Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1115 Dietary Therapy for Kidney Deficiency: A Case of Treating the Old and the Young? (Combined Chapter)
Next, Fang Yan saw He Shujie off.

He Shujie is eating at both places tonight, and he feels like he's already made a fortune.

After saying goodbye to Fang Yan with a smile, he rode his bicycle home.

Now that I have US dollars in my hands, I can't help but be a little more careful.

They quickened their pace and soon disappeared from Fang Yan's sight.

Fang Yan locked the courtyard gate and went to sleep. As for Lao Cui, who didn't come back, he still had a place to stay at Xiehe Hospital. He could go there to rest directly after driving back to Xiehe Hospital and didn't need to come here.

I woke up at 5:50 in the morning. After getting dressed and getting out of bed, I saw that there were already people practicing in the yard. I looked and saw that it was my master and Grandpa Xie.

"You two got up quite early, didn't you?" Fang Yan said to them.

Grandpa Xie said:
"Not much earlier than you."

Master Lu Donghua said:
"Yes, it only takes about ten minutes."

Fang Yan stretched his shoulders and asked, "How did you sleep last night? Are the two elders getting used to the beds in my little courtyard?"

Grandpa Xie waved his hand and laughed heartily:
"Your place is nice! Quiet, but I got up in the middle of the night looking for the outhouse, and wandered around your yard in the dark for a bit, almost ending up in the kitchen! Hahaha... I'm getting old, I'm getting more and more diligent about getting up in the middle of the night."

Master Lu Donghua chimed in, with a hint of mischief:
"I slept soundly until just now, without waking up in the middle. Brother Xie, this won't do; it means your kidney energy is insufficient, and your 'gate' isn't closing properly. You need treatment!"

He turned to Fang Yan and said, "Perfect timing. Fang Yan has examined you before and knows your physical condition. I'll have him take another look at you later."

Upon hearing this, Old Master Xie, without any hesitation, immediately made the decision:
“That’s great! Let’s not wait any longer. Now that everyone’s here, it’s quiet and we can speak in dialect. Can you take a look at this old man? Getting up at night is really troublesome, and it’s inconvenient to go out.”

Old Xie didn't believe in traditional Chinese medicine before, and he still doesn't now. The only traditional Chinese medicine he believes in is Fang Yan.

“Okay,” Fang Yan readily agreed.

"Mr. Xie, please come with me to the main hall. The lighting is better there, and it will be easier to take your pulse."

The three then moved to the main hall.

Before the person gets up, treat the illness to prevent others from finding out.

Grandpa Xie sat down at the octagonal table, and Fang Yan sat down opposite him. Master Lu Donghua pulled up another chair and sat down to watch with great interest, as he hadn't seen Fang Yan treat patients for a long time.

"Old Xie, please put your hand here and stick out your tongue so I can see it," Fang Yan said, placing a pulse pillow on the table.

Old Xie stuck out his tongue and left hand. Fang Yan glanced at it and saw that the tongue was pale and swollen, with faint teeth marks on the sides. The coating on the tongue was thin, white and slightly moist, while the coating at the root of the tongue seemed to be slightly thicker. Lu Donghua was also looking at it when Fang Yan was looking at it.

While taking Xie Lao's pulse, Fang Yan asked him:

"How many times do you get up at night? Is the amount of urine large each time? Is it like last time, where you feel like you haven't completely emptied your bladder?"

Grandpa Xie said:
"No, not really. I only get up once or twice, and the amount of urine is not much, but I just can't hold it in. When I urinate, it's not very pleasant. I always feel like I haven't finished urinating. Sometimes I feel the urge to urinate again shortly after lying down."

He asked in dialect:

Are you usually a little sensitive to cold, especially in your lower back and knees?

Grandpa Xie said to Fang Yan:

"It gets a bit chilly in the mornings and evenings, especially right after I get up. I always feel a chill creeping into my lower back, and my knees feel sore and tight. But once I start exercising, this feeling disappears."

Fang Yan nodded. He felt the pulse in the three pulse positions (cun, guan, chi) and found it to be deep and thin, especially the kidney pulse in the chi position, which was more obvious and could only be felt with heavy pressure. The pulse was slightly slow and weak.

