I Can Talk to the Internal Organs-Chapter 35 - 32: Different Definitions of a Patient

Chapter 35: Chapter 32: Different Definitions of a Patient

Inside Lu’s Clinic, the air was filled with swirling smoke.

Every few minutes, Lu Jiu would replace the mugwort for Wang Li.

Perhaps it was because Wang Li had a severe deficiency of Yang Qi that Lu Jiu had to perform moxibustion seven or eight times before his leg finally felt warm.

At the same time, Lu Jiu also placed his hand on Wang Li’s wrist, multitasking by engaging in dialogue with Wang Li’s Five Viscera.

"Spleen Earth, how are you feeling with the stomach now?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Spleen Earth was already familiar with Lu Jiu, and Lu Jiu’s acupuncture treatment was already known to the Five Viscera.

Knowing that Lu Jiu was helping them, each of the Five Viscera was overjoyed.

Even Fei Jin, who was previously quite downcast, and Heart Fire, which wanted to give up, began to actively cooperate with Lu Jiu.

"It feels so good; I’ve never been this comfortable before. I used to feel so cold it was unbearable, and couldn’t move. My brothers feel the same; it’s been years since we felt this way. Doctor, you’re amazing!" Spleen Earth responded joyfully like a child.

Being praised in person was one thing, but being praised by the Five Viscera was quite an extraordinary experience for Lu Jiu.

"As long as it’s comfortable. You just need to give me real-time feedback on how you feel. If you feel uncomfortable at any point, let me know immediately and I’ll stop the treatment," Lu Jiu said.

"Why stop? It’s perfectly fine, I don’t want to feel cold again. That feeling is really unbearable," Spleen Earth replied.

"Excessive moxibustion can harm you; moderation is best. Besides, if the results are good this time, we can do it again next time," Lu Jiu said.

"Will you cure us?" Spleen Earth asked.

"Well... I can’t give you a definite answer right now. I can only say I’ll do my best," Lu Jiu responded.

"Is it because it’s too serious?" Fei Jin suddenly chimed in.

"It’s because my abilities are limited, but if you persistently cooperate and don’t give up, I might find a solution in time," Lu Jiu replied.

This is also why Lu Jiu didn’t definitively say he couldn’t cure them.

As long as he keeps healing each patient, his medical skills will continuously improve.

Perhaps a month later, he might have a higher understanding of traditional Chinese medicine, and by then he might be able to tackle Wang Li’s blocked Du Meridian.

"That’s what you said, doctor. Don’t deceive us!" Spleen Earth remarked.

Lu Jiu found himself at a loss for words.

He never expected to be asked for a promise from the Five Viscera!

"Rest assured, as long as my abilities reach that level, I will definitely heal you," Lu Jiu said.

As he spoke, Lu Jiu once again replaced the mugwort for Wang Li.

After applying moxibustion to the leg about fifteen times, Lu Jiu felt it was time to switch sides, so he had Wang Li change legs and continued the moxibustion on Zusanli.

After moxibusting the right leg fifteen times, Lu Jiu started to moxibust two times on each side, trying to keep the number of moxibustions balanced on both sides.

Soon, when the right leg had been moxibusted nineteen times, Spleen Earth sent Lu Jiu feedback.

"Doctor, I feel a bit hot, and indeed a bit uncomfortable. Does this mean it’s time to stop?"

Lu Jiu replied, "Yes, that’s enough."

With Spleen Earth’s reminder, Lu Jiu stopped moxibusting Zusanli for Wang Li and switched to moxibusting the Guan Yuan Acupoint.

If moxibusting Zusanli was to strengthen Gastric Qi, then moxibusting Guan Yuan was to strengthen Yang Qi of the kidney.

Because moxibusting Guan Yuan strengthens the fire of the small intestine, the fire of the small intestine can warm the lower body and eliminate the cold accumulated in Wang Li’s body due to Yang Qi deficiency.

Once the lower body is warm, the Yang Qi of the kidney will no longer need to be depleted by accumulated cold, and naturally, it will recover.

When the Yang Qi of the kidney is strengthened, conditions like frequent urination, urgency, incomplete urination, and waking up at night will improve significantly.

