Rou Gui Cortex Cinnamomi cassiae 1.5 g
Dang Gui Radix Angelicae sinensis 6 g
Rou Cong Rong Herba Cistanchis 6 g
Zhi Gan Cao Radix Glycyrrhizae uralensis praeparata 3 gThe combination of acupuncture and Chinese herbs produced an
immediate improvement which then continued steadily until most of her
symptoms were relieved after a few months.Case History 3.3
Breathlessness: Lung- and Kidney-Yang Deficiency-Female, Age 42
A 42-year-old lady suffered from breathlessness since the age of 7. It had got worse since
moving to an old and dusty house 13 years previously. She found it difficult to breathe in, was
worse at night and worse from exposure to cold or dust. She also suffered from lower backache
and dizziness. She had two children and her breathelessness had been better during both
pregnancies. She felt cold easily and her ankles often swelled up.
When she was 6 months old she contracted whooping cough which lasted for a long time.
Her pulse was Deep and Weak, especially on both Rear positions (Kidneys). Her tongue was
Red, Stiff and had a shallow Stomach crack with a yellow coating (Plate 3.2(98)).
Diagnosis The breathlessness was due to a deficiency of the Yang of both Lungs
and Kidneys. Originally, it may have been due to a Lung deficiency
only, following the weakening of the Lungs from whooping cough.
Later on, the onset of Kidney deficiency contributed to the
breathlessness. Difficulty in breathing in, feeling cold, backache,
swollen ankles, dizziness and Weak pulse on Rear positions, all
indicated Kidney (Yang) deficiency. The fact that she got better during
the pregnancies also pointed to a Kidney deficiency. However, the
tongue pointed to another co-existing condition of Heat and Phlegm.
The deficient Lung and Kidneys failing to transform fluids led to the
formation of Phlegm which further aggravated the breathlessness. After
a long time, Phlegm easily leads to the formation of Heat. Thus, this
case shows a clear combination of Deficiency (of Lungs and Kidneys)
and Excess (Phlegm-Heat in the Lungs) and of Cold (from
Kidney-Yang deficiency) and Heat (in the Lungs). The Root is the
deficiency of Lung- and Kidney-Yang while the Phlegm-Heat in the
Lungs is the Manifestation.
Treatment Since this is an internal condition we can treat both the Root and the
Manifestation simultaneously, i.e. tonifying Lung- and Kidney-Yang,
restoring the descending of Lung-Qi and resolving Phlegm and clearing