Ye Tian-Shi – Constraint #2 & #3 (Xiao yao san)

Constraint Case #2: A certain patient presented with qi constraint and general discomfort. This is wood not orderly reaching. After belching she felt more comfortable. Rambling Powder (xiao yao san) minus Atractylodis macrocephalae Rhizoma (bái zhú) plus Cyperi Rhizoma (xiäng fù) was given.

Original Chinese: 某 气郁不舒。木不条达。嗳则少宽。逍遥散去白术加香附。

Rambling Powder (xiao yao san) originally includes: Bupleuri Radix (chái hú), dry-fried Angelicae sinensis Radix (châo däng guï), Paeoniae Radix alba (bái sháo) , Atractylodis macrocephalae Rhizoma (bái zhú), Poria (fú líng), Glycyrrhizae Radix preparata (zhì gän câo) , Zingiberis Rhizoma recens (wëi jiäng), Menthae haplocalycis Herba (bò hé).

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Ye Tian-Shi – Constraint (Liver and Spleen)

Cheng, an older woman, presented with a wiry and choppy pulse, with external cold and internal heat. She had teeth pain, dry tongue, and insomnia. This is Liver and Spleen constraint and clumping.

Herbal prescription:

yu jin (Curcumae, Tuber)
gou teng (Uncariae cum Uncis, Ramulus)
mu dan pi (Moutan, Radicis Cortex)
xia ku cao (Prunellae, Spica)
sheng xiang fu (Unprocessed Cyperi, Rhizoma)
bo he (Menthae, Herba)
chen pi (Citri Reticulatae, Pericarpium)
fu ling (Poriae Cocos, Sclerotium)

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Misdiagnosed – Painful Obstruction #1

Cold damp painful obstruction mistakenly diagnosed as damp-heat painful obstruction.

Shi a 28 year old male motor vehicle driver was hospitalised on Sept 13. Two days previous, the patient did some heavy moving from one house to the next in the rain. That night he had very painful sciatica along his right leg. It gradually became worse and he went to the local hospital where he received an injection of a heavy painkiller and diazepam, which took about two hours.(1)

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Gui Zhi Tang #2 – High fever

Yue Mei-Zhong’s case study:

Zhang XX, a 15 year old female, had a fever for more than a half a year. It would reach up to 40c and many formulas were tried with no avail. Moreover, there was a thirst without large fluid intake and urination and bowel movements were normal. There was pale tongue with a yellow coat. There was a fever and aversion to wind, floating and moderate pulse, and occasional sweating. The diagnosis was wind-strike pattern that had not ceased, nutritive and defensive disharmony. Three packets of gui zhi tang were used according to the method and there was a complete cure.

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Gui Zhi Tang #1 – Fever and sweating

Liu du zhou’s case:

[Patient] Lǐ was a 53 year old female that suffered from paroxysmal heat effusion and sweating for over one year. This would occur 2-3 times every day. A previous doctor treated her for a yin deficiency fever, but after taking over 20 bags there was no result. When questioned, her diet, urination and bowel movements were normal. She had a pale tongue with a white coat, slack and soft pulse that lacked strength.

The differential diagnosis was a pattern of nutritive and defensive disharmony, where defensive is not safeguarding the nutritive. The treatment method was to harmonize the nutritive and defensive, yin and yang, and use the method of promoting a sweat in order to stop a sweat. She was given two packets of gui zhi tang: gui zhi 9, bai shao 9, sheng jiang 9, zhi gan cao 6, da zao 12p. The medicinals were sipped warm with water gruel, and then she covered up, obtaining a light sweat. After this the disease was gone.

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