Relationship of TCM diagnosis to Western medicine

The method of diagnosis in TCM is quite different than that of Western medicine and knowing this can help you to understand why don't need a Western diagnosis in order to benefit from TCM.   Even if you do have a diagnosis from your Western doctor, a TCM doctor will still ask you all of your symptoms and come up with a diagnosis using TCM methodology.  For example, you may come in and say that you have Crohn's disease, but depending upon your symptoms, a TCM doctor may say that you have Damp-Heat in the Large Intestine with Spleen Deficiency.   Another patient that does not have Crohn's disease may also get the same diagnosis if they have the same symptoms.  And so diagnosis in TCM it depends upon what symptoms you have, not only what disease you have.   This is good news for people who have seen many Western doctors but did not get a diagnosis.  If you have symptoms that those symptoms still need to be treated even if they cannot be named within the Western system of medicine.  This also means that even if you have a diagnosis in Western medicine that you still need to have a thorough consultation with TCM practitioner so that they can reframe your symptoms within TCM.