Chapter 427: Chapter 427: You Are What You Eat?
The medicine isn’t working?
Li Xu asked.
Ma Xinhong complained, "Not at all, Doctor Li. Not only has *that* not gotten better, but I actually feel worse. My head’s been constantly dizzy, I feel weak all over, and I’m incredibly sleepy. I’m just completely lethargic. On top of that, my breath smells even worse, it’s uncomfortable when I urinate—there’s a burning sensation, and it has a strong, foul smell. I just feel awful all over."
Li Xu frowned upon hearing this.
’Based on what Ma Xinhong is saying, this is clearly the result of the wrong medicine or a misdiagnosis.’
’Otherwise, how could the treatment not only be ineffective but also create so many new problems?’
’In any case, I need to make my own diagnosis first.’
"Stick out your tongue so I can have a look."
Li Xu said.
Ma Xinhong obliged and stuck out his tongue.
Li Xu observed it carefully. The body of the tongue was red, with a yellow, greasy coating that was especially thick at the root.
This was a textbook sign of damp-heat syndrome!
Li Xu’s frown deepened. Ma Xinhong’s symptoms were even more severe than what was written in the case file he had provided.
Li Xu spoke again. "Give me your wrist. I’m going to take your pulse."
Ma Xinhong extended his wrist.
Li Xu placed his fingers on the pulse points of his wrist, closed his eyes, and focused on reading the pulse.
He recalled the diagnosis from the previous record—"damp-heat in the liver meridian"—and the corresponding prescription meant to clear the liver, drain heat, resolve dampness, and unblock yang.
’Logically, a prescription like that should have been correct for his symptoms.’
’So why, based on the patient’s description, has the downward flow of damp-heat apparently gotten worse?’
’If it got worse after taking the medicine, does that mean it isn’t primarily a damp-heat syndrome?’
After a good while, Li Xu finished reading the pulse.
Ma Xinhong’s pulse felt soft and rapid on the surface. When pressed deeply, it felt wiry, rapid, and urgent.
The Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet states, "A wiry and rapid pulse often indicates heat." A rapid pulse signifies a heat syndrome, and a Xian Vein can signify liver disease. This all still seemed to point toward heat in the liver meridian.
However, a soft pulse often indicates a deficiency of qi and blood. For instance, a soft pulse can be seen in cases of yin deficiency with blood loss, uterine bleeding, spontaneous sweating, or seminal emission.
Furthermore, conditions such as spleen deficiency with excess dampness or chronic diarrhea can also present with a soft pulse.
So, a soft pulse can indicate either deficiency or dampness.
’Since a soft pulse can indicate excess dampness and a rapid pulse indicates a heat syndrome, a soft and rapid pulse, taken together, would still seem to point to a damp-heat syndrome.’
’If it truly is damp-heat in the liver meridian, with damp-heat flowing downward and stagnating, it would cause the ’ancestral sinews’ in the lower burner to become sluggish. That would explain the impotence—an inability to get an erection, or one that is soft and weak.’
’It would also be accompanied by symptoms like burning urination and a feeling of weakness throughout the body.’
’But, if it is damp-heat in the liver meridian, why wouldn’t a prescription designed to clear dampness and drain liver heat have any effect?’
’Why did it get worse?’
Li Xu was lost in thought. He was starting to get confused.
He suddenly thought of a possibility and asked, "Have you actually been taking your medicine as prescribed?"
Ma Xinhong was instantly displeased. "Of course I took it! I paid good money for that medicine, why wouldn’t I take it? You think I’m lying to you?"
"Hmm?"
Li Xu’s brow furrowed at his words.
’If he really took the medicine, his symptoms shouldn’t have gotten worse.’
’There’s something fishy going on here.’
He ignored Ma Xinhong’s attitude and pressed on, "Did you eat anything in particular before you started feeling worse?"
Ma Xinhong had initially been very respectful of Li Xu, but seeing him ask all these questions without identifying the issue was making him impatient. His tone soured. "I ate food. What else would I eat? Air?"
