How much to drink

Thanks, it makes sense to me. OK, I&#39ll try not to drink that much pungent warming teas. But how could I warm myself then? I mean my limbs are very cold quite often now :-(

I was thinking that qi deficiency means too cold because the herbs I use seem to be warming. Also as I read, the food helping qi should be sweet in flavour and neutral to warm in temperature. It&#39s the reason I try to avoid raw food. I am puzzled then.

According to my practitioner my condition is qi deficiency and qi stagnation. My tongue is swollen with teethmarks and coating which is slight in front and thicker in rear. When I observe the tongue closely I can notice small red spots on the both sides.

I don&#39t know if the qi deficiency effects spleen but it effects digestion (especially a lot of gas) but no pain. The first stool I have in a day is more watery again but with tendency to constipation in the evening. My appetite is quite good, I eat normally I&#39d say but my body seems not to use the nutrition well since I&#39ve grown thin and have hair loss. I just could gain some body fat but no muscles. My energy is lower than it used to be and I&#39ve become kind of lazy. I feel my body is kind of out of balance :-( I live in a foreign country for almost two years now and because of study can&#39t return home before April next year. I do feel stucked here unable to do what I want, unable meet people I love. I assume it&#39s origin of my problems: too much stress, worry, fear and loneliness, as well as change of diet.

I use two medicine, one should relieve qi stagnation, it consists of ban xia, fu ling, hou po, zi su ye and ganjiang, the other one is for gi deficiency, there&#39s huang qi, cang zhu, dong dang gui, chai hu, da zao, gan cao, sheng ma, citrus unshiu peel and maybe carrot.

Tongue swollen with teeth mark means Spleen deficiency, with diarrhea means spleen Qi deficiency, red spots on both side means Liver and Gallbladder damp heat, the first formula is Ban Xia Hou Po Tang, it is for phlegm qi stagnate on throat, the second formula is Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang+-, it is for Spleen Qi deficiency and too much diarrhea. I don&#39t think the first formula is fit your situation. Your situation may Liver and Gallbladder dampheat, and Liver wood attack spleen earth, cause spleen deficiency, then spleen qi deficiency, and spleen qi can not warm the limbs. If you still feel cold, you can drink Xi Yang Shen+Da Zao+Long Yan Rou tea, these medicines will tonify spleen Qi and warm limbs. Remember drink hot tea will help body temperature. The Chai Hu in second formula also can sooth Liver Qi, so Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang is good for you.

I also have that feeling of being thirsty after I drink and reading informative replies here helps me on what should I do to avoid it.

First of all you need to start drinking more water. Whatever your body weight is divided by 2 is how many ounces of water you need a day. So if you weigh 100 pounds - dividing 100 by 2 is 50 so you need 50 ounces of water each day. While teas have medicinal benefits they do not replace the body&#39s need for plain water. And if you are thirsty, your body is already dehydrated. As you begin to add more water to your diet, your uninary output will increase to start with, but as your body gets the water it needs, that will level off and go back to normal. Your water intake should be on top of your medicinal liquid intake and will actually enhance your body&#39s reaction to the herbs you are taking. I will leave any herbal suggestions to your personal practitioner, but increasing your water intake is a must. Drinking room temperature water is optimal.