Then Fang Yan touched his right hand, and it was basically a similar situation.

After the examination, Fang Yan withdrew his hand, having already made up his mind.

"How are you? Are my old kidneys still working?" Old Master Xie asked, half-jokingly, as he withdrew his arm.

Fang Yan smiled, turned around and looked for paper and pen as he said:
"Mr. Xie, you are in excellent health, much better than most people your age. However, your frequent urination at night and sensitivity to cold in your lower back and knees are, in traditional Chinese medicine terms, typical symptoms of 'kidney yang deficiency and bladder dysfunction'."

He then explained in detail: "The kidneys govern water and control urination and defecation. Kidney yang is like a 'small furnace' in the body. When kidney yang is sufficient, the bladder's qi transformation is powerful, and the production, storage, and excretion of urine can proceed normally. In your case, your kidney yang is deficient, so the 'small furnace' in your bladder is not strong enough, and it loses its ability to warm and retain urine. If the fire is insufficient, water cannot be transformed into qi, and urine cannot be stored, which makes it easy to get up frequently at night, with small amounts of urine and difficulty urinating. The waist is the residence of the kidneys, and the knees are governed by the kidneys. When kidney yang is deficient, it cannot warm the muscles and bones of the waist and knees, so you will naturally feel cold and sore."

"I just felt your pulse was deep and thready, especially your kidney pulse, which was weak and feeble. This is indeed a sign of kidney deficiency."

"A pale, swollen tongue with teeth marks indicates spleen deficiency and internal retention of dampness; a white, slightly moist coating with a slightly thicker coating at the root suggests insufficient yang qi in the middle and lower jiao and stagnation of cold and dampness."

“These symptoms completely match your self-described symptoms of lower back and knee pain and frequent nighttime urination.”

Grandpa Xie suddenly understood, nodded, and then cursed, "This thing of mine, last time it was blocked and I couldn't pee, now it's like a valve that's loose, it won't close properly! What a mess this is."

"Then how do we fix it? You'd better tighten this 'valve' of mine! August 1st is coming up soon, and I'll be attending a lot of meetings. I don't want to embarrass myself then."

Fang Yan smiled and said:
"Don't worry, it's not a big problem. Everyone has some issues at this age."

As he spoke, he glanced at his master.

Lu Donghua proudly stroked his beard, looking as if he were different from them.

Fang Yan wanted to laugh, but held it back. The old man's proudest achievement in his life was that he had recovered his health.

Few people his age have his physical condition.

Fang Yan turned to Grandpa Xie and said:
"With this prescription that strengthens the kidneys and warms the yang, reduces urination and stops bedwetting, you will recover in no time."

"I have a prescription I used frequently when I was seeing patients. Everyone says it works very well. I'll prescribe it for you. When you get home, you can decoct the medicine and combine it with a simple dietary therapy recipe for even better results."

As he spoke, he unfolded the prescription sheet, unscrewed the pen cap, thought for a moment, and then began to write.

Lu Donghua leaned closer to Fang Yan and looked at the prescription he had written:
Prepared Rehmannia root 15g (nourishes the kidneys and replenishes essence)
15g of yam (strengthens the spleen, nourishes the kidneys, and consolidates essence)
Cornus officinalis 12g (tonifies the liver and kidneys, astringes and consolidates)

5g of cinnamon (warms and tonifies kidney yang, aids bladder qi transformation)
Prepared aconite root 6g (pungent, hot, and potent tonic for primordial yang)
15g of Loranthus parasiticus (tonifies the liver and kidneys, strengthens tendons and bones, dispels wind and dampness, and is effective for the lower back and knees)
Alpinia oxyphylla 12g (warms the kidneys and strengthens yang, consolidates essence and reduces urination, and is effective for nocturia).
Lindera root 10g (regulates qi and warms the kidneys, disperses cold qi in the bladder, and aids in qi transformation)

Cuscuta 12g (nourishes the kidneys and replenishes essence, nourishes the liver and improves eyesight, balances yin and yang)
12g of Rosa laevigata (for strengthening sperm and reducing urination)
15g of fox nuts (to benefit the kidneys, strengthen essence, and stop seminal emission)
Calcined oyster shell 20g (decocted first, to astringe and solidify, calm the nerves and aid sleep)
Prepared licorice root 6g (to harmonize the other herbs)
After finishing writing in dialect, I noticed my master was reading it, so I explained:

