The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 114

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 114

Song Jongman was already swaying when he entered the examination room.

He was having such difficulty controlling his own body that Lee Juhyeok had to hold his arm to help him in.

I first asked about the dizziness, which was the most problematic symptom.

“What kind of dizziness are you experiencing? Is it more uncomfortable because you can’t maintain balance? Or is the nauseous feeling stronger?”

“I have both, but the nausea is more severe.”

“Do you have no appetite at all? If no one tells you to eat, do you not think about food at all?”

“Um… Yes. I only eat because I feel like I’ll die if I don’t.”

“Your digestion isn’t good either, right?”

“It’s not that I get indigestion. I don’t eat enough for that anyway. Even eating a little makes me feel full quickly, and I can’t tell if the food is going down or not.”

I recorded the main symptoms in detail.

Like most cases of dizziness, it would be reasonable to attribute this to phlegm-dampness in traditional Korean medicine pathology.

This is a pathological byproduct that occurs during the body’s fluid metabolism – simply put, waste products.

When it goes to the head, it causes dizziness, and in the digestive system, it induces nausea.

“You mentioned you constantly feel like vomiting. How many times have you actually vomited?”

“When I first started taking the medication, I threw up two or three times… but that was probably just a problem with the drug’s effectiveness. Since then, I’ve been holding it back as much as possible.”

So the nausea is severe, but he can endure the vomiting if he tries.

I also asked about additional symptoms.

“Are you sleeping well?”

“It’s somewhat light sleep. I wake up sometimes too. Oh, but sleeping is better. Even if I don’t sleep deeply, the nausea I feel when awake lessens when I lie still with my eyes closed and rest.”

“I see.”

I nodded. Among digestion, sleep, and excretion – the foundations of human metabolism – it was truly fortunate that at least sleep was relatively good.

“Do you sweat a lot?”

“Yes, somewhat.”

“Did you always sweat a lot? Or did it get worse after starting chemotherapy?”

“Originally, I was fine except when using the sauna or exercising. Since starting chemotherapy, cold sweat just pours out. Especially from my head.”

“Ah…”

This is quite bad.

Pathologically, sweating profusely while at rest means the qi is so deficient that it cannot control the pores, causing body fluids to leak out.

“How are your bowel movements and urination? Are they frequent, or do they not come out well? Do you tend toward diarrhea or constipation?”

“There doesn’t seem to be any major problem. Though the amount of stool has decreased since I’m not eating much.”

“Let me check your pulse.”

I pulled my chair closer to Song Jongman and took his wrist.

Looking closely, cold sweat was flowing down his forehead even now. In contrast, his hands were dry and even slightly cold. His circulation wasn’t working at all.

“Do you have heart palpitations too?”

“Slightly.”

“Dry mouth?”

“Oh, when I wake up, my mouth is completely parched. I crave water during the day too. I don’t drink too much though, worried it might be dangerous going to the restroom.”

“Please drink plenty of water. To expel the phlegm-dampness and improve the dizziness, you need to drink lots of water and excrete it through urine so fluid metabolism becomes smooth.”

“Phlegm-dampness?”

I gave a brief explanation about phlegm-dampness.

Since the concept that fluid metabolism is very important and that one should drink lots of water to expel waste products wasn’t too difficult to understand, Song Jongman readily accepted it.

“Sometimes it can even cause depression. Well… you have enough reason to feel down even without phlegm-dampness.”

“Haha.”

“You seem to have some neurasthenic tendencies from what I can see. How do you feel subjectively? Are emotional fluctuations like depression or anxiety severe?”

Song Jongman thought for a moment before speaking.

“I am depressed since I’m constantly sick. I also have some anxiety about whether I might collapse and crack my head open.”

“That will improve too. Once you regain your energy and the dizziness gets better.”

“If only that could happen, nothing would be better.”

Song Jongman smiled faintly.

Though he said he would maintain his will and continue treatment, he didn’t seem to have high expectations for herbal medicine yet.

But that actually put me at ease.

It would be far better for him to gradually feel the treatment effects in his body rather than having excessive expectations, getting disappointed, and losing his will.

“From when I heard the main symptoms, I was thinking of two prescriptions. Banhabaekchulcheonma-tang, which is a famous medicine for dizziness, and Jaeumgeonbi-tang.”