The function of the kidney is to solidify and store, and it also governs the two excretions.

These issues of feeling the urge to urinate but being unable to, or not urinating fully, requiring frequent toilet visits, are all due to problems with the kidney’s ability to solidify and store.

Lu Jiu moxibusted Wang Li’s Guan Yuan acupoint in hopes that he could sleep well without having to get up frequently to urinate at night, leading to sleep deprivation.

The best way for people to maintain health is to go to bed early and rise early, sleeping until dawn. Whether it’s staying up late, reversing day and night, or waking up in the middle of the night unable to fall back asleep, it will all lead to disruptions in the function of the Five Viscera.

This is not conducive to recovery from illness.

It can be said that although Lu Jiu is powerless regarding Wang Li’s symptoms, his general direction in treatment is not wrong.

As time passed, Lu Jiu applied a total of twenty-three moxibustions to Wang Li’s Guan Yuan Acupoint.

At this point, Hydronephrosis signaled to stop.

Lu Jiu decisively ended the treatment.

"Phew~ This feels different now. My waist feels stronger than before. I used to not even dare straighten it," Wang Li said as he adjusted his clothing, unable to hide the smile on his face. He even tried to lift his back straighter as he stood up.

"That means the treatment’s direction was correct. Come back a few more times when you can. With continued treatment over time, your quality of life should improve," Lu Jiu said with a smile.

"Can my illness be completely cured?" Wang Li asked hopefully.

"I’m not curing your illness, just trying to make your life as comfortable as possible compared to before. Some of your symptoms will still be there, but they will gradually improve with treatment. I can’t give an answer about a cure right now," Lu Jiu shook his head.

In fact, traditional Chinese medicine’s understanding of disease is quite objective.

After all, diseases consist of the Six Excesses. What are the Six Excesses?

Wind, cold, heat, moisture, dryness, fire!

Also called the Six Qi!

These are things of the universe, naturally existing as six types of attributes of Qi.

Humans are born in the world, surrounded by these six Qi every day. Is it normal not to get sick?

Clearly not!

We cannot eliminate these six types of Qi, so the only thing we can do is prevent them from harming our bodies!

This is also why traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes "Righteous Qi stays inside, no evil can interfere!"

Sickness is just when one or more of these six Qi become excessive, entering the human body, affecting the balance of the five organs and six bowels, causing one aspect to become too unbalanced, thus forming the state of illness, known as symptoms.

They aren’t inherently good or bad; they simply accentuate the existing bias in the patient’s body. Treatment just needs to correct this bias rather than eradicate these six Qi. Even if one wanted to eradicate them, there is no medicine in the world that can completely eliminate them.

Therefore, traditional Chinese medicine doesn’t concern itself with whether the diseases disappear in the patient’s body. They focus more on whether the patient is comfortable and whether the symptoms have subsided.

In other words, if a patient can eat, sleep, run, and move, and doesn’t feel any pain or itching anywhere, then even if some of his numbers don’t meet health standards, is he still considered a patient?

This might be why there are different definitions of patients in two types of medicine, resulting in two different treatment systems.

Hearing Lu Jiu’s response, Wang Li felt slightly disappointed, though he never really believed his illness could completely heal on its own. His earlier words were merely a wishful thought after witnessing significant effects.

His feedback from several hospital check-ups was that his illness requires lifelong medication, and a complete healing was impossible.

The fact that Lu Jiu could improve his daily life was already a great comfort.

"I was too hasty, haha. Dr. Lu, how much is it this time?" Wang Li asked.

"The consultation fee is fifty, acupuncture thirty, moxibustion thirty, altogether one hundred and ten," Lu Jiu said.

That little?

Wang Li knew the prices, but Lu Jiu provided acupuncture and moxibustion for over two hours, charging as one session. Even as a patient, Wang Li felt it was a bit cheap.

The key point was that the efficacy was something no other place could provide. For one hundred and ten yuan, he honestly felt like he got a great deal.

However, Wang Li didn’t propose to pay more. He quickly made the payment through a QR code, indicating that he would definitely return again before happily leaving the clinic.

Upon leaving, his posture seemed much straighter than when he arrived.