"This formula uses Rehmannia glutinosa, Cornus officinalis, and Dioscorea opposita to replenish the Yin essence of the liver and kidneys, which is called 'replenishing the cauldron'; Cinnamomum cassia and Aconitum carmichaelii warm and strengthen the kidney Yang, adding fuel to the fire and making the small furnace in the lower burner burn brightly again; Taxillus chinensis replenishes the liver and kidneys and strengthens the waist and knees; Alpinia oxyphylla, Rosa laevigata, and Euryale ferox are specifically responsible for astringing and reducing urination, 'tightening the valve'; Lindera strychnifolia promotes the flow of Qi and warms the bladder, helping Qi transformation; Calcined Ostrea gigas astringes and calms the mind, so that you can sleep more soundly at night and reduce nighttime urination; Glycyrrhiza uralensis harmonizes all the herbs."

“Yes, but there’s aconite in this, so we have to be careful when decocting it,” Lu Donghua said to Fang Yan.

Fang Yan said to his master:

"Old Xie and his team have dedicated people to prepare the medicine, so there's no need to worry about that. The prescription will still need to be reviewed when it's taken back."

Grandpa Xie said:
"Yes, they're very strict over there; they even question what kind of medicine you take."

Lu Donghua suddenly realized that the man was a veteran cadre in the military with a high status and position, and that someone was indeed in charge of this area.

"Oh right, don't you also have a recipe for dietary therapy?" Lu Donghua reminded Fang Yan.

Fang Yan snapped out of her daze, took out another prescription, and said, "I'll give you a couple more dietary therapy recipes, depending on your taste."

Grandpa Xie nodded:
"Great, you're very thoughtful."

He said in dialect:

"If you want to eat meat, then use one pork kidney, remove the middle tendon, and cut it into thin strips. Combine it with 2 liang of japonica rice and cook it into porridge. Before serving, add a little bit of fine salt and 5g of Eucommia ulmoides powder. The Eucommia ulmoides should be ground into fine powder in advance."

"This pork kidney enters the kidney meridian, and Eucommia ulmoides warms and nourishes kidney yang, strengthens muscles and bones. Eating a bowl of it warm every morning or evening is a gentle and lasting boost."

“Back in my early days in the countryside of Sichuan, if a man's back became weak, his wife would definitely stew this in the dark of night. It was more effective than any tonic.”

"Hahaha..." Old Master Xie laughed heartily, but Lu Donghua, stroking his beard, chimed in:

“Folk remedies are folk remedies, but since someone is specifically reviewing them, you should use something from a proper book.” Fang Yan immediately chimed in, “Master is right, so I also prepared a leek seed porridge from the Compendium of Materia Medica.” He took another piece of paper and wrote the title heavily with a pen: “15 grams of leek seeds, cooked with japonica rice into porridge, sprinkle with salt before serving. This leek seed specifically targets the kidney meridian; Li Shizhen said it ‘nourishes the liver and kidneys, and warms the lower back and knees.’”

"There's also a rosehip and fox nut porridge, from the *Dietary Treatise*," he said, his pen scratching on the paper.
"This prescription uses 15 grams of Rosa laevigata fruit and 30 grams of Euryale ferox fruit, and it is cooked with japonica rice. Rosa laevigata fruit is specifically used to retain kidney qi; Euryale ferox fruit nourishes the spleen and stomach and strengthens kidney essence. The two herbs together have good effects."

The old man spoke to the dialect:

"I still think traditional Chinese medicine remedies are more like dietary supplements, while the others are more like medicine."

He laughed in dialect:

"Haha, that's true!"

"Finally, there's aconite and mutton soup, but it's not a good dish to eat in the summer, so I won't write about it."

Grandpa Xie said:
"Write it, why not write it? If I relapse in winter, I won't come looking for you."

"..." Fang Yan was speechless.

But since they insisted, he started writing, saying at the same time:

"6g of prepared aconite needs to be decocted for at least one hour, about half a pound of mutton, 3 slices of ginger, and a little salt."

