Heartburn

[Guest guest]

I would like to get people's opinions on treating 'heartburn'. People

use this term all the time to describe a burning sensation in the throat

or chest, usually around food, either when too hungry or after eating

(especially the 'wrong' foods for that person). I'm not entirely sure

what this disorder encompases in Western medicine: gastritis, GERD /

reflux, ? I assume this would be diagnosed as 'wei tong' (stomach pain)

in TCM. Sometimes I wonder if it could be included in some of the

'chest lock' or 'uncomfortable feeling under the epigastrium'

catagories. I think there were some Shang Han Lun formulas for treating

uncomfortable feelings under the heart (shao yin syndromes?).

 

Prilosec is one of the top perscribed drugs in the US for heartburn, and

I'm sure we all see this quite often in clinic. I would say the

patients can have quite diverse patterns. One of my teachers said it is

usually due to Cold Damp or Cold Xu (I assume Sp Yang Xu). I've tried a

few different formulas, like zuo jin wan and xiang fu li zhong wan,

various hai piao xiao / gui ban mixtures, but I would say I haven't been

too sucessful. In particular, I have a patient with heartburn that has

cramping in their left elbow and left knee when they get too hungry,

with spasms in their chest and a fluttering sensation that runs down to

their anus. Tongue is pale, dry, thin white coat. Pulse is a bit

slippery. Energy, appetite, bowels are all WNL (!). If that provokes

any thoughts of where to look, please share.

 

cheers,

Geoff