in controlling the body's defective response to insulin...
Infrared Imaging - Diabetes and Acupuncture
...For another serious diabetic patient who had acupuncture continuously twice a week for a year, there was continuous improvement of eyesight and bodily function...
Acupuncture in the Treatment of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy
...acupuncture can affect vibration perception thresholds. The mechanism is unclear but may be related to increased circulation generally associated with acupuncture and hence the normalisation of neural blood flow...
Treatment of Diabetes with Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture
...Herbs that showed significant hypoglycemic action in both alloxan-treated and untreated mice included some that were not commonly used in traditional formulas, such as red atractylodes (cangzhu), cyperus, and phaseolus (mung bean)...
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