![]()
No fixed therapeutic regimes, formulas, or fixed dosages
— Discussing the core of TCM clinic is the comprehensive analysis of the pulse and symptoms by taking the example of curing an 80-year-old cerebral thrombosis patient
Mr. Lu, a retired manager from Shanxi Construction Engineering Corporation, suddenly had cerebral thrombosis on November 7, 2007, when he was 80 years old. After being hospitalized for a month in Chinese People’s Liberation Army 264 Hospital, he came to my clinic on December 12 after leaving the hospital.
After the examination, I found that he had facial paralysis, right hemiplegia, an unmovable right hand, a stiff tongue, slurred speech. He had a slight red tongue with a thin and white coating. The pulse at his left Cun and Guan positions was floating, slightly tight and rapid. Although he was diagnosed with cerebral thrombosis in Western Medicine, from the pulse and symptoms, he belonged to stroke in TCM. The treatment should primarily focus on dispelling pathogenic wind, then on activating blood and dredging collaterals. Here were the ingredients of the formula:
Mahuang (Herba Ephedrae) 10g
Fangji (Radix Stephaniae Tetrandrae) 10g
Yedangshen (Radix Codonopsis) 30g
Guizhi (Ramulus Cinnamomi) 10g
Huangqin (Radix Scutellariae) 10g
Chishao (Radix Paeoniae Rubra) 10g
Chuanxiong (Rhizoma Ligustici Chuanxiong) 10g
Xingren (Semen Armeniacae Amarum) 10g
Fangfeng (Radix Saposhnikoviae) 15g
Fuzi (Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata) 10g
Xixin (Herba Asari) 5g
Shengma (Rhizoma Cimicifugae) 10g
Baizhi (Radix Angelicae Dahuricae) 10g
Sumu (Lignum Sappan) 10g
Honghua (Flos Carthami) 10g
Gancao (Radix Glycyrrhizae) 10g
All the medicinals should be decocted with water for oral administration, and 6 doses should be taken.
The patient was advised to take the formula three times in the daytime and once at night and to live in the room with no wind from outside.
On December 27, 2007, the second treatment. The patient said that after taking the formulas for 4 days, all symptoms were effectively decreased and that his brother looked after him and boiled medicinals for him; he took the formula strictly according to my advice and lived in the wind-proof room. Therefore, he was cured after four days.
I said that I was enlightened by the oral administration method of Xiao Xuming Tang (Minor Life-Prolonging Decoction) mentioned in the book Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold for Emergencies (Qiān jīn fāng, 千金方) written by Sūn Sīmiǎo (孙思邈). The words ‘only living in a wind-proof room can cure this disease’ was also proposed by this great doctor and not me.
Although there is a statement of ‘To treat wind syndromes, the blood shall be treated first, and the wind syndromes would disappear with smooth blood circulation’ in TCM, in this specific case, dispelling wind shall be emphasized, or it can be said that ‘To treat blood, pathogenic wind shall be treated first, and the blood will be back to normal with the leaving of wind’. How can cerebral thrombosis be cured only with activating blood and resolving stasis? This is the case of making the prescription based on the pulse manifestation.
When asked about the reason for coming to my clinic this time, Mr. Lu said that he had felt fullness in head, dizziness, heaviness at the front of his head, dry mouth and bitter taste, so he was afraid it was the sign of the cerebral thrombus again; therefore, he came to me immediately.
After the examination, the pulse at his left Cun and Guan positions was wiry and huge, which obviously indicated the syndromes of ascendant hyperactivity of liver yang and liver yang transforming into up-disturbing wind. Therefore, the treatment should primary focus on settling liver and extinguishing wind with large doses of medicinals, then on resolving phlegm and dredging collaterals. Prescription:
Daizheshi (Hematite) 50g
Huainiuxi (Radix Cyathulae) 30g
Longgu (Os Draconis) 30g
Muli (Concha Ostreae) 30g
Baishao (Radix Paeoniae Alba) 15g
Yuanshen (Radix Paeoniae Alba) 30g
Tiandong (Radix Asparagi) 30g
Chuanlianzi (Fructus Meliae Toosendan) 20g
Maiya (Fructus Hordei Germinatus) 15g
Yinchen (Herba Artemisiae Scopariae) 30g
Banxia Sheng (Rhizoma Pinelliae) 20g
Tiannanxing Sheng (Rhizoma Arisaematis) 20g
Baifuzi Sheng (Tuber Typhonii) 20g
Yemingshao (Feaces Vespertilio) 15g
Wugong (Scolopendra) 10 pieces
Quanxie (Scorpio) 5 pieces
All the medicinals should be decocted with water for oral administration, and 10 doses should be taken.
On March 16, 2008, the patient came to me for the third treatment. All symptoms were eliminated. However, he still had fullness in head, dizziness, dry mouth and bitter taste, and chest distress. I found that the pulse at his left Cun and Guan positions was wiry and huge. This indicated the relapse of liver yang transforming into wind. What’s more, he also suffered from blood stasis. Treatment should primarily focus on settling liver and extinguishing wind, and then on activating blood and resolving stasis, smoothing chest and regulating qi, and dredging collaterals. Prescription:
Daizheshi (Hematite) 60g
Huainiuxi (Radix Cyathulae) 30g
Longgu (Os Draconis) 30g
Muli (Concha Ostreae) 30g
Baishao (Radix Paeoniae Alba) 30g
Yuanshen (Radix Paeoniae Alba) 30g
Tiandong (Radix Asparagi) 30g
Jiegeng (Radix Platycodonis) 10g
Zhiqiao (Fructus Aurantii) 10g
Gualou (Fructus Trichosanthis) 20g
Xiebai (Bulbus Allii Macrostemonis) 10g
Yinchen (Herba Artemisiae Scopariae) 30g
Yedanshen (Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae) 30g
Yemingshao (Feaces Vespertilio) 30g
Maiya (Fructus Hordei Germinatus) 15g
Juhua (Flos Chrysanthemi) 10g
Dilong (Lumbricus) 10g
Wugong (Scolopendra) 5 pieces
Quanxie (Scorpio) 10g
All the medicinals should be decocted with water for oral administration, and 10 doses should be taken.
On April 30, 2008, he came to me for the fourth treatment. He said that he was cured after taking the formula; he also gained a better sleep quality and a good appetite. The only problem was that his eyes were often with tears, and he felt exhausted and unstable for a long walk. The pulse beat 6 times in a cycle of breath. The pulse at his left Guan position was slightly floating, huge, and slippery. The therapeutic methods included smoothing triple energizer, activating blood and resolving stasis, harmonizing exterior and interior, invi...