“Banhabaekchulcheonma-tang?”

Professor Lee Juhyeok showed a reaction.

This was the prescription I had used for the patient among those he had previously sent who had shown the most dramatic improvement in dizziness.

“Yes. It’s the medicine I used for Jeon Suyeong.”

“I remember because the name is unique. It sounds like something from a martial arts novel.”

Um…

That cheonma is not the same as cheonma .

Does this professor also read martial arts novels?

“Both are medicines used when digestive disorders are accompanied by dizziness and headaches, and Banbaekcheon is the first choice.”

“Like a standard guideline?”

There isn’t such a thing, but it’s roughly similar.

“Yes. It contains various medicinal ingredients that can expel phlegm-dampness. It works for everyone from people who are dizzy simply from lack of energy without any particular cause to those with conditions like benign paroxysmal positional vertigo or Ménière’s disease. It was also quite effective for chemotherapy side effects.”

“Oh.”

“But in Song Jongman’s case, having just checked his pulse, the sinking and weakness is much greater than the phlegm-dampness. In this case, he would need much more tonifying medicine than what’s included in Banbaekcheon.”

The representative pulse pattern indicating phlegm-dampness is the slippery pulse.

In cases where phlegm-dampness suddenly clumps together and blocks metabolism, like in patients with acute indigestion, this pulse is very prominent.

However, in cases like Song Jongman where qi and blood are extremely depleted, the pulse is too weak for specific patterns to be clearly detected.

In such cases, the priority was to supply nutrition with qi-tonifying formulas and boost energy so the body could fight on its own. Of course, directly removing phlegm-dampness was also necessary.

“Jaeumgeonbi-tang has strengths in tonifying qi and blood, plus it includes herbs like Poria, Poria with Pine Root, and Polygala that calm the mind, so it would be much more helpful. However, since he sweats a lot and is undergoing chemotherapy, I’ll add Astragalus separately as it’s particularly helpful for neutrophil recovery.”

Song Jongman, who had been nodding his head while listening to my words, soon held his head as even that seemed to make him dizzy.

I waited for him to calm down for a moment before continuing my explanation.

“I usually prescribe medicine for a month at a time, but since you said Western medicine didn’t work well either, it would be better to take it for just ten days first and adjust the dosage. For now, I’ll slightly increase only the herbs related to dizziness from the original prescription to see how it goes, and I’ll re-prescribe after ten days based on the changes.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Do you have any questions, or are there any other uncomfortable symptoms besides what I asked about?”

“No, not particularly… Oh, do I continue taking the herbal medicine during the break period too?”

“Yes. During the break period when symptoms are milder, we need to build up your strength as much as possible so you can endure the next treatment. Are you worried about your liver levels?”

Song Jongman tried to shake his head but was stopped by Professor Lee Juhyeok telling him to stay still.

“You don’t need to worry about liver levels. Since you’re scheduled to be hospitalized at our hospital, we’ll do blood tests regularly. We’ll monitor you and let you know if anything abnormal develops.”

“Oh, you’re scheduled for hospitalization?”

“This guy’s condition is no joke. I don’t know how his wife managed to care for him alone when he can barely control his body like this.”

Professor Lee Juhyeok shook his head in genuine disbelief.

“I wanted to be hospitalized too! Nobody told me to do it, so I just thought we were supposed to keep going back and forth like that.”

“I mean, who goes to Korea University Hospital and-“

“Sorry! It’s all my fault!”

He definitely seemed more energetic when talking with his friend Professor Lee Juhyeok.

Depending on the patient, outpatient treatment can be better than hospitalization, but in Song Jongman’s case, it definitely seemed like it would be good for Professor Lee Juhyeok to keep monitoring him as his attending physician.

“If your symptoms change rapidly or if abnormalities appear in tests that might require adjusting the herbal medicine, just call me right away.”

“Ah, I’ll do that. Thank you for taking special care.”

Professor Lee Juhyeok smiled and stood up from his seat.

“I’ll send over his chart next time you come. Please continue to take good care of my friend. It was nice meeting you like this.”

“Yes. Please get home safely. Song Jongman, I’ll see you in ten days.”

* * *

Lee Juhyeok told Song Jongman to just continue his chemotherapy at his hospital.

He said it would be much better to keep the entire process from start to finish under his management while hospitalized.

“The surgery went well, and the treatment was decided to be XELOX anyway, so we’ll go with that. All we’re doing is putting in an IV and giving medicine – how different could it be?”

There was absolutely nothing to argue with. Even if the person inserting the IV changed, nothing would be different at all, and it would be much more comfortable for Song Jongman to receive treatment in Busan rather than having his wife accompany him every time and suffer.

“So from the 5th cycle onward, here? That’s okay to do, right?”

“Most doctors don’t like it, but what can you do? I have to do it.”

Lee Juhyeok emphasized that issues of responsibility and cost were complexly intertwined, and he was giving special consideration because it was him.

“Thank you.”

Song Jongman’s face contorted.

He didn’t want to show weakness to this guy of all people, but Lee Juhyeok was helping him in every way possible.

“Take your medicine properly, and call me right away if anything happens.”

The hospitalization process went quickly.

Since it was urgent, there weren’t many rooms left so he was assigned to a 6-bed room, but it was much better than standing anxiously in the Korea University Hospital waiting room.

The herbal medicine arrived at the hospital the very next day.

“How is it, honey?”

“Well, it seems a little more comfortable, maybe.”

From the first day, the dizziness and anxiety right after taking the medicine were slightly less.

Was it just his imagination? It might be.

There would be a placebo effect, and he was also reassured by the thought that someone would rush over to treat him if anything happened.

“Oh honey. It’s okay, it’s okay! I still have lots of clothes to change into. Just relax and meet your friend~”

Then after 5 days passed, he definitely felt something different.

When he took medicine, he used to feel extremely nauseous and want to vomit, but this feeling was significantly reduced to less than half.

Song Jongman gradually regained his former composure.

“Next time you come, could you buy some seaweed soup from the convenience store?”

Food also went down a little better.

– I’ll cook it and bring it to you!

Home-cooked food and hospital food all felt like the same combat rations, and he had no desire to eat anything at all.

But he gradually started having thoughts about wanting specific foods.

“Honey, isn’t it hard being alone? Let’s properly tell the kids too.”

Somehow the Korean Medicine Doctor’s initial words stuck in his mind, and he felt he should open up to his sons.

Since he was going to get better anyway.

He hadn’t wanted to shock his child who had a promotion exam coming up… but maybe that was actually a selfish thought.

When the sons heard the news, they immediately came down to Busan.

Since only one person could visit at a time, the brothers argued over who would visit first, so Song Jongman just came out on leave altogether.

“Father, how could you hide something like this until now!”

“Look how thin you’ve gotten. Oh my…!”

“Enough. Stop the useless talk and just help support me.”

Leaning on his eldest son’s shoulder and tightly grasping his wife’s hand, he was no longer afraid.

When his wife was making a fuss alone, he felt anxious and sorry, but with all three of his sons making a commotion, it was just noisy.

“Father, please get better so we can take a cruise trip together…!”

“Stop chattering and let’s get going!”

It hadn’t been a full ten days yet, but coming two days early shouldn’t be a problem.

Song Jongman came to the Traditional Korean Medicine Clinic that had helped him regain his energy like this.

“Your complexion looks much better?”

The Korean Medicine Doctor immediately noticed Song Jongman’s change.

“Your dizziness has lessened!”

“Just lessened?”

Song Jongman smiled brightly as he talked about his symptoms.

“The paroxysmal dizziness right after taking medicine and the nausea I wanted to throw up have gotten so much better. Even when I’m just walking like this, as long as someone supports me, I’m fine. Originally, I felt like I would suddenly spin around and collapse as the strength left my arms and legs, but I have much more energy now.”

“That’s really fortunate. Last time, you were swaying from the moment you entered the examination room, so I was very worried.”

“Oh my, Father…!”

“You be quiet for a bit. Still, thanks to you, I’m somehow managing to hold on.”

“You’ll continue to overcome this well. Your balance has stabilized, and I can see your mental fortitude has strengthened too.”

It hadn’t even been ten days, yet the period when he felt like he was dying seemed distant now.

At this rate, would he be able to walk in alone for his next treatment?

“Thank you for the encouragement. Until I receive a complete recovery diagnosis, I’ll trust and follow only the Clinic Director and Juhyeok.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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