Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1018 The Disease of the Rich: Diabetes, Goodbye Zhou Zhaoqin (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets: 3K)

"Then please come down quickly, let me take a look at you," Fang Yan said to Lao Zhou.

Diabetes, also known as Xiao Ke Zheng in Traditional Chinese Medicine, is easier to treat the earlier it is detected. If the disease is prolonged, it becomes more difficult to treat. During treatment, patients must quit smoking and drinking alcohol and stop eating fatty, sweet, and greasy foods.

Judging from Lao Zhou's physique, he hasn't changed much since he was in Beijing.

In traditional Chinese medicine, diabetes is mainly caused by several different factors.

Improper diet: Overeating fatty and sweet foods damages the spleen and stomach.

Emotional imbalance: Excessive emotional activity can generate fire and damage yin.

Insufficient endowment: congenital physical weakness, and weak internal organs.

Excessive sexual activity and lack of moderation in sexual relations lead to depletion of kidney essence.

The six external pathogenic factors are: dryness and heat injuring body fluids, and depletion of qi and yin.

Internal organ dysfunction: Yin deficiency and dryness in the lungs, stomach, and kidneys.

The order listed above is based on the proportion of causes of the disease.

The most common cause is not controlling one's diet.

However, traditional Chinese medicine believes that the fundamental pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus can ultimately be summarized as yin deficiency as the root cause and dryness and heat as the manifestation. The disease is mainly located in the lungs, stomach and kidneys, and the three are often interconnected.

Treatment should focus on "clearing heat and moistening dryness, nourishing yin and generating fluids," while also taking into account different causes and organ syndromes, and combining treatments such as strengthening the spleen, soothing the liver, and tonifying the kidneys.

When Lao Zhou got downstairs, he was slightly taken aback.

He said:
"Xiao Yang just said you came over with makeup on. I didn't notice it when I was upstairs, but now that I'm closer, I realize you really do have a different face."

Old Zhou's eyesight isn't very good. He had only vaguely seen an outline a moment ago, and it sounded like he was speaking in a dialect. But now that he's gotten closer, he realizes something's wrong—it's not a person at all!
He said in dialect:

"There's nothing I can do; I'm now a prime target for attention."

Fortunately, the voice was in a dialect. It wasn't loud, but it had a calm and penetrating quality that made it very recognizable. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have recognized it.

Old Zhou said:

"Sigh, it all comes down to our family..."

Fang Yan looked around at the people:
"That's not true..."

Old Zhou immediately realized what was happening and waved to the people around him:
"You all go out first."

"I'll call you in later."

The people around nodded in agreement.
"Yes, Mr. Zhou!"

Then the servants all went outside.

After they left and the gate closed, Fang Yan asked:

"By the way, where are Mrs. Zhou and Miss Zhou?"

Old Zhou pointed upstairs:
"They're still taking their lunch break. I'm alone in my study upstairs. They don't know you're here yet."

Fang Yan nodded:

"That's perfect, let me examine you first."

Old Zhou smiled and said:
"Yes, that's what I think too. They see me here for a medical appointment and keep asking me all sorts of questions. It's so annoying!"

Fang Yan asked him:
When was this illness discovered?

Old Zhou said:

"It was about a month ago. I felt thirsty and kept wanting to drink water."

“My wife and daughter kept urging me to drink water, but I didn’t want to. As a result, I always felt like I wasn’t drinking enough water. I was quite happy at first, thinking that I had found the joy of drinking water. But after a few days, I went out to meet with friends, and they saw me constantly looking for water. They reminded me that I might have diabetes and told me to get checked. I didn’t pay much attention to it at first, but I still went for a check-up the next day.”

"Then the hospital found out the problem."

After saying that, he turned to his assistant, Yang, who was standing beside him and said:
"By the way, Xiao Yang, go and get that medical report for me."

The latter nodded:
"OK, wait."

While Assistant Yang went upstairs to get the report, Old Zhou continued speaking to Fang Yan:

"Then I started taking the medicine as instructed there. After about a week, although my mouth wasn't as dry, my foamy urine started coming back. I was worried that there was something wrong with my kidneys, so I went to get checked. The test results showed that although the levels were a bit high, they were still within the normal range."