Li Xu could tell the man’s attitude was turning sour, but he didn’t get angry.
He knew that many patients, worn down by the torment of their illnesses, were prone to irritability and impatience when questioned extensively by doctors.
He patiently asked again, "I’m just asking what you ate. Did you drink a lot of alcohol? Or eat... anything especially ’heating’ or ’restorative’?"
Ma Xinhong froze.
He remembered that a few days ago, to "fortify his body," he had indeed eaten some highly restorative foods, especially things like kidneys.
He hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell Li Xu the truth.
"Oh, I remember now..."
Ma Xinhong said.
Li Xu gestured for him to elaborate.
The moment this came up, Ma Xinhong’s energy returned. His earlier impatience faded as he began to boast, "Whoa, that day we had a ’Ten-Ingredient Great Tonic Hot Pot’! It was loaded with stuff! Dog meat, this animal’s penis, that animal’s penis... and the best part was the dog penis! Heh, all stewed together in one big pot."
He described it with great animation. "We also added a lot of potent medicinal herbs. My friend said that one pot of ingredients cost over a thousand yuan! After I ate it, man, I felt so hot. The effect was incredible."
After he finished, he unconsciously muttered to himself. The words were quiet, but Li Xu heard them clearly: "Way better than that useless medicine the TCM doctor prescribed."
After hearing all this, Li Xu sighed in resignation. He had finally found the cause.
He looked at Ma Xinhong, his voice tinged with exasperation. "Don’t you realize that you only ended up like this *after* eating that ’great tonic’ meal?"
"Huh?"
Ma Xinhong was stunned, the expression on his face frozen.
He thought back carefully, and... it seemed that was exactly right!
His condition had indeed gotten worse ever since eating that ’great tonic’ hot pot. The dizziness, weakness, and the burning, foul-smelling urine had all become more pronounced.
Li Xu glanced at Ma Xinhong’s previous case file, pointed to the instructions written by the attending physician, and his tone grew stern. "The doctor instructed you to maintain a light diet while on this medication. No overeating rich or greasy foods, no alcohol, no excessively spicy food, and absolutely no ’restorative’ tonics of any kind. You’re really something else. Whatever the doctor told you not to do, you went and did it. Do you think it’s fun to defy your doctor?"
Stunned by Li Xu’s rebuke, Ma Xinhong took a moment to recover before immediately retorting, his voice rising several notches. "I’ve got a problem... you know, down there. Shouldn’t I eat things to strengthen my kidneys? And now you’re blaming me for it?"
Li Xu shot back, "And who told you that impotence is a kidney problem?"
"Huh?"
Ma Xinhong was stunned again. He stared at Li Xu in disbelief. "’Nourish the kidneys and boost virility’—isn’t that what Chinese medicine says? Isn’t it kidney deficiency that causes... you know... problems in that department?"
Li Xu shook his head and retorted, "You tell me, which TCM doctor told you that?"
Ma Xinhong was at a loss for words. He stammered for a moment, "Isn’t... isn’t that what everyone says? ’Eat a body part to strengthen that same body part.’ Like how drinking bone broth gives you calcium."
Li Xu was rendered even more speechless. He was completely floored by Ma Xinhong’s "common sense." "Drinking bone broth for calcium—you’re going to pin that on Chinese medicine, too? Does TCM even have a concept of ’calcium’? Does that word even exist in its vocabulary?"
"Eh?" Ma Xinhong was taken aback. Thinking about it, that seemed to be true.
TCM really never mentioned anything about "calcium."
And the word "calcium" was a modern invention, too.
Outside the door, Village Chief Ma, Ma Rui, and Ding Kaifang had been listening intently to the conversation inside.
They had been listening with great relish, finding Li Xu’s explanations perfectly logical. But when they heard him say that "drinking bone broth for calcium" wasn’t a TCM concept, and that "impotence isn’t always a kidney problem," they started to feel that something was off.
They, too, had always believed in the idea of "eating a body part to strengthen that same body part," and the concept of nourishing the kidneys to boost virility was an even more deeply ingrained belief.
