True Warrior Decoction

True Warrior Decoction

Poria (Fu Ling) 3 liang (9g), Paeoniae Radix Alba (Shao Yao) 3 liang (9g), Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (Bai Zhu) 2 liang (6g), Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens (Sheng Jiang) 3 liang (9g), Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata (Fu Zi) 1 piece (9g)

Prepare as a decoction and drink while it is warm.

Warms yang and promotes urination.

Zhen Wu Tang is indicated for edema due to yang deficiency. The symptoms are fear of cold, cold limbs, urination disturbance, palpitations under the heart, dizziness, muscular twitching, unsteady standing, pain and heaviness of four limbs, edema especially below the waist, abdominal pain, diarrhea, cough, asthma, vomiting and nausea. The tongue is pale and enlarged with teeth-marks with white and glossy coating, and the pulse is deep and thready.

Zhen Wu Tang is the fundamental formula used to treat an overflow of water-dampness caused by deficiency of spleen-kidney yang. The spleen restricts water and the kidney governs water. Spleen yang deficiency leads to dysfunction of the transformation and transportation of water, while kidney yang deficiency leads to the dysfunction of dispersion and distribution of water. Both lead to water retention in the interior. Kidney yang deficiency leads to cold-water retention in the interior with urination disturbance. Furthermore, water-dampness spills over and diffuses into the limbs to cause heaviness and pain of the limbs and swelling of the body and limbs. Water-dampness pours downward into the bowels to cause abdominal pain and diarrhea. It rushes up to the lung and stomach to cause coughing and vomiting and when it invades the heart there are palpitations. Water-dampness blocks the middle jiao which inhibits the clear yang from rising and causes dizziness. If there is too much sweat loss that occurs when inducing sweat-promotion in a taiyang syndrome, yin and yang might be consumed. The result is a loss of warmth and fluid invasion into the muscles and tendons causing muscular twitching and unsteadiness while standing. For water overflowing due to yang deficiency, the therapeutic methods are to warm yang and promote urination.

1. Essential pattern differentiation Zhen Wu Tang is the basic formula used to warm yang and promote urination. This clinical pattern is marked by urination disturbance, heaviness or swelling of body and limbs, pale and enlarged tongue, white coating, deep pulse. 2. Modern applications This formula may be used in the following biomedically defined disorders when the patient shows signs of spleen-kidney yang deficiency with retention of water-dampness: chronic glomerulonephritis, cardiac edema, hypothyroidism, chronic bronchitis, chronic enteritis, and tuberculosis of the intestines.

Fu Zi Tang (Aconite Decoction 附子湯)