He paused, then lowered his voice:

"To be honest, after what happened with Xiaoqin, I didn't trust these people much anymore."

"At that time, I was already thinking about whether I should go back to Beijing to see how the construction of the Peking Union Medical College Hospital building was going, and also ask you to help me with my treatment."

“Then a few days ago you sent a telegram saying you were coming here.”

"I've been waiting for you to come over so I can take a look at you."

Fang Yan nodded, then said to Lao Zhou:

"Hmm, let me see your tongue."

Old Zhou stuck out his tongue. Fang Yan leaned closer to observe Old Zhou's tongue and saw that it was dark red with a thin, yellow, and dry coating. There were obvious teeth marks on the sides and deep cracks in the middle.

Next, Old Zhou extended his left hand and said:
"Is it time to take his pulse?"

Fang Yan smiled and said:

"Let's go over to the dining table and take each other's pulses."

Old Zhou nodded, then went to the table with his dialect.

After settling down, he reached out and pressed on the three pulse points on Lao Zhou's wrist, feeling a thin and rapid pulse, especially weak on the left. Combining this with Lao Zhou's described symptoms, he had already formed a preliminary diagnosis.

"Your tongue appearance indicates yin deficiency and excessive fire. Your pulse is thin and rapid; the weak left pulse suggests insufficient kidney yin, while the slightly wiry right pulse indicates heat in the spleen and stomach." Fang Yan released his hand and continued:

"Dry mouth and excessive thirst indicate upper wasting disease, which is due to lung heat and fluid depletion; foamy urine indicates lower wasting disease, which is due to kidney failure to retain fluids." "What Western medicine calls diabetes is actually a disease of the lungs, stomach, and kidneys in you. The root cause is yin deficiency, while the symptoms are dryness and heat."

At this moment, Assistant Yang hurried downstairs with a brown paper bag. Fang Yan took the test report and unfolded it: fasting blood glucose 11.2 mmol/L, urine glucose +++, serum cholesterol and triglycerides were both elevated. After scanning the data, he said:
"Look at these blood sugar levels, they do indeed match the symptoms of diabetes. Western medicine's blood sugar-lowering drugs can temporarily suppress the symptoms, but long-term use can easily damage the spleen and stomach, and foamy urine indicates that the kidney essence is already deficient, so it needs to be regulated from the root."

Old Zhou nodded and said:
"Just focus on treating him, I trust you."

"Do you drink Chinese medicine like Xiaoqin?"

Fang Yan took out the sea dragon needle he had brought and said:
"We'll give you a few injections first, then prescribe some medicine. Also, you must strictly control your diet."

"I think you should avoid going to parties and such lately."

"If you really can't avoid it, it's best to eat as little as possible."

Old Zhou said:

"That's no problem. I don't want to eat right now, and no one can force me to eat it."

Fang Yan nodded and gestured for Lao Zhou to lift up his clothes.

Old Zhou glanced at Le Miao, implying that perhaps this person should step aside.

"It's alright, my family owns a pharmacy," Le Miao said with a smile.

Old Zhou suddenly realized and asked:
"Tongrentang?"

“Yes.” Le Miao nodded.

Next, Fang Yan used silver needles to insert into Lao Zhou's three acupoints—Feishu, Pishu, and Shenshu—in sequence. The technique was light and quick; Lao Zhou didn't even feel it before Fang Yan had already achieved the desired sensation.

"First, needle these three back-shu points to clear lung heat, strengthen spleen qi, and nourish kidney yin... then add Taichong and Sanyinjiao to soothe the liver and nourish yin."

Then he started acupuncture again.

At this moment, Fang Yan said:

"You can't touch any sugar, and you should halve your rice intake. You can eat more yam, bitter melon, and pumpkin, which are all good for strengthening the spleen and quenching thirst. I'll also write you a medicinal diet recipe, Astragalus and Yam Porridge, which can replenish qi without raising blood sugar."

After saying that, he added:
"By the way, let's stop the Western medicine too."

Old Zhou nodded in agreement.

After Fang Yan finished administering the acupuncture, the Hailong needle only needed to be left in for ten minutes. During this time, Fang Yan began to write a prescription for Lao Zhou.

Old Zhou suffers from diabetes mellitus, characterized by yin deficiency and excessive fire in the lungs, stomach, and kidneys, along with internal dryness and heat, and also by deficiency of both the spleen and kidneys.

