On May 28th, 1965,
a 67 year-old male presented at the clinic suffering from shortness of breath,
chest pain, and chest oppression for over a month. On April 23rd he
was diagnosed with a myocardial infarction, and was administered both
nitroglycerine and aminophylline, which were ineffective. He also sought out
Chinese medical treatments and was given various qi boosting, blood
invigorating, phlegm transforming, and collateral freeing medicinals (such as
rén shēn, huáng qí, mù guā, chì sháo, jiàng xiāng, táo rén, xiè bái, and yù
jīn), which he had been taking for the last month but no obvious improvement
was observed. Currently he was
experiencing a burning hot pain in the left side of his chest, shortness of
breath, which was exacerbated with movement, he was occasionally cold and hot,
had a stifling sensation below his heart, a bitter taste in the mouth,
occasional head distention, insomnia, and dry stools. He had a yellow tongue
coating, and a wiry, slippery pulse.
Dr. Hú administered a modified version of dà chái
hú tāng (Major Bupleurum Decoction) combined with guì zhī fú líng wán (Cinnamon
and Poria Pill).
chái hú (Bupleuri Radix) 4
qián
bàn xià (Pinelliae Rhizoma
preparatum) 3 qián
huáng qín (Scutellariae
Radix) 3 qián
bái sháo (Paeoniae Radix
alba) 3 qián
zhǐ shí (Aurantii Fructus
immaturus) 3 qián
shēng jiāng (Zingiberis
Rhizoma recens) 3 qián
dà zǎo (Jujubae Fructus) 4
pieces
guì zhī (Cinnamomi Ramulus) 3
qián
fú líng (Poria) 4 qián
táo rén (Juglandis Semen) 3
qián
dà huáng (Rhei Radix et
Rhizoma) 2 qián
shí gāo (Gypsum fibrosum) 1
liǎng
zhì gān cǎo (Glycyrrhizae
Radix preparata) 1 qián
Second consultation (June, 1st):
After taking three packages of the formula most of his symptoms had improved,
but he was still feeling suffocated in the evenings, had heartburn after meals,
and his stools were still dry. His tongue coat was still yellow, and his pulse
was wiry, slippery, and slightly rapid.
The same formula was administered but the dà huáng was increased to 3
qián.
Third consultation (December
23rd): After taking two packages of the formula, the suffocating
feeling in the evenings disappeared, and while he still experienced some
shortness of breath on exertion, it would gradually resolve after a little bit
of rest. Afterwards he did not return for a follow up. He was currently being treated for a weeklong
cough with a modified version of bàn xià hòu pò tāng (Pinellia and Magnolia
Bark Decoction).
Commentary: In regards to the treatment of this case, the
previous physicians had used blood invigorating, qi regulating medicinals,
however they all failed to provide any relief for the patient, while Dr. Hú was
able to offer a good effect by grasping the crucial aspect of the
condition. The previous physician paid
little attention to whether the condition involved heat, cold, repletion, or vacuity,
while Dr. Hú recognized this to be a repletion heat pattern stuck in the half
exterior half interior portion of the body.
In addition, he recognized this as a dà chái hú tāng and guì zhī fú líng
wán formula presentation, which is the reason why his treatment worked so well.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment