The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 230

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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 230

Im Juweon and her mother sat side by side in the examination room.

I first asked Im Juweon how she had been.

“How have you been? Have there been any changes?”

“Ah, that day I studied with a clear head. From the next day on… I haven’t been sleeping during the day so far. Other things are similar, but I think I’ll get better now, right?”

Since she had only received acupuncture once, there wouldn’t be much change, but she scratched her head saying that whether it was her imagination or not, she felt good in various ways.

Just having expectations for treatment was very positive.

“Did you tell your daughter about the depression?”

“Yes. I also looked at the diagnostic criteria together with Juweon.”

“Do you agree as well, Mother?”

Im Juweon’s mother nodded with a bitter smile.

“Yes. It seems treatment is necessary. I only believed she would do well, and I’m sorry for not understanding until now.”

Since Im Juweon had already conveyed everything I had said, I simply explained the treatment plan.

The first treatment method is regulating qi, that is, treating what is stagnant, and calming the spirit, that is, putting the mind at ease.

Once this part is resolved, I would use tonics to boost energy.

“I’ll use a medicine called Shiho-ka-ryukotsu-borei-to.”

It was a prescription I had used on Baeksa before. At that time, the severity was much worse, so I used double the amount.

Insomnia and hypersomnia.

The sleep patterns appear opposite, but the fundamental cause is the same.

One must not use drugs that focus only on excessive sleep and forcibly induce wakefulness.

Ultimately, the body responds to heart fire, causing mental and physical tension.

In Baeksa’s case, sympathetic nervous system hyperactivity itself caused wakefulness.

For Im Juweon, after using excessive energy while awake, sleep occurred as a stress avoidance mechanism.

“What kind of medicine is it?”

Since her mother was curious, I explained each medicinal ingredient.

“The most important medicine is bupleurum. In traditional Korean medicine terms, it releases stagnant liver qi, but simply put, you can think of it as calming the anger caused by stress. Scutellaria used together reduces heat in the upper body and reduces inflammatory reactions.”

“Ah…”

“And dragon bone and oyster shell are representative spirit-calming medicines used for depression.”

There are various medicinal materials for calming the spirit.

If I were to list the medicines from old medical texts in order of severity, it would be cinnabar, magnetite, dragon teeth, dragon bone, and oyster shell.

Of course, mineral medicines are as dangerous as they are effective.

When treating Baeksa, I considered using cinnabar a bit, but as a modern person, I couldn’t bring myself to use mercury components and put in double the amount of dragon bone and oyster shell. Well, later at the Tang Family, they used refined cinnabar well.

Anyway, for Im Juweon’s treatment, the much safer dragon bone and oyster shell are sufficient.

“Since energy is very lacking and depleted, I’ll also supplement vitality with ginseng. A medicinal material called poria is good for depression and also helps with smooth water metabolism. Other ingredients like ginger, jujube, and licorice can be thought of as types that help the body accept and harmonize the previous medicinal materials.”

Not only the mother who asked, but Im Juweon also listened to the story with great interest.

“Do you have any more questions?”

“Ah, no.”

“I’m fine…”

Im Juweon, who had been leaning her face forward, panicked and lowered her head, while her mother smiled awkwardly.

Both said they were fine, but the mother kept making eye contact with me. It seemed like she had something she wanted to say.

“You have time today, right? Let’s do acupuncture treatment too.”

“Yes.”

“It would be good if you came once a week. We can check on things, and releasing tension with acupuncture is quite meaningful.”

“Yes, Clinic Director.”

After sending Im Juweon to the treatment room, I asked the guardian again what she wanted to say.

“Please speak comfortably.”

“Ah, thank you. It’s nothing much, but I was worried about whether she doesn’t need to take Western medicine.”

It was definitely something worth considering.

There were very many cases where patients who absolutely needed to take medication avoided psychiatry, refusing to go.

Less common than that, but there were also cases of misuse and dependence on medications that weren’t necessary.

“She doesn’t need to take it. Herbal medicine works much better for depression than you think. Don’t worry.”

For severe depression with suicidal ideation, schizophrenia accompanied by delusional disorders, I sometimes recommend combination therapy.