Targeting the root cause of Yin deficiency, the treatment focuses on clearing heat, moistening dryness, and nourishing the Yin of the lungs, stomach, and kidneys. It also addresses spleen and stomach weakness (wiry pulse on the right, teeth marks on the tongue) and kidney deficiency (foamy urine, weak pulse on the left), supplemented with liver-soothing herbs to alleviate the influence of emotions.

30g of raw Rehmannia root clears heat, nourishes yin, and replenishes kidney essence; it is an essential medicine for diabetes.

Trichosanthes kirilowii 20g clears the lungs and moisturizes dryness, promotes the production of body fluids and quenches thirst. Modern research shows that it contains trichosanthes kirilowii protein, which can regulate blood sugar.

Ophiopogon japonicus 15g nourishes the yin of the lungs and stomach, and treats thirst and excessive drinking.

30g of yam strengthens the spleen and kidneys, consolidates essence, and relieves foamy urine.

Coptis chinensis 6g clears stomach heat and drains heart fire.

10g of Phellodendron bark drains kidney fire, clears deficiency heat, and treats damp-heat in the lower burner.

Astragalus membranaceus 15g replenishes qi and strengthens the spleen, raises yang and consolidates the exterior, and prevents qi deficiency due to prolonged yin deficiency.

Danshen 15g promotes blood circulation and removes blood stasis.

Schisandra chinensis 10g has astringent and consolidating properties, prevents the loss of yin fluids, and treats frequent urination and cloudy urine.

15g of kudzu root promotes yang energy and generates fluids, relieving thirst.

Astragalus and Yam Porridge:
Boil 30g of Astragalus membranaceus in water, add 50g of Dioscorea opposita and 30g of Coix lacryma-jobi, and cook together. Consume this for breakfast every day.

At this moment, Le Miao, who was standing to the side, saw the prescription Fang Yan had written and said:

"I thought you were going to prescribe Baihu Tang (a traditional Chinese medicine formula)?"

Indeed, when I was at Tongrentang, when I encountered diabetes, the local dialect was basically to use Baihu Tang. Baihu Tang comes from the Treatise on Cold Damage. It is composed of gypsum, anemarrhena, japonica rice, and licorice. Its main function is to clear heat and generate fluids. It is suitable for the syndrome of excessive heat in the Yangming Qi level, with symptoms such as high fever, profuse sweating, great thirst, and a strong pulse.

In cases of diabetes mellitus, if there is obvious excessive heat in the lungs and stomach and depletion of body fluids, Baihu Decoction or its modified forms will be used, such as Baihu Decoction with Ginseng, which was the most commonly used formula before the introduction of the Fangyan (a Chinese medical text).

The dialect responded:
"Baihu Decoction is mainly for excessive heat in the Qi level and damage to body fluids, but its pathogenesis not only involves dryness and heat, but also obvious Yin deficiency and spleen and kidney deficiency."

"Although Baihu Decoction can clear heat, it is not enough to nourish kidney yin and strengthen the spleen. Moreover, the gypsum and anemarrhena in the formula are cold in nature. Long-term use may damage the spleen and stomach, especially if there are already signs of spleen deficiency (teeth marks on the tongue and wiry pulse on the right)."

"In addition, Baihu Decoction is mainly used for acute heat excess, but his condition is in the chronic stage, so it is necessary to take into account both nourishing yin and consolidating the body."

After listening, Le Miao suddenly understood.

Just then, a familiar voice suddenly came from upstairs:

"Hey! Dad, who are you with downstairs? I can hear a dialect voice in your voice."

Everyone looked up and saw Zhou Zhaoqin appear from the stairwell.

Although she is a bit thin now, she is no longer the skeletal figure she used to be, and you can't tell at all that she almost died in the hospital.

Old Zhou said:

"We've arrived in the local dialect! They're here to treat my illness!"

Fang Yan raised his head and said to Zhou Zhaoqin, who looked somewhat surprised:

"Miss Zhou, it's been a long time!"

P.S.: I still owe you 93000 words after finishing this chapter.

That's all for today, please come early tomorrow.

Lao Feng is working hard to write tomorrow's code.

(End of this chapter)