I Can Talk to the Internal Organs-Chapter 207 - 176: Alzheimer’s Disease

"Dad, watch your step."

"Bro, can Chinese medicine really work for Dad's condition?"

"I don't know, we can only try. Uncle Wang mentioned that Dr. Lu can even treat cancer, so there might be hope for Alzheimer's, right?"

"That's true, but I still find it a bit far-fetched. We've lived in Jianghan for so many years and never heard of a remarkable Chinese medicine doctor. Now suddenly there's one, and he's only in his twenties. It just sounds a bit unreliable."

"Well, let's see how it goes. The worst-case scenario is losing a few thousand bucks. Even if it's a scam, as long as there's hope, we have to try. Dad has wandered off three times now and luckily, kind-hearted people found him and called us. What if we don't get lucky next time?"

"Yeah, let's see him treating patients."

Outside Lu's Clinic, the three stood in line.

The elderly man standing between the two brothers was obviously quite old, with sparse white hair and a frail frame. His gaze sometimes sharp yet sometimes dazed, his eyes always seemed to fixate on one spot, but on closer inspection, they weren't focused at all.

The old man had a tag hanging on his chest with his name, home address, and phone number.

At that moment, the brothers stood outside the clinic, curiously watching Lu Jiu take a pulse, just like everyone else.

"How long have you been taking antihypertensive medication?"

"Two years."

"Have you been feeling not just dizziness but also insomnia lately, with some discomfort in your chest before sleeping?"

"Yes, yes."

"Have you experienced tinnitus?"

"Yes."

"Do you often forget things recently, or have been absent-minded?"

"Dr. Lu, you can see that too?"

"Haha, no need to be so surprised. Judging by your current physical condition, it seems like a yin-yang imbalance, blood stasis forming internally, compounded by excess liver yang and insufficient kidney yin, resulting in heart and kidney imbalance. That's why you're experiencing a series of physical discomforts. High blood pressure is just an external symptom of the problem. While antihypertensive medication lowers your blood pressure, it doesn't solve the root issue, so over the past two years, instead of improving, your condition has worsened."

"What should I do, Dr. Lu?"

"Don't panic. I didn't say it can't be treated; it's just going to be more complex and take a long time. I hope you're mentally prepared for that."

"As long as it can be treated."

"Alright, go have a seat. I'll start with a few needles."

Recently, more and more patients with conditions like diabetes and hypertension have been coming to the clinic for treatment.

For Lu Jiu, treating these two illnesses isn't difficult. A basic White Tiger Ginseng Decoction can resolve most diabetic symptoms and even cure them.

Of course, during the treatment process, diagnosis and treatment must be tailored to each patient. The formula might be the same, but the ingredients and dosages vary greatly.

Nonetheless, the primary treatment is still White Tiger Ginseng Decoction.

But there are exceptions.

For instance, patients who have been on antidiabetic drugs for decades, Lu Jiu suggests avoiding Chinese medicine if their bodies aren't experiencing obvious discomfort.

Once drug resistance develops, completely restoring health through conditioning becomes too challenging and risky.

It's not that Lu Jiu is unwilling, but the patient's body has been worn out. The safest approach can only be patching it up.

Chinese medicine isn't a miracle drug. When a bodily function has been replaced by medication for decades, the effect of Chinese medicine is naturally limited.

Similarly, if a hypertension patient has been on antihypertensives for decades, treatment becomes very troublesome. If the patient isn't facing significant issues, Lu Jiu advises against trying Chinese medicine, but if symptoms are affecting living, it must be tried despite the difficulties.

It's quite amusing; a few years ago, the Huaxia Cardiovascular Disease Center, among other heart disease associations, set up the "Huaxia Hypertension Clinical Practice Guidelines," lowering the adult hypertension standard from ≥140/90mmHg to ≥130/80mmHg.

When this standard was established, many people panicked.

According to this metric, what used to be just over two hundred million hypertension patients could double overnight to over five hundred million, meaning a third of Huaxia's population would be classified as hypertension patients.

In fact, this standard was first proposed by the Emperor Ying Cardiac Society and later adopted domestically by some expert, creating this standard with much pomp.

Even though many hospitals have not applied this new standard clinically, the news made many suspect they were ill each day.

When Lu Jiu saw this, he often laughed. There are always those hoping to use data to control health, ignoring the body's self-regulation ability and never exploring why hypertension occurs. As long as the numbers jibe, you're sick.

As the saying goes, you're sick, it's very serious, I have the cure, but it's expensive!

Heh.

Turns out health isn't about what you feel, but what machines and data say.

The key is, there are a large number of people who believe this nonsense.

The acupuncture process wasn't complicated. Lu Jiu mainly used the methods of calming the liver and subduing yang, as well as harmonizing qi and blood.

As long as the patient's liver yang is managed and its dispersing function resumes normalcy, with a smooth flow of qi and blood, the heart's load will decrease, naturally lowering blood pressure. Following that, some Chinese medicine will be used to help with full-body conditioning.

After a bit more than ten minutes, Lu Jiu removed the needles.

He then prepared three doses of medicine for the patient and gave some instructions before calling up the next patient.

Time ticks away second by second.

Outside, there was only one patient left before the father and sons trio.

During this time, they truly witnessed Lu Jiu's remarkable skills, especially his expertise in pulse diagnosis. Before the patient said anything, just by feeling the pulse, he could clearly point out where the problem lay, almost without any mistakes. This truly surprised the two brothers and naturally added three points to their trust in Lu Jiu's medical skills.

...

"Next one."

It was their turn!

The two brothers immediately stepped forward upon hearing the call.

