DIAGNOSTIC QUIZ

At your first appointment we will discuss your health history in order to identify the underlying disharmonies that are causing your health problems. Diagnosis is a complex task that takes many years to master. You do not need to have all of the symptoms listed to have a particular diagnosis and some signs/symptoms are much more important than others when identifying a pattern of disharmony. Most people have more than one diagnosis. This is why it is important to consult with a licensed acupuncturist, rather that trying to self diagnose.

See How can Western medicine and Chinese medicine describe the body in such different ways and both be correct? on the Acupuncture FAQ page to learn more about how Chinese medicine differs from Western medicine when it comes to diagnosis.

Spleen Qi Deficiency

  • Fatigue, especially after eating meals or after eating sweets
  • Poor appetite or irregular appetite
  • Cravings for sweets or carbohydrates
  • Abdominal bloating after eating
  • Loose stools or alternating loose stools and constipation
  • Hemorrhoids
  • Allergies and/or frequent illnesses
  • Any problem of glucose metabolism, including diabetes, pre-diabetes, hypoglycemia, and insulin resistance
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Anemia
  • Cold hands and feet
  • Cold nose
  • Prone to feeling heavy and sluggish
  • Prone to heaviness or grogginess in the head
  • Poor circulation
  • Varicose veins
  • Low blood pressure
  • Dizziness upon standing
  • Easy bruising or bruises take a long time to heal
  • Sweating without exertion
  • Thin, watery, profuse, or pinkish menstrual flow
  • Fatigue around ovulation and/or menstruation
  • Spotting prior to menstruation
  • Prolapse of the uterus or bladder
  • Menstrual cramps with a bearing down sensation
  • Prone to worry or excessive rumination
  • Pale or yellowish complexion

Liver Qi Stagnation

  • Prone to irritability, anger, frustration, or rage
  • Prone to emotional depression
  • Pain or discomfort on sides of abdomen or chest
  • A sense of something stuck in the throat, difficulty swallowing
  • Unusually dilated pupils
  • Difficultly falling asleep at night
  • Vertical ridges on nails
  • Symptoms aggravated with emotional stress
  • Symptoms aggravated around menstruation
  • Premenstrual irritability
  • Bloating and/or irritability around ovulation
  • Prolonged ovulation phase
  • Breast sensitivity or tenderness at ovulation
  • Nipple pain and/or nipple discharge
  • Elevated prolactin levels
  • Premenstrual bloating
  • Menstrual cramps in external genital area
  • Thick, dark menstrual blood

Depressive Heat

  • Extreme irritability
  • Bothersome sensation of heat in the chest
  • Bitter taste in the mouth, primarily in the morning
  • Dry mouth and throat

Blood Deficiency

  • Pale or dry, brittle nails
  • Dry skin
  • Chapped lips
  • Hair loss
  • Decreased visual acuity at night
  • Scant and/or late menstruation (cycles more than 32 days, menstruation lasting less than 4 days)
  • Dizziness or light-headedness during menstruation
  • Pale undersides of the eyelids
  • Pale lips

Heart Qi and Blood Deficiency

  • Insomnia
  • Impaired memory
  • Heart palpitations, especially when anxious
  • Nightmares
  • Low in spirit or lacking vitality
  • Wake early in the morning and cannot go back to sleep
  • Excessive sweating, especially on the chest
  • Prone to restlessness or agitation
  • Prone to fidgeting

Kidney Qi Deficiency

  • Low back and/or knee pain
  • Incontinence (urine or stool)
  • Copious clear vaginal discharge
  • Old age (over 60)
  • Any chronic disease
  • Repeated miscarriages

Kidney Yin Deficiency with Deficiency Heat

  • Night sweats
  • Hot sensation on chest, palms, or soles
  • Ringing in ears
  • Low back soreness
  • Thirst or a dry mouth but no desire to drink
  • Frequent but scanty yellow urination
  • Prematurely gray hair
  • Dark circles under eyes
  • Dry eyes
  • Prone to fearfulness
  • Vaginal dryness

Kidney Yang Deficiency

  • Low back and/or knee soreness, pain, and/or weakness
  • Urination more than once during the night
  • Cold feet (as opposed to cold hands and feet)
  • Low libido
  • Prone to fearfulness
  • Loose, urgent stools in the morning
  • Premenstrual back pain
  • Profuse cervical mucus or vaginal discharge
  • Dull-colored menstrual blood
  • Menstrual cramps that respond to heat

Blood Stasis

  • Fixed, sharp, and/or severe pain
  • Fixed lumps that are painful to the touch
  • Worsening of symptoms at night
  • Varicose veins, hemangiomas (red moles), and/or spider veins
  • Chronic hemorrhoids
  • Periodic numbness of hands or feet (especially at night)
  • Dark spots in eyes
  • A sooty-colored complexion
  • Vascular abnormalities and/or blood clotting disorders
  • Lower abdomen tender to the touch
  • Abnormal lumps in the lower abdomen
  • Mottling of extremities
  • Midcycle ovarian pain
  • Black or brown menstrual flow
  • Piercing or stabbing menstrual cramps
  • Blood clots in the menstrual flow
  • Endometriosis and/or uterine fibroids

Cold Uterus

  • Signs of Kidney yang deficiency and Blood stasis (above)
  • Lower abdomen feels cool to the touch

Phlegm Dampness

  • Fatigue after meals
  •  Coughing phlegm
  • Post-nasal drip
  • Cystic or pustular acne
  • Urgent, bright yellow, and/or foul-smelling stools
  • Chronic prostate enlargement or prostatitis
  • Aching joints, especially with movement
  • Obesity
  • Fibrocystic breasts
  • Stringy tissue or mucus in menstrual flow
  • Frequent yeast infections and genital itching

Excess Heat

  • Strong preference for iced drinks
  • Often feel warmer than others
  • Nighttime sweating
  • Dry mouth and throat
  • Rapid pulse
  • Red acne, especially premenstrually
  • Short menstrual cycle (less than 28 days)
  • Vaginal irritation or burning

Damp Heat

  • Signs of dampness and/or excess heat (above)
  • Burning anus after bowel movement
  • Burning with urination
  • Yellow or yellowish-green nasal discharge
  • Chronic prostate enlargement and/or chronic prostatitis
  • Vaginal itching and/or inflammation, especially in the two weeks before menstruation

Stomach Fluid Dryness

  • Thirst with a desire for chilled drinks
  • A dry mouth and/or throat
  • Chapped lips

Stomach Heat

  • Strong appetite or hunger less than 2 hours following a meal
  • Mouth and/or tongue sores
  • Bleeding gums
  • Bad breath

Stomach and Intestine Damp Heat

  • Burning anus after bowel movements
  • Loose stools or diarrhea which is either very dark or bright yellow in color
  • Very foul-smelling stools
  • Urgent or explosive stools

Internal Wind

  • Trembling hands
  • Spasms, twitches, or cramps anywhere in the body
  • Severe lack of coordination
  • Vertigo or motion sickness
  • Hypertension
  • Headache with vertigo, numbness, spasms, or numbness
  • Seizures or sequellae of stroke
  • Symptoms worse with wind, changing barometric pressure, or changing from lying to upright posture