Herbs and Dosages

[Guest guest]

Hi, I am still getting my feet wet as a new practitioner prescribing

formulas outside of the school clinic, so please forgive me for this

seemingly simple question: I seem pretty comfortable with my ability

to diagnose, and relatively comfortable with my ability to choose

appropriate herbs, but lacking confidence in my ability to know what

dosages to use for each herb.

 

Let me give an example: Let's say that I was prescribing a formula

with Wu Yao in it. Let's say my main focus was to clear dampcold in

the lower jiao, but I wanted to add some Dang Gui to protect the

blood from the drying herbs. On the one hand I would think that I

should have a higher dose of Wu Yao than of Dang Gui because clearing

dampcold is my main focus. But on the other hand, when I look in my

herbal books I see that Dang Gui is given somewhere around 10 to 20

grams a day, whereas Wu Yao is prescribed at somewhere around 3 to 5

grams a day (this is a guess--I'm at home and my books are at my

clinic). So from that point of view I think that I should prescribe

a higher dose of Dang Gui. Which is the more accurate way to

prescribe?

 

Advice anyone?

 

Thanks a million, Laura