Since there are many types that are difficult to stop carelessly, even when patients are already taking medication, I don’t immediately recommend discontinuation.

But I was confident in treating Im Juweon’s case, so I recommended not starting.

“Ah, please take good care of her. I’ll trust only you, Clinic Director!”

The guardian’s face brightened considerably.

I nodded, reassuring her.

“But is saying ‘trust’ perhaps a habit of speech? Do you express it that way to your daughter too?”

“Huh? Is that so? I think it might be. Both my husband and I always try to believe in Juweon’s potential.”

Oh no.

It wasn’t bad at all. In normal circumstances.

“That’s good, but when the heart is struggling like now, it could become a burden.”

It was fine for her to trust me, but Im Juweon needed something other than trust.

“Ah…”

“Even if it’s obvious words, even if she’s embarrassed, please express that you love her as she is. That it doesn’t matter how her grades turn out.”

“Ah! That’s really sincere. Even if she said she wanted to drop out today, as long as Juweon is healthy, I’d be okay with it.”

“Yes, please make sure that feeling gets through to her. Don’t take it too seriously yourself, Mother, just take good care of her meals and medicine.”

“Yes, Clinic Director. Thank you for your good advice.”

After finishing the consultation with the guardian, I went to Im Juweon.

“After receiving acupuncture last time, it felt like a hazy fog was lifting.”

Im Juweon put one hand on her forehead and made a gesture of pushing it to the side.

“That’s a good sign. If your eating and sleeping recover like this, you’ll really improve a lot.”

As I always say, diet, sleep, and physical activity were the most important parts of mental health.

“Yes. I’ll do my best. I’ve still been writing in my diary every day. Though it might just be a three-day resolution.”

“A three-day resolution, if that doesn’t work, just make it a five-day resolution. It’s a long battle, so let’s work hard as much as we can.”

After inserting needles in her arms, legs, head, and chest.

“Later today, let’s try cupping with direct bloodletting on your chest area.”

I proceeded with bloodletting at the Danzhong point.

After drawing out the stagnant pathogenic qi along with the blood, Im Juweon’s condition visibly improved again today.

* * *

Although I told her to come for acupuncture treatment at least once a week, Im Juweon went to the Oriental Medicine Clinic almost every day.

Each time she went, she felt like she was getting a little better somehow.

“I think I might be avoiding studying by coming here…”

“Haha, it’s okay to avoid it a little. You came well. I’ll treat you well today too.”

Playing around made her feel too guilty, and sleeping like before would make her illness worse.

But when she went to the Oriental Medicine Clinic, the director welcomed her with a smile, and after going, it seemed like she could study well even if just for a moment.

“What, going to the Oriental Medicine Clinic again today?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s wrong with you!”

“Um… my heart.”

“My heart hurts too!”

“Then you should get treatment too.”

Whether it was thanks to the medicine or because she decided to fix her mindset.

Even her friend’s worries, which she kept thinking were useless… honestly, somewhat pathetic, felt different now.

[Today I studied for 5 hours. I also went to the Oriental Medicine Clinic. I felt stuffy during evening study time, but instead of napping, I walked around the playground once and came back up.]

Though just a line or two, she diligently wrote in her diary.

Writing about what she had accomplished gave her more of a sense of achievement than guilt.

‘Yesterday was 4 hours, today is 5 hours…’

Of course, that didn’t mean she could suddenly study for 14 hours.

Her average concentration time had increased compared to before, but that was it.

Still, by stopping the regret of wasting time when she should have studied 10 more hours, she could concentrate for 4 or 5 hours, and her mind was much more at ease.

At least she corrected a few misconceptions each day.

She memorized what needed to be memorized.

Just improving from the previous day made her feel a little more energetic.

“Juweon, want to learn surfing with Dad this summer?”

“…I’m a senior in high school?”

“Mom thinks yachting looks better~.”

Honestly, she was a little afraid of how her parents would react to the depression story.

But her parents were truly just worried about her.

They were very careful with their words and completely stopped talking about studying and college.

Surfing, yachting. It seemed a little exciting too.

‘They really only wish for my health regardless of what happens with college…’

She was grateful and sorry.

‘No. This is also inappropriate guilt. They told me not to be sorry.’

Im Juweon erased the apologetic feelings and expressed only the remaining one.

“Thank you for telling me to get medicine right away. I’m getting much better. You don’t need to worry anymore.”

Im Juweon wasn’t particularly depressed before or now, but.

“Huuuuung! Juweon!”

For some reason, her mother burst into tears.

* * *

As expected, Im Juweon’s treatment progress was good.

She was active in acupuncture treatment, and her excessive sleeping was being corrected well.

Her appetite was gradually returning, and seeing her say that the cold air felt refreshing because the weather was cold, it seemed her interest in the world would soon appear and her lethargy would recover.

“How satisfying~.”

Meanwhile, the project proposed by Saudi Arabia had also progressed a lot.

They talked about lineups and such, but in the end, PK was the one that rushed in saying they would definitely do it. After going to their headquarters for an official briefing, they even signed a contract.

They planned to proceed with development so it could be used both in domestic Oriental Medicine Clinics and overseas in pharmaceutical form.

Korean Medicine Doctors who could work there could be recruited slowly.

“■■■■■■. ■■■■■■.”

“He says his headache was cured by divine grace, and he looks forward to meeting again.”

The prince stopped by the Oriental Medicine Clinic once more just before returning to his country.

At least he accepted my request to please come quietly, so there were no reporters.

Since I couldn’t treat patients due to security and escort personnel, I declined that and just made a separate appointment on a holiday and opened the 3rd floor.

Thinking about the check, this level of overtime work is nothing.

‘But does he really mean he’ll come back again?’

Since I didn’t know the culture well, I couldn’t distinguish whether it was a ceremonial greeting or not.

Anyway, I’m glad his headache got better.

And so the prince returned to his country.

It wasn’t long after I felt relieved.

– Clinic Director, you’ve become even more famous in such a short time!

I received a call from a junior at my alma mater.

Park Jun? Who was that? Ah, he was the male student who raised his hand and said he wanted to get a job at our Oriental Medicine Clinic when I went to give a lecture before.

“I didn’t intend it at all, but it turned out that way. Did you graduate?”

– No! I’m about to enter my 4th year!

Ah, he has one more year left. Then it’s not about job solicitation.

What’s this about?

– I saw that Prince Bin Amir visited, and I also saw that you caught hat scammers while doing volunteer work.

“The former was so noisy that I understand, but you even heard about the hat scam ring?”

– Professor Lee Minseok mentioned it during class.

…How on earth did that guy find out.

I didn’t particularly tell Kim Chunsik either?

Did the article come out bigger than expected?

Come to think of it, I haven’t seen it yet. I asked them to send it so I could post it at the clinic, but there’s been no word from that reporter until now.

– You’re totally a superhuman on a white horse.

What on earth did they write. I clearly explained that I came down the cliff normally.

I decided to check as soon as I hung up the phone.

“I… see. So, what did you call about?”

I did leave my contact information saying it was okay to call, but surely he didn’t call just to talk about this?

When I asked directly, Park Jun finally brought up the main point.

– You went to other schools’ events too, so could you come to our volunteer club once as well!

“Ah.”

I wondered what it was about, and it was asking me to accompany volunteer activities at my alma mater.

“Where is it?”

The alumni association manages where graduates get jobs or open practices.

These kinds of requests are usually made to seniors who are nearby. Since I opened a practice in Busan, this was the first time I received a request from my alma mater.

Our school went to quite a lot of places, didn’t it?

We went to the countryside on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, and even took a boat to Ulleungdo once.

If it’s a distant place like the latter, it might be a bit difficult.

“Yeoju!”

Fortunately, it was a place I could easily reach by car.

There are subway stations and terminals there too. That area is a city, but if you go out just a little, rural rice fields spread out.

It’s an area I know quite well, hmm.

It’s an area where I lived for a few years when I was staying at my relatives’ house.

‘Hmm, I really never went back once.’

It’s not exactly a hometown I miss terribly, but it’s still a place with its own memories and nostalgia.

Wouldn’t it be bad to go and come back on this occasion?

From what I remember, that area didn’t have an enormous number of patients either.

I could think of it as half travel, half healing.

“Shall we go?”

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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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