Home / Cases / Medical Cases

Medical Cases

Movement Disorder & Seizures

Chief Complaints
The patient was a 4-year-old Asian girl.

At 11 months old, her legs started to cramp, twitching every 20 to 30 seconds. The seizure last for about 40 minutes, yet her western medicine doctor was not able to identify what went wrong.

Similar seizures occurred several times during the time when she was 1 to 3 years old, and the symptoms got worse each time. Both her hands and feet cramped. The patient, too weak to control her hands and feet, was unable to stand by her own. Her whole body was unusually tight during the seizure sometimes.

In January 2016, the patient got a cold and fever, after which the seizure returned. The situation became much severe. On top of previous symptoms, the patient started drooling. She even had trouble talking.

Physicians at Stanford Lucile Packard Children ‘s Hospital examined the patient. They determined that the patient’s left brain had irregular current responses, but they were not able to find the cause. The patient was prescribed drugs to slow down her brain function. As a result of taking this kind of medication, she might suffer from slow learning at this young age. The approach not aiming at the root cause would not produce a cure!

After taking brain-suppressing drugs for over two months , the patient still suffered from irregular seizures and the loss of control over her hands, feet , neck, face, and mouth. Her condition was getting worse. The western medicine physicians couldn’t do anything but increase the drug dosage. They suggested that patients hospitalize for a month , doing 24-hour monitoring in order to do an MRI scan at any time. By doing this, the physicians hoped they could find the cause.

Patient’s parents decided to seek help from the Chinese medicine.

(Move your mouse to the next tab for more case details.)

Assessment & Treatment Plan

  • Treatment Logic:get water upward to the head, strengthen the spleen, and remove phlegm.
  • Herb formula: Guizhi (Cassiabarktree branchlet), Baishao (Root of common peony), Zhigancao (Honey-roasted root of ural licorice), Hongzao (Chinese dates), Shengjiang (Rhizome of common ginger), Gegen (Root of lobed kudzuvine), Baizhu (Rhizome of largehead atractylodes), Fuling (Indian bread), Zhuling (Agaric), Zexie (Rhizome of oriental waterplantain), Chenpi (Tangerine peel), Shengbanxia (Rhizome of ternate pinellia), Maiyatang (Maltose)

Gouty Arthritis (Gout)

Chief Complaints
The patient was an Asian Male in his 40s.

He suffered from the swelling pain in the right hallux (big toe) joints, unable to walk. The pain was severe at night and milder during the day.

The patient had two experiences of gout in the past, both in the same location.

He complained his hands and feet would turn cold after having coffee.

He slept ok with only occasional wake- up during 1 to 3am, then was able to fall asleep again.

The eye diagnosis found out there were irregular signs in the part of the eye corresponding to liver function.  

Assessment & Treatment Plan
  • Treatment Logic: cold-dampness trapped and accumulated in joints
  • Herb Formula: Paofuzi (Processed root of common monkshood), Zhigancao (Honey-roasted root of ural licorice), Guizhi (Cassiabarktree branchlet), Baizhu (Rhizome of largehead atractylodes), Niuxi (Root of Chinese eupatorium), Shengfuzi (Root of common monkshood), Ganjiang (Dried ginger)

    Special Instructions: Take the herb soup every 3 hours, and go to bed upon the feeling of sleepiness and dizziness.

Bell’s Palsy / Facial Paralysis

Chief Complaints
The patient was an Asian female in her mid 30s.

She was struck by a sudden facial paralysis. Her face was pulled and twisted to the right side. She had problems closing her left eye with tears dripping and eyelids twitching. Her mouth was too crooked to close up fully. At the time of her clinic visit, it had been over a week since the strike of facial paralysis (Bell’s Palsy).

Assessment & Treatment Plan
Treatment Logic: release the exterior and get water upwards to the head, improve the blood circulation, eliminate stasis, and dispel phlegm.

Herb Formula: Gegen(Root of lobed kudzuvine), Mahuang(Chinese ephedra), Guizhi(Cassiabarktree branchlet), Baishao(Root of common peony), Shengjiang(Rhizome of common ginger), Hongzao(Chinese dates), Zhigancao(Honey-roasted root of ural licorice),Danpi(Root-bark of subshrubby peony), Honghua(safflower flower), Chuangqiong(Rhizome of chuanxiong), Shengbanxia(Rhizome of ternate pinellia), Fangfeng(Root of divaricate saposhnikova), Jinjie(Fineleaf schizonepeta)

Acupuncture Treatment:

  • LI4(Hegu) on the right side
  • Ex-HN5 through GB8 (Taiyang trough Shuaigu)  on the left side
  • ST4 though ST6 (Dicang through Jiache) on the left side
  • SP10 (Xuehai) on both sides
  • GB34 through SP9 (Yanglingquan through Yinlingquan) on both sides
Top