FOC:  Ms. Hu, 59-year-old female presented to the clinic on September 7, 2001.
The patient had experienced dizziness at Yin Tang, (a point midway between the eyebrows), for one month.  Her gait was unsteady, and when she experienced severe dizziness she would almost fall down.  Her appetite, urination, stools and blood pressure were all normal, and everything else seemed fine.  Her tongue was pale red with a white, slightly greasy coating and her pulse was sunken and soggy.  From the tongue and pulse the pattern looks like internal phlegm and damp, but there was no way we could quickly know for sure what the western diagnosis was.
     According to (my) clinical experiences at this time, (I) advised the patient to get a CT scan so we could see what was happening in the brain.
    The CT scan showed that the ventricles of the brain were clearly enlarged, and the cortex area was abnormally dense.  The longitudinal split in the cerebellum was also very dense.  The CT showed us two things: hydrocephalus and hemorrhage below the arachnoid villa (between the dura and pia mater).  (I) suggested the patient get a spinal tap, perhaps after the initial treatment for further examination.
    According to all the information gathered, the diagnosis was kidney yang vacuity and weakness, and thin mucus rising and obstructing the clear orifices.  A suitable treatment for this is to warm the kidney yang and disinhibit water.
    Three packets of the formula to be decocted in water were given is as follows:
Zhi Fu Zi 10g(cooked first for 30 minutes), Gui Zhi 12g, Chen Pi 12g, Tu Bai Zhu 18g, Fu Ling 18g, Zhu Ling 18g, Huang Qi 30g, Ze Xie 30g,
Che Qian Zi (decoct in a bag) 30g, Sheng Yi Yi Ren 60g, Qing Ban Xia 15g,
Shi Chang Pu 20g
    2nd Visit:  The dizziness at Yin Tang had reduced and Ms. Hu’s gait was more steady than before, however, the other symptoms were still the same.  Because the herbs were working well, (I) didn’t change the formula and gave her 5 more packets of the formula.
    3rd Visit:  The dizziness at Yin Tang was basically gone and Ms. Hu was walking like a normal person.  Her tongue was pale with a thin white coating and her pulse was deep and moderate.  In order to consolidate the treatment effect (I) advised her to continue with the formula and gave her 5 more packets.
    Due to Ms. Hu’s unwillingness to get another CT scan (I) could not be sure what was happening inside her brain, however (I) caught up with her 8 months later and she was still like a normal person.

Guan Feng Ling, “ Guan Si You’s Teachings on How to Think About Difficult Illnesses.” : Journal of Sichuan of Traditional Chinese Medicine, page 1, Volume 21, Number 6, 2003.
Translation by Dana Balassi