Lu Jiu looked at the three of them and sized up the old man.

His eyes were dull, lifeless. This is...

"What's going on with this old man?" Lu Jiu asked.

Kang Peng replied, "Dr. Lu, my dad has Alzheimer's disease. Do you think there's any way to treat it?"

Alzheimer's disease?

Dementia, this illness, was first seen in the Ming Dynasty.

It came from Zhang Jingyue's "Complete Collection of Jingyue·Miscellaneous Diagnosis."

This illness, how to put it, is not a single symptom. However, the root of the problem should lie in the kidneys.

In historical medical records, there are very few cases of this disease. Whether in times of war or peace, there aren't many records of long-lived elders showing signs of dementia.

Lu Jiu said, "Let me check the pulse first."

Kang Peng said, "Okay, okay."

Saying that, Kang Peng put his dad's arm in front of Lu Jiu.

Lu Jiu grabbed the old man's wrist and began his diagnosis...

"Heart Fire, can you still not awaken Hydronephrosis? It's been silent for a long time. Things can't go on like this," said Spleen Earth.

"It's very difficult. Its small essence storage is completely depleted, and the medication has harmed it too severely to recover," Heart Fire replied.

"It's not just it, the same goes for me. Ever since he started taking those medications, my condition has worsened, and Hydronephrosis too. Once the medications come in, they keep attacking me and it, but it seems they're particularly aimed at Hydronephrosis, which lessens the burden on me," Liver Wood said.

"Are you talking about the Nifedipine sustained-release tablets? I felt it too. It seems to be substituting for Hydronephrosis while stealing its small essence storage," Heart Fire said.

"That's right. Even my dispersing function has dropped significantly because of it. Originally, it was already hard to discharge, and now it comes every day, it's really irritating," Liver Wood said.

"I remember Hydronephrosis saying that a lot of stones accumulated there, wasn't surgery done to remove some?" Fei Jin said.

"Not thoroughly. The surgery just crushed the stones. Isn't it I and Hydronephrosis who still need to discharge them? The key issue is that our functionality has already declined. Originally, it wasn't able to discharge cleanly, and the drug comes in every day, hindering Hydronephrosis from performing its function. How can it be discharged cleanly?" Liver Wood said.

"But we also can't stop it from coming in," Spleen Earth said.

"So, just do your part. If Hydronephrosis can't be saved, it can't be saved. Worst case, none of us survive," Heart Fire said.

"There you go again..." Spleen Earth said.

Medication?

Lu Jiu remembered that Nifedipine sustained-release tablets should be a hypertensive drug, right?

From the pulse diagnosis, indeed, this old man had symptoms of hypertension. Taking antihypertensives indeed aligns with the hospital's treatment approach.

And from the dialogue of the Five Viscera, the old man previously also had kidney stones. Although he underwent lithotripsy surgery, it seems they weren't thoroughly eliminated.

Moreover, Lu Jiu also felt that the old man's kidney function was extremely weak, with each of the other Five Viscera having sustained varying degrees of damage.

The "Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor" states: "When a person is born, essence forms first; as essence forms, the brain and marrow develop."

Among the Five Viscera, the kidney stores essence and is the foundation of innate endowment; kidney essence generates the brain and marrow.

If the kidneys are severely damaged, resulting in insufficient kidney essence, the Sea of Marrow becomes empty, unable to nourish the brain. It is then not surprising that dementia is triggered.

Of course, the onset of dementia is not solely due to kidney damage. The spleen is the foundation of acquired constitution, the source of the transformation of qi and blood. If the spleen loses its function to transport and transform, resulting in a decline in its capacity to transform water and grain essences, phlegm and dampness may accumulate, obstructing clear orifices, both impairing the nourishment of the innate foundation and obstructing clear yáng from rising.

The liver governs spreading and dispersing, facilitating the harmonious functioning of qi throughout the body, playing a regulating role in emotional activities. If the liver loses its function to smooth and disperse, leading to emotional disturbance, liver fire flares upwards, causing disorder of the qi mechanism, qi stagnation and blood stasis, resulting in liver blood deficiency, which fails to nourish the head and face, inadequately nourishing the brain and marrow.

The heart governs blood vessels, with heart qi promoting blood circulation. The heart is also the "grand master" of the "Five Viscera and Six Bowels," with all spirit activities relying on the dominion of the heart. All activities of the mind are imprinted in the blood vessels. Thus, if heart blood is insufficient, the heart spirit is not nourished, leading to abnormal mental activities like forgetfulness, anxiety, and insomnia. If heart qi is insufficient, blood circulation is hindered, resulting in vascular obstruction, leading to stasis in the brain orifices and poor nourishment of brain pathways.

The lung commands the whole body's qi, governing hundreds of vessels, responsible for regulation, moderation of water passage, and regulating qi mechanism throughout the body. It also aids the heart in moving blood and regulating the body's fluid metabolism. If lung qi is deficient, leading to dysfunction in regulation and moderation of water passages and fluid metabolism disorder, water dampness stagnates, disrupting the flow of qi and blood, making it impossible to ascend to the brain, causing the brain pathways to lose nourishment.

This disease, though prevalent among the elderly, typically even if various functions deteriorate in old age, there should only be a reduction in brain marrow, not complete emptiness of the Sea of Marrow.

"Let me ask you, for how many years has this old man been taking antihypertensive medication?" Lu Jiu suddenly asked.

Antihypertensive medication?

Impressive, to discern that dad's been on antihypertensives just from the pulse diagnosis.

Kang Peng promptly answered, "He's been taking it for thirty-two years."

Thirty-two years?