"This prescription is very simple. Its function is to warm and tonify kidney yang, dispel cold and relieve pain. It is suitable for lower back and knee pain, cold limbs and frequent urination at night caused by deficiency of kidney yang and decline of the fire of the gate of life."

The dialect specifically emphasizes:
"In traditional Chinese medicine, aconite is known as the primary medicine for warming Yang. It can strongly replenish the original Yang, dispel cold and relieve pain. When combined with mutton, which is warm in nature, it can replenish kidney Yang and benefit essence and blood. The two work together to have a significant effect on warming Yang."

"However, it is important to note that this aconite is poisonous. Although processed aconite is less toxic, it still needs to be decocted for a long time, and cold water should not be added during the decoction process. Moreover, it is contraindicated for people with yin deficiency and excessive fire."

"What kind of person is considered to have yin deficiency and excessive fire?" Old Master Xie asked.

Fang Yan thought for a moment and said:
"People with yin deficiency and excessive fire have tongues that are as red as hawthorn cake, with a thin coating that can't cover the underlying color (red tongue with little coating). Some even have cracks on their tongues, like parched land (fissured tongue). These are all signs of yin fluids drying up!"

"I can manage during the day, but I'll be exposed at night. I'm the kind of person who feels hot when I cover myself with the blanket, but feels cold when I lift it off."

The old man suddenly realized.

Fang Yan continued:

"In traditional Chinese medicine, this is called 'five-center heat' (a traditional Chinese medicine term referring to a feeling of heat in the palms, soles, and chest). When you wake up, your pillowcase is completely soaked, and your throat feels dry and tight. This is because the body's yin fluids are low at this time. How can a person not feel dry when they are dehydrated!"

The old man nodded.

He said in dialect:

"Therefore, people like this should absolutely not touch mutton with aconite."

"Think about it, aconite is like a raging fire, and mutton is like charcoal. Putting these two into your stomach is like pouring a bucket of oil under an empty pot! At best, you'll get mouth ulcers and nosebleeds; at worst, you'll have tinnitus, dizziness, and insomnia. You can't just try it!"

"So before prescribing you any warming tonics, I have to figure out the balance of your Yin fluids. For someone like you with a pale tongue and moist coating, indicating kidney Yang deficiency, stewed mutton is like adding fuel to the fire. But if it were someone with a red tongue and little coating, it would be like adding fuel to the fire!"

"Also, you need to be careful when cooking this stewed mutton with aconite..."

Old Master Xie waved his hand to interrupt:

“I know that. When I was fighting, I ate raw aconite stewed with field mouse meat, let alone processed aconite.” “Back then, they said that this stuff must be cooked for a long time, and you can’t drink cold water from it. Also, if it touches your tongue and feels numb, then something is definitely wrong and you have to keep cooking it.”

Nodding in dialect:

"Yes, there are some specific requirements, which I have written down for you on the prescription."

Lu Donghua, standing to the side, said to Fang Yan:

"Don't worry, this recipe probably won't pass the review, so he won't be allowed to take it."

Old Master Xie said, his neck stiff:

"I insist on eating it, and they have to make it for me."

Fang Yan laughed, saying that he really was becoming more and more like a playful old man as he got older.

Once the medicine was ready, everyone else got up, and Fang Yan and the old men quietly joined the others for their morning exercise.

It has to be said that the number of people doing morning exercises in the courtyard this morning was quite impressive.

The two old men, Fang Yan and his fellow apprentices, then the eldest brother-in-law, Lao Hu's bodyguard, Fang Yan's apprentice, and the little girl Wangyou.

Among those who exercise in the morning, the most practice Xingyi Quan.

Then there are my brother-in-law Zhao Yuanchao and Li Chuanwu, both of whom practice Bajiquan.

Finally, there was Old Cui, who practiced Mantis Boxing, and Old Xie, who practiced Wu Family Boxing. (See Chapter 519)
After finishing their morning exercise, the group began to eat breakfast.

My mother and mother-in-law made breakfast today. There were some leftovers from last night, and everyone was happy to have them. They steamed some buns and rolls, and also had Zhu Liangchun health porridge. We ate the breakfast with the leftovers.

