I Can Hear the Heart's Voice of Traditional Chinese Medicine-Chapter 327 - 145: Did Dr. Lu Go to the United South Chinese Medicine Association for Consultations?
Song Meilan and Shi Guanlan had just finished their visit when a familiar face entered—the old acquaintance of Lu Xuan.
"Dr. Lu."
As soon as Li Yuquan entered the consultation room, he greeted Lu Xuan with a hearty laugh, sweeping away the gloom and hopelessness from his first visit.
His improved physical condition had given Li Yuquan hope for life.
"Old Mr. Li seems to be in good spirits; it looks like the acid reflux has improved," Lu Xuan said as he got up to greet Li Yuquan.
Li Yuquan nodded: "Indeed, it’s much better. The last time I came, I felt like I was on the verge of death, extremely resentful of my condition. But now it’s different. My mood is great, the acid reflux has improved, and even other symptoms have reduced. It’s much better than taking Western medicine."
"Please have a seat, Mr. Li. Let me check you again."
"Sure."
Li Yuquan sat down comfortably, allowing Lu Xuan to take his pulse. At Lu Xuan’s indication, he also stuck out his tongue.
After checking his pulse for a while, Lu Xuan withdrew his hand: "Things have improved quite a bit; the pulse isn’t as deep and thin as before. However, you shouldn’t stop the medication and need to continue taking it."
"By the way, have you experienced any other discomforts lately, Mr. Li?"
"For example, upper abdominal fullness, burning sensations, or nausea and vomiting?"
Li Yuquan said: "Most of it has gotten better, though there’s still some slight vomiting, but it doesn’t affect eating normally." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Lu Xuan nodded: "Mr. Li, your post-surgery symptoms have greatly reduced. But as I mentioned last time, since the illness was in its late stage and you are already advanced in age, all I can do is try my best to maintain your current condition with supportive methods."
"I’m aware of all that. I’m already very satisfied with the current situation."
Li Yuquan thought back to before he sought treatment from Lu Xuan and said with a smile: "Previously, I thought I might not have more than a year or so left. But now, I feel like I could live another three to five years without any issue."
"If things go well, even five or ten years wouldn’t be a problem."
"Thank you for your kind words."
Li Yuquan made a gesture of clasping his hands towards Lu Xuan in thanks.
After chatting for a while, Lu Xuan promptly wrote a note in Li Yuquan’s medical record: Condition improved after taking the prescribed formula; continue with the current prescription.
Having finished writing, Lu Xuan was just about to hand it over to Su Kenan for registration when Li Yuquan spoke up: "Dr. Lu, does this mean my medication will remain basically unchanged?"
"Pretty much."
"Could you possibly prescribe a month’s worth?"
Li Yuquan hesitated for a moment, explaining: "Your consultations have become increasingly hard to book. I didn’t manage to get an appointment for next week, so this way I wouldn’t have to stop the medication."
"Of course!"
Lu Xuan readily agreed. The medications he prescribed for Li Yuquan were for invigorating Qi and promoting blood circulation, removing stasis and supporting normal function. Prescribing an extra week wouldn’t be problematic.
Moreover, in the short term, it would be difficult for Li Yuquan’s symptoms to completely disappear. Taking medication for another half month may not guarantee improvement either. Even if it does get better, since stomach resection surgery has been performed, he can’t expect to be like a normal person.
Even after taking the medication for another month or two, there will still be some symptoms. This can’t be completely regulated through Chinese medicine; after all, a crucial part is missing, and no matter how potent the medicine, it can’t restore the body to its original state.
Chinese medicine is miraculous, but it’s not divine.
The "Inner Scripture of the Yellow Emperor" records: "The stomach is the granary officer, and the five flavors emerge from it." The granary officer is an official who manages and distributes goods on schedule, meaning that through the stomach’s management, the body’s five flavors emerge, thus coming to the saying "the stomach is the root of postnatal constitution."
This also validates the Western medical view that all the energy needed by the human body comes from the stomach’s refinement and transformation.
In Chinese medicine, the stomach is considered one of the six fu-organs, also known as the gastric chamber.
It is believed that the stomach is the "sea of water and grains," capable of "fermenting and ripening water and grains" and promoting the downward conveyance of stomach contents.
The stomach’s physiological function is to regulate the balance of stomach yang and stomach yin. Stomach yang provides the heat needed for transportation, promoting contraction, relaxation, and peristalsis of the stomach, facilitating the digestion of food into chyme. Stomach yin moistens the gastric area and restricts excessive stomach yang. It is through the warmth of stomach yang and the moisture of stomach yin that the stomach completes the tasks of receiving food, initially digesting it, and transporting the chyme.
Also, as stated in "Medical Humanity: The Viscera": "As the stomach digests the water and grains, their dregs and wastes are directed to the entrance of the small intestine, and from the small intestine to the bladder and large intestine, where impurities are separated from the essences; the impurities being excreted, and the essences circulating through the body. The stomach’s function is what we refer to as ’stomach Qi.’"
Only when stomach Qi descends properly—gathering without stagnation, substantial but not overflowing, and in alternation with emptiness—can digestion continue without interruption, fully digesting the grains.
If stomach Qi doesn’t descend and instead accumulates, it leads to abdominal fullness, pain, and a lack of appetite; if stomach Qi ascends instead of descending, it results in hiccups, nausea, and vomiting.
The stomach also has an affinity for being moistened, and an aversion to dryness—a trait known as its liking for moisture and disliking drying agents. Its ability to digest water and grains depends on sufficient gastric fluids; when these are abundant, they enable digestion and nourish the five viscera. If gastric fluids are insufficient, it leads to dryness, causing symptoms such as dry mouth, abdominal fullness, and thirst.
The stomach and spleen are interconnected through channels, forming an interior-exterior relationship. While the stomach receives and accepts food, the spleen is responsible for transportation and transformation; the stomach primarily directs downwards, while the spleen directs upwards. Together, they complete the processes of digestion and absorption.
