I Can Talk to the Internal Organs

Chapter 388 - 354: Reply Again in 7 Days

Lu Jiu’s advantage lies in his mastery of both acupuncture and classical prescriptions.

This is something many practitioners of Chinese medicine today cannot achieve.

It naturally makes him adept at treating certain complex and difficult ailments.

For a condition like flaccidity syndrome, combining acupuncture with Chinese herbs yields excellent results.

However, selecting the acupoints is a challenge.

There are two Yangming Meridians: one is the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian, and the other is the Stomach Meridian of Foot Yangming.

These are the meridians with the most abundant Qi and blood, and they are also prone to excess of yang heat syndrome; if a patient has a fever, the acupoints for clearing heat and dispelling fire are primarily on the Yangming Meridian.

For example, the Shangyang Acupoint is used to reduce fevers.

What Lu Jiu needs to do now is first clear the heat toxin from the patient’s body and then perform acupuncture on the Stomach Meridian of Foot Yangming to strengthen the Gastric Qi.

In cases of major illness, Lu Jiu’s favorite approach is to strengthen the Gastric Qi.

Because the spleen and stomach are the foundation of acquired constitution, the patient’s daily life and various treatments will all consume Qi and blood.

If the Spleen and Stomach’s function in transformation and transportation is not strengthened, leading to a lack of new sources of generation, treatment becomes twice the work for half the result.

At the same time, Lu Jiu also selects acupoints on the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian.

Because the lung and large intestine are externally-internally related, selecting points here is also beneficial for the lung.

Moreover, since the Spleen and Stomach correspond to earth and earth generates metal,

once these two areas are strengthened, there will be enough fluid transformed into Kidney Essence in the hydronephrosis.

In this way, a positive cycle is established, allowing the Five Viscera to gradually restore their functions through repeated cycles.

At that point, as the patient’s Qi and blood gradually become abundant, they can nourish the ancestral muscles; the patient’s muscles and tendons can become more elastic, and the excess Qi and blood can flow to the limbs, bringing strength back.

Once the Spleen and Stomach are strengthened, the patient’s entire body’s muscles will also grow, and with sufficient Kidney Essence, the skeletal strength can support him to stand up.

It can be said that as long as the patient’s Five Viscera can be regulated and return to the correct cycle, recovery will only be a matter of time.

Earlier, when Lu Jiu took the pulse, he also observed the patient’s Qi and blood condition.

Although there is a deficiency in Qi and blood, it hasn’t reached the point of severe depletion of vital essence.

Moreover, in this condition of flaccidity syndrome, although all the muscles have atrophied, the Qi and blood in the Five Viscera are not significantly drained.

This is likely because when Qi and blood can’t reach the limbs, they instead gather in the Five Viscera.

Though the total amount is reduced, it is barely sufficient for the Five Viscera.

Therefore, Lu Jiu does not need to prescribe a diet therapy to help the patient nourish Qi and blood.

In this case, acupuncture combined with herbal medicine treatment can be directly administered.

"Come, lift your dad onto the small bed; I’ll perform acupuncture first," said Lu Jiu.

Lu Heng immediately complied upon hearing this.

His dad is now so thin and weak that lifting him is not strenuous.

In no time, Lu Heng placed his dad on a nearby small bed.

Lu Jiu, holding the needles, then approached the patient.

Shaoshang, Lieque, Chize, Hegu... Zusanli, Yanglingquan, Huantiao...

Lu Jiu mainly used a gentle reinforcement technique, with a few acupoints employing the Piercing Cold technique to clear heat.

Half an hour later, the acupuncture session was completed.

Lu Jiu immediately began to prescribe the formula.

At this point, the approach changes.

Isolating Yangming is the treatment method for acupuncture, but the classical prescription’s understanding of flaccidity syndrome differs.

Because heat toxin harms the Yin and also damages the Yang.

The patient has been ill for too long, the heat toxin is no longer inside but has surfaced; at this time, stimulating the Yangming Meridian with acupuncture quickly dispels the heat toxin.

However, for the true Yin and Yang damaged in the Five Viscera, this method cannot be used for adjustment.

So, while isolating Yangming is a method to treat flaccidity syndrome, the damage to the Five Viscera it causes cannot be adjusted with this method.

This sounds convoluted, but Chinese medicine has always focused on the patient as a whole rather than the characteristics of the disease itself.

When the patient’s true Yin and Yang are damaged, muscles and tendons lose nourishment, and years of inactivity mean the patient’s overall traits show more Yin than Yang.

The internal cold is severe!

At this point, raw aconite becomes necessary again.

Lu Jiu pondered for a moment before writing down the prescription.

Raw aconite, dry ginger, baked licorice, Poria, Atractylodes, Cyathula, cinnamon bark, white peony, Danggui, Asarum, Psoralea, Alisma.

The structure of this prescription is quite complex, but it is fundamentally based on adjustments to the Four Reversals Decoction.

"Here, these are seven doses of medicine; try them for a week to see the effects. If your dad’s appetite improves and his sleep is better than before, that means the medicine is working. If there’s no effect at all, it means my prescription is incorrect, and you’ll need to consult someone more knowledgeable," said Lu Jiu.

This time, Lu Jiu prescribed seven days’ worth of medication.

This is primarily because the patient’s Five Viscera are severely damaged, and suffering from flaccidity syndrome for three or four years is quite a long time. (The timeframe was incorrectly stated in the previous Chapter but has been corrected.)

During this period, he has taken quite a few medications!

Honestly, being able to diagnose ALS and yet survive for three or four years is already quite admirable, given many patients diagnosed with ALS pass away within one or two years; few live beyond five years.

So, in two or three days, the effects will likely not be particularly evident, and to be cautious, Lu Jiu prescribed a week’s worth.

But Lu Heng didn’t feel that seven doses were too much; in fact, he thought that Lu Jiu prescribed too little.

Every time he went to the hospital to get medication for his dad, it was always for an entire course, lasting two to three months.

"Dean Lu, is there a possibility that my dad could stand again?" Lu Heng knew this question was rather wishful thinking, but he couldn’t help ask. Even though he felt Lu Jiu might not be able to cure his dad, he wanted an answer.

People are like that, contradictory.

"Hard to say, I can’t give you a precise answer right now. You’ll have to wait until after your dad finishes the medicine. Also, come for acupuncture every two days. After seven days, I will make a judgment based on your dad’s recovery: whether it can be cured or not, I’ll tell you clearly," Lu Jiu replied.

Seven days then?

Lu Heng felt a bit of anticipation, too.

"Alright, Dean Lu, if you can cure my dad, I’ll definitely bring you a banner of appreciation!"

Lu Jiu smiled and said, "Let’s see, then; go get the medicine with the prescription."

Lu Heng took the prescription, then helped his dad into the wheelchair and subsequently left the clinic room.

After getting the medicine, the father and son walked down the street.

Suddenly, Lu Shujun asked, "Will this...medicine...work?"

He was slightly tongue-tied, speaking with difficulty, having wanted to speak earlier at the hospital.

Lu Heng pushed the wheelchair, "Let’s see after taking it; how would I know if it works or not? It’s like treating a dead horse as if it were alive. We’ve tried so many Western hospitals, and none could cure it; trying Chinese medicine is also an option, and after all, this Lu Jiu has cured several terminal illnesses in Jianghan, so what if he can also cure ALS?"

"Of course, I’m skeptical. If there really were a Chinese medicine doctor who could cure this disease, it probably wouldn’t be deemed terminal. Well, let’s not talk about it; let’s go home and try the medicine..."

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