After breakfast, those who need to go to work go to work, and those who need to go to school go to school.

There was no one at Master's house, so Fang Yan let him stay at his house to play. However, after distributing the gifts to everyone, he still had to go back home, saying that he should go home no matter what.

So Fang Yan asked Sophia to drive him back home.

We also brought Lu Sihai and Wangyou along. Now that Wangyou is in kindergarten, the old man doesn't need to take care of her anymore.

Fang Yan thought the old man would definitely have some free time after he went back, and said that he would go pick him up for lunch after he finished his work at noon.

He said no, he had to go back to work at Xiyuan Hospital.

Even Fang Yan couldn't do anything about it, so he had no choice but to agree to the old man's request.

Fang Yan then went to make rounds. After yesterday's consultations, two more overseas Chinese were admitted to the Traditional Chinese Medicine inpatient ward today. Wei Ziyu and his wife are in the rehabilitation department, so they can't be counted here.

Mr. Wei, who has lung cancer, felt a significant reduction in chest tightness this morning after taking the oral medication overnight.

He spoke in dialect:

"It felt like the heavy stone pressing on my chest had cracked open, and I could finally breathe deeply."

According to Fang Yan's observation, after chemotherapy, the itchy red rash area on his skin was relieved by washing with a decoction of 30g of Kochia scoparia fruit and 30g of Cnidium monnieri fruit. The exudate decreased and the itching was relieved.

However, upon pulse diagnosis, it was found that the pulse was still deep and thready, but slightly stronger than yesterday.

The redness on the tongue has faded slightly, and the freckled coating has not expanded.

The Huo family's medical team hadn't left yet; they also used the local Western medicine to conduct a physical examination, one of which showed that the white blood cell count had risen to 2.3×10/L (from 1.8×10/L).

Although there is an echo, there is still a risk of infection.

However, this news confirmed their belief in Fang Yan's treatment methods. They had been at their wits' end before, but Fang Yan's intervention brought them back to life.

As Fang Yan was leaving, he said to the medical staff, "Mr. Wei should take an additional 10g of melted donkey-hide gelatin to address the anemia reported in the report. Also, antibiotics must be stopped to prevent further damage to the body's vital energy. Finally, increase the astragalus to 50g and reduce the rhubarb (processed with wine) to 3g to promote bowel movement but avoid harming the stomach."

The medical staff promised that when Fang Yan left, he would tell the teams that had come with him not to conduct any more physical examinations, and that the traditional Chinese medicine practitioners here would take over all of them.

The person on the other end apologized in dialect and then revealed that it was actually the patient's family who asked them to do it, as they still trusted the changes in the data more.

Fang Yan was speechless upon hearing this, but after thinking it over, she decided not to get into a conflict with them.

I called the hospital director and told the Western medicine department that they could simply refuse without his signature.

The dean agreed.

Then Fang Yan went to see the person with pemphigus.

After taking a super-large dose of 100g of raw astragalus root, she felt better and drank lightly salted water in the morning as required by the local dialect, which did not cause edema.

In addition, after applying a wet compress of 60g of Smilax glabra and 30g of Phellodendron chinense, Fang Yan observed this morning that the exudate from the erosions had decreased, some of the scabs had dried, and no new infections had appeared in the folds of skin, such as the armpits and groin.

The tongue coating is white and greasy, slightly softened; the pulse is floating, large, weak, and slightly restrained.

When Fang Yan lifted the gauze to examine the patient, the patient happily said to Fang Yan:
"Dr. Fang, your medicine is amazing! It feels so cool and refreshing when applied! I didn't even wake up from the itching last night."

"Your medicine should really be promoted; it would be a great merit!"

Fang Yan only remembered that this person was a Buddhist after hearing her say this.

"This is only for your specific situation; it may not apply to others. Please don't think about giving it to someone else to do something virtuous in return," Fang Yan said to her.

The patient said with a smile:

"Haha, I didn't expect it to work so well. I was just thinking that it would be great if more people could use it."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yan praised her, saying:

"You have a kind heart, you will get better soon."

Upon hearing Fang Yan's words, the patient paused, then said to Fang Yan:

“If others say I don’t believe you, but you are a person of great merit, then I will definitely believe you.”

