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A postpartum woman suffered from lower back pain. She experienced abdominal distension and frequent belching, and vomited after taking various medicines. Xue Lizhai considered this to be due to Spleen deficiency and Blood weakness. He used only one herb, Atractylodis Rhizoma (Baizhu), stir-fried until slightly yellow, with each dose weighing one liang. It was decocted in rice washing water, and the patient was allowed to sip small amounts (about one spoonful) at a time. After four doses, symptoms gradually stabilized, and she recovered after more than a hundred doses.

Yu Zhen’s commentary: Treating lower back pain with Atractylodis Rhizoma is justified by the accompanying symptoms of abdominal distension, frequent belching, and vomiting upon medication intake; thus, tonifying the Spleen is preferable to tonifying the Kidney. The small sips were intended to prevent vomiting. Using one liang per dose, up to a hundred doses, requires both profound insight and steadfast adherence to the prescription. Ye Tianshi’s medical cases often use rice washing water for decoction, originating from this principle. For other cases, lower back pain caused by excessive blood loss can be treated with Danggui Dihuang Tang or Shiquan Dabu Decoction; lower back pain due to Blood stasis can be treated with Taoren Tang or Wuxiang Lianqiao Tang; and lower back pain due to Wind-Dampness can be treated with Wuji San or Jisheng Fangfeng Tang.

Guo Maoxun’s sister-in-law, Lady Jinhua, on the seventh day postpartum, could not eat. Initially, she complained of headache. After the headache subsided, heart pain ensued. Subsequently, her eyes became painful, feeling as if cut or pierced. The pain came and went repeatedly with very short intervals. When the headache was severe, she wished for a large stone to press down on her head; it took a long time for it to subside. When heart pain occurred, she scratched her arms with ten fingers until blood filled her palms. After the pain ceased, eye pain resumed, and she dug at her own eyes with both hands. This continued for ten days without improvement, and no physician had a solution. Administering half a pill of Heilong Dan alleviated the condition slightly. A second dose at midnight allowed her to close her eyes and sleep as usual. By early morning, she passed a stool, approximately three sheng in volume, resembling locust eggs. Over three nights, the amount decreased by half. Just after a quarter-hour interval, she passed stool again similar to before, and then she was suddenly cured.

Wu Shuqing stated: This pain is caused by worm bites. Using vermifuge herbs would be even more effective.

Yu Zhen’s commentary: Given the nature of this case, it should be treated as Blood stasis. There are also cases of pain due to Phlegm, but they are not as severe. Cases of pain caused by worms begin with this record.

Xue Lizhai treated a postpartum woman suffering from stroke, presenting with deviation of the mouth and eyes, cold extremities, spontaneous sweating, diarrhea, borborygmus, and abdominal pain. He prescribed Liujunzi Tang plus Ganjiang (Dried Ginger) and Fuzi (Prepared Aconite Root), each five qian, but there was no response. He then increased Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Renshen) and Prepared Aconite Root (Fuzi) to one liang each, which finally produced a response. However, when she stopped taking the medicine for a while, borborygmus and abdominal pain returned. Consequently, he moxa-burned the Guanyuan (CV4) acupoint over a hundred moxa cones, followed by the administration of Shiquan Dabu Decoction, which proved effective.

Yu Zhen’s commentary: Such treatment methods could only be employed by Dr. Xue. If modern physicians use Ginseng and Prepared Aconite Root up to four or five qian without effect, they would simply wait helplessly for death. However, since the pulse condition is not recorded, it is presumed that all signs of deficiency-cold were manifest, making the details of the pulse’s size, slowness, or rapidity negligible.