Gui Zhi Er Ma Huang Yi Tang #1

1. A light presentation with stasis on the exterior.

This is a case from Dr. Yu Zhangrong[1], April 10, 1963

Mr. Li, age 49: Chills and fever. After sweating from the fever his body would become cold. This happened once a day and had continued for three days. He also had headache, leg pain, and back pain, cough with slight amount of phlegm, poor appetite and normal excretions. His pulse was floating and tight and his tongue moss was thick white and slippery. For treatment it was appropriate to use pungent and warm to lightly resolve the exterior. I used Gui Zhi Er Ma Huang Yi Tang.

Continue reading

Ye Tian-Shi – Constraint#4

I thought that this case might be a nice follow-up to the question that was asked about why Ye Tian-Shi chose this or that medicinal for the Liver.

Original Case by: Ye Tian-Shi

Ye was melancholic, which agitated the Liver, causing disease. After persisting for a long time [the disease process] began to involve the Spleen and Stomach. Hence, the center became damaged and he was unable to take in food and had an inability to taste flavors. There was fire and wind that transformed and moved. There was also horizontal movement of qi leading to pain and then distention. This was a failure in free-coursing. There was also constipation then sudden diarrhea and constraint of the emotions.

Continue reading

Zhu Ling Tang (Taiyang, Insomnia)

(Thanks Steve for this case and the one’s that follow. Please check out his journal, The Lantern)

Insomnia: Case number 12, by Xu Shu-Wei

By: Steven Clavey

A local notable named Chen, when he first became sick, had fever, floating pulse and spontaneous perspiration. The doctor used Ma Huang Tang to cause sweating, but the fever became severe, Chen could not get to sleep, his head was heavy, there were palpitations and he complained of a restless cooped-up feeling. The mistake was insisting on a strong diaphoretic formula when the condition was [not cold invasion but rather] a wind invasion — zhong feng. Zhong-Jing says:

Continue reading

Shang Han Fever – Needling the Yang Ming

Translated by: Steven Clavey

Needling Yang Ming channel to relieve shang han fever, Xu Shu-Wei‘s Case (number 55)

One year in the month of May, a Mr. Li was ill with shang han (injury by cold), having fever, headache, no sweat and generalised aching all over the body. The pulse was floating, big and tight. I gave him Ma Huang Tang, but after several doses there still was no sweating; again we tried Zhang Miao’s roasting steaming method, and this did not work either. I then ordered acupuncture on Yang Ming, and after a short while perspiration appeared, misting the whole body for a period. By evening he was cool and the illness receded.

Continue reading

Gui Zhi Tang #3 (+ huang qi) (Qin Bo-Wei)

Case Study from Dr. Qin Bo-Wei (秦伯未)

A 67 year old male presented with frequent common colds (感冒 gân mào), which would last for 1 to 2 months without recovery. His presentation only had symptoms of nasal congestion, cough with phlegm, copious sweat from the head and face, and a slight feeling of fatigue. In the past he took Jade Windscreen Powder (yù píng fëng sân), for a half of a month, but there was not effect.

Continue reading