Fang Yan was both amused and exasperated. If she continued this topic with her, she would be reported for promoting feudal superstition.

At this point, he asked about what he had for breakfast.

The assistant who almost got fired yesterday for hiccuping showed his food records to the person speaking in dialect:

"As you instructed, breakfast is barley and yam porridge. The Chinese yam was obtained separately from the pharmacy!"

Fang Yan nodded; they remembered it very clearly.

After Fang Yan finished looking at the people on this side, he went to look at Wei Ziyu's side.

"Dr. Fang!" Wei Ziyu exclaimed, as if seeing a savior. He grabbed Fang Yan and said,
"Xiaoxue took the first prescription last night and everything was fine, but she woke up this morning complaining of lower abdominal bloating! Is this serious?"

Fang Yan followed him into the room. Jiang Xue was sitting on the sofa. Fang Yan took her pulse and carefully observed her complexion. He noticed that her lips were slightly paler than usual, but there was a faint bluish shadow under her eyes.

"Did you not sleep well last night?" he asked.

Jiang Xue nodded:

"I dreamt about my first two pregnancies last night..."

The pulse diagnosis revealed a deep, thin pulse with a slightly slippery quality. The blood and qi under the fingertips flowed like a shallow stream, slightly smoother than at the initial diagnosis, but the foundation was still weak.

"What's causing this feeling of heaviness?" Jiang Xue's mother asked Fang Yan.

She was almost about to ask Fang Yan if there was a problem with the prescription.

“A feeling of heaviness or distension is a good sign that blood stasis is just beginning to move,” Fang Yan said.

All three of them were taken aback upon hearing this.

Fang Yan let go, pointed to his leg at Jiang Xue, and said:
"Roll up your pants legs!"

Jiang Xue did as instructed, and Fang Yan then pressed her Zusanli acupoint with his finger, causing Jiang Xue to hiss softly.

"See that?" Fang Yan said to Wei Ziyu, who was nervously leaning closer.
"The soreness and distension without swelling when pressed here is due to the effect of the prescription's Angelica sinensis and Salvia miltiorrhiza in clearing the meridians of the uterus. Once the Qi and blood are activated, the feeling of heaviness will naturally appear in the deficient area, which proves that the medicine is effective."

Next, Fang Yan took out a pen and paper, and said as he wrote: "I'll make some changes. Add 6g of Amomum villosum to the original prescription to prevent Rehmannia glutinosa from being too rich and cloying and affecting the stomach; add 15g of Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa to calm the mind and stabilize the spirit."

After finishing writing, he added a line of smaller characters and then said to Wei Ziyu:

"Remember, at Mao Shi, which is 5-7 a.m., rub the Guanyuan acupoint with your palm for about ten minutes every day. Take advantage of the rising Yang energy to warm and nourish the uterus. This will make your efforts twice as effective."

"Okay!" Wei Ziyu nodded.

Fang Yan then said goodbye to them. All three of them had been fine yesterday. After checking on Ma Wenying, Fang Yan returned to Xiehe Hospital and went to the outpatient department.

By this time, Jin Wubing and his group had arrived.

Fang Yan glanced around and noticed that two people were missing today: He You and Huang Qiming hadn't come.

I looked around and confirmed that the other two hadn't come.

Fang Yan walked over and asked Jin Wubing and the others:
"Hey, did those two arrive late again today?"

Jin Wubing shook his head, indicating that he did not know.

Only Mike Chen stood up and said:

“I happened to be next to them when I was eating breakfast this morning. I heard that Professor Huang’s top student, Mr. He Jingwei, Mr. He’s eldest son, was coming today.”

Fang Yan paused for a moment, then laughed:

"Really... they even have shift changes here."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Wubing pointed behind him to Fang Yan and said:
"Speak of the devil, and he appears!"

"He even brought a helper."

Fang Yan turned around and saw a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and an arrogant young man walking over.

If I'm not mistaken, this should be He Jingwei and his son.

Is this a case of the old being beaten, and then the young one comes along?
PS: The basic chapter of 6000 words is now complete. There will be an extra chapter later.

(End of this chapter)