Smooth Recovery from Pneumophagia through Tokito / 日本東洋医学雑誌

Kampo medicine has been used for patients with pneumophagia to improve deficiency and stagnation of qi. Here, we report a case in which symptoms were alleviated by treating spleen yang deficiency and liver qi stagnation as the main pathogenesis. The patient was a 75-year-old woman. She was diagnosed with atrophic gastritis after a close examination of her gastric discomfort. She took antacids and proton pump inhibitors, but the condition did not improve. Her abdominal distension and belching also appeared and worsened, so she requested Kampo treatment. Since she had interior cold with qi stagnation, we prescribed tokito that is able not only to warm interior cold but also to adjust qi sufficiently. The pathology of pneumophagia is generally considered to be stagnation of qi mainly and concomitant with deficiency of qi. However, for those having interior cold like this case, a medicine that can firmly perform warm supplementation is necessary, and tokito is considered to be a candidate for the condition. Strangled pain is mentioned as the main targeted symptom of tokito, and it is often administered for abdominal or chest pain. Although, in this case, abdominal pain might have occurred if the condition had worsened further, it is important to utilize tokito in the case of qi stagnation and yang deficiency regardless whether patients have pain or not.

Delayed Sleep-phase Syndrome Associated with Orthostatic Dysregulation Successfully Treated by Warming with Sekiganryo / 日本東洋医学雑誌

Orthostatic dysregulation often occurs during adolescence and presents with symptoms such as dizziness, difficulty waking up in the morning, nausea, anorexia, general malaise, and headache. Herein we describe a case of delayed sleep-phase syndrome in a 16-year-old female who had been treated with Kampo medicine since the age of 14 for orthostatic dysregulation. After taking renjuin, her condition improved and she was able to attend school. However, two winters later, her symptoms flared up and she was hospitalized. Electro-acupuncture test revealed her severe interior cold, and a simple sleep analysis showed that she was not getting deep sleep. We hypothesized that her interior cold contributed to her sleep disorder. After taking sekiganryo for the purpose of warming therapy, her waking time and sleep depth improved. This case showed that interior cold can cause sleep disorders and that warming therapy with sekiganryo may contribute to the improvement of sleep disorders.

Complete Recovery from Generalized Anxiety Disorder Through Anchusan / 日本東洋医学雑誌

We had a female patient who had stagnation of qi and recovered not only by adjusting qi but also by warming interior cold. A 67-year-old woman visited our clinic for generalized anxiety disorder and whole body overstrain on the basis of domestic problems. She had taken anxiolytic, which brought about some relief. She also suffered from uterine cancer, and had operation of uterine resection. After operation, she took radiation therapy, which caused ileus. Although she took daikenchuto, ileus sometimes recurred. At first, we diagnosed her condition as stagnation of liver qi and deficiency of liver blood according to Kampo medical findings, and prescribed yokukansankachimpihange. However, she felt little effectiveness. We focused on her condition as spleen-stomach deficiency cold, and switched to anchusan, which gradually improved her symptom and led to discontinuation of daikenchuto and anxiolytic. She continued to take it for 7 years, and gradually reduced. She stopped taking medication 2 years later, and has had no recurrence ever since. It suggests that anchusan was effective in warming her latent severe interior cold. We should consider anchusan as a therapeutic candidate for stagnation of qi and interior cold, although it is well known Kampo medicine that is suitable for stomach pain.

Two Cases of Abdominal Distension Successfully Treated with Tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto / 日本東洋医学雑誌

Abdominal distension is one of the common symptoms and can cause abdominal pain and anorexia, which may raise adverse effect on general well-being and quality of life. In Western medicine, there are specialized treatments for structural lesions associated with abdominal distension, but functional abdominal distension is often difficult to treat. There have been some reports of Kampo medicine for treatment of abdominal distension, but no case reports on tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto. We experienced two cases of abdominal distension successfully treated with tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto. Case 1 was 86-year-old woman who developed abdominal distension with frequent belching. Case 2 was 59-year-old man who developed abdominal distension associated with opioid. Regulating qi medicine was not effective for abdominal distension in both cases. Both cases had reversal coldness of the extremities, tympanic sounds of abdomen, coldness of abdomen, and inguinal tenderness and resistance. Therefore, we diagnosed them as tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto sho. After administration of tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto, in Case 1, the frequency of belching decreased and the appetite increased with the improvement of abdominal distension. In Case 2, increasing the dose of goshuyu in tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto relieved abdominal distension. Tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto can be effective for abdominal distension with interior cold pattern.

A Case of Intractable Pruritus of External Auditory Canal Successfully Treated with Tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto / 日本東洋医学雑誌

Pruritus of external auditory canal is often treated with blood-enriching formulation and heat-clearing formula. Here, we report a case of intractable pruritus of external auditory canal successfully treated with tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto, which did not improve with blood-enriching formulation or heat-clearing formula. Our patient was a 52-year-old woman. She had itching in her left ear from the age of 45, and was treated by 5 otolaryngologists, but her symptom did not improve. I treated her with tokiinshi, shofusan, yokukansankachimpihange, unseiin, jumihaidokuto and keishibukuryogankayokuinin, but they had no effect. After reconsideration of sho, she was diagnosed as interior cold pattern, and she had tenderness in groin area. So I treated her with tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto, and her itching disappeared. We should consider interior cold pattern as one of the differential diagnoses of pruritus of external auditory canal.