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by
Bob Flaws, Dipl. Ac. & C.H., Lic. Ac., FNAAOM, FRCHM
Keywords: Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, psychiatry, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Yang Shao-shan
At the time of writing James Lake’s and my Chinese Medical Psychiatry, we were not able to find any case histories on the Chinese medical treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to include in that book. However, since then, I have come across an interesting OCD case history by Yang Shao-shan which corroborates the Chinese medical materials on OCD in our book. Born in 1923, Yang Shao-shan is/was a professor at the Zhejiang College of Chinese Medicine in Hangzhou. According to Dr. Yang, knotty, difficult diseases (ning nan bing) are the same as what were known in premodern times as strange or peculiar diseases, and, based on various traditional sayings, Dr. Yan emphasizes the role of phlegm in strange and peculiar diseases. For instance, there is the saying, “recalcitrant phlegm, strange disorders.” The following case history, taken from Shi Zi-guang and Dan Shu-jian’s Dang Dai Ming Yi Ling Zheng Jing Hua (The Efflorescence of Present Day Famous Doctors’ Clinical Experience) published by the Chinese Medical Ancient Books press in Beijing in 1994, exemplifies this theory in terms of OCD.
The patient was a 40 year old, male teacher who was initially seen on Sept. 22, 1984 complaining of heart palpitations, chest oppression and discomfort, profuse thinking, worry, and anxiety, a tendency towards being easily upset, restlessness when sitting and lying down, insomnia, abdominal distention, and decreased memory power. the man had suffered from these complaints for four years and had been diagnosed in a Beijing psychiatric department as exhibiting obsessive-compulsive disorder. At the time of his examination, Dr. Yang found the patient’s tongue to be red with thin, slimy, yellow fur, and his pulse to be bowstring and slippery.
Based on the above, Dr. Yang categorized the patient’s Chinese medical pattern as phlegm heat harassing the heart. There, his treatment principles were to clear heat and transform phlegm, quiet the spirit and calm the heart. For these purposes, Dr. Yang prescribed the following medicinals: Rhizoma Coptidis Chinensis (Huang Lian), 3g, Semen Zizyphi Spinosae (Suan Zao Ren), 12g, Tuber Ophiopogonis Japonici (Mai Men Dong), 12g, Tuber Curcumae (Yu Jin), 9g, Rhizoma Acori Graminei (Shi Chang Pu), 9g, stir-fried Caulis Bambusae In Taeniis (Zhu Ru), 9g, stir-fried Radix Polygalae Tenuifoliae (Yuan Zhi), 6g, Retinervus Vascularis Citri Reticulatae (Ju Luo), 6g, and uncooked Radix Glycyrrhizae (Gan Cao), 6g. This formula is a modification of Shi Yi Wei Wen Dan Tang (Eleven Flavors Warm the Gallbladder Decoction) from Fang Ji Xin Jie (New Explanations of Formulas & Prescriptions). In addition, the patient was instructed to take seven pillules of Xian Zheng Zhen Xin Dan (Epilepsy Settle the Heart Elixir), a Chinese medicinal ready-made medicine, once per day.
After taking seven packets of the above formula, the man’s palpitations had decreased, his sleep had improved, and his memory had also somewhat recovered. However, his chest oppression was the same as before. Therefore, Dr. Yang added nine grams of Pericarpium Trichosanthis Kirlowii (Gua Lou Pi) to the above formula and prescribed seven more packets. At the end of this time, the patient’s chest oppression was soothed and his heart vexation and restlessness were eliminated. Now he complained chiefly of dizziness and lack of strength. The man’s tongue was red with thin fur and his pulse was now bowstring and fine. Therefore, Dr. Yang added 12 grams each of Radix Pseudostellariae Heterophyllae (Tai Zi Shen) and Os Draconis (Long Gu) to the preceding formula. After taking 14 packets of this prescription, the heart vexation and palpitations had completely disappeared. Therefore, the man was prescribed two more months of this formula in order to consolidate the treatment effects, at which point the man returned to Beijing and went back to work.
Copyright © Blue Poppy Press, 2002. All rights reserved.
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