Western Pharmaceutical

• [Antibiotics] After antibiotics — six stages: Antibiotics for Tai Yang conditions leave residual damp/cold and latency; prevent progression with Bai Hu Tang (Yang Ming) or Xiao Chai Hu Tang (Shao Yang). (Lewis)
• [Western drugs (general)] Approach to Western drugs: Analyze a drug's energetics, then replace its action with CM, enhance it, or relieve side effects; taper only when reasonable and with the prescribing team. (Lewis)
• Bitter melon, fenugreek, chromium picolinate, chlorophyll: Regulate blood sugar and reduce insulin resistance before medication. (Lewis)
• [Chemotherapy] Chemotherapy support: Purge the bowels to release drug toxicity, tonify spleen and upright qi, warm cold, cool heat, move qi/blood, drain damp; Gui Pi Wan modified suits some. (Lewis) → Cancer
• [Statins] Cholesterol patterns: Yang-excess cholesterol (yin deficiency, heat): nourish yin, antioxidants, butter/ghee/coconut; yin-excess (spleen/kidney yang deficiency, damp): low-fat diet, exercise, omega-3s, green tea; statins damage liver yin/blood. (Lewis) → Hyperlipoproteinemia
• [Corticosteroids] Corticosteroids: Suppress immunity; counter by tonifying kidney and spleen qi, resolving damp, rooting Mingmen fire, working with San Jiao. (Lewis)
• [Anticholinergics] Death rattle & anticholinergics: Anticholinergics for the death rattle dry eyes and mouth and treat the family's discomfort; offer sips and moisten the lips with a mouth sponge instead. (Lewis) → Death and Dying
• [NSAIDs] Du Huo Ji Sheng Tang (for injury): Acupuncture, lots of moxa and Du Huo Ji Sheng Tang (plus collagen support) can treat injury instead of NSAIDs/ice. (Lewis) → Du Huo Ji Sheng Tang
• [Corticosteroids] Eczema + food sensitivities cluster: Usually stomach, lung and large intestine heat with spleen qi deficiency; root kidney yang and clear heat. Steroids dampen yang response but don't root kidney yang. (Lewis) → Eczema, Atopic Dermatitis
• Electrolytes in TCM terms: Low potassium: yin tonics, fruit and vegetables; high sodium: ascendant liver yang, so subdue yang and tonify kidney yin; low chloride: spleen yang deficiency with damp; high calcium: cool blood heat. (Lewis)
• Fu Ling / Zhu Ling / Che Qian Zi: Damp-draining herbs for high potassium where kidneys aren't grasping qi to promote urination. (Lewis) → Che Qian Zi, Zhu Ling, Fu Ling
• High transferrin: Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan + Chi Shao, Mu Dan Pi: High transferrin with low iron = yin-deficient heat: use a heat-clearing yin-nourishing formula plus Chi Shao and Mu Dan Pi, with iron/vitamin C. (Lewis) → Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan, Mu Dan Pi, Chi Shao
• [Statins] Hyperlipidemia / statins: Treat the pattern, not cholesterol; support statin tapering with niacin, red yeast rice, omega-3s, green tea and enzymes, one change per week. (Lewis) → Hyperlipoproteinemia
• [Levothyroxine (thyroid hormone)] Levothyroxine invigorates yang: Side effects are heat/excess yang; treat the underlying pattern (often liver qi stagnation, kidney yang, spleen qi, heart blood), harmonize liver, and slowly wean with the physician. (Lewis) → Hypothyroidism
• Magnesium: Cooling, clears heart heat, harmonizes heart-kidney axis and Chong Mai. (Lewis)
• [NSAIDs, Narcotics/opioids, Anxiolytics] Pain relief preferences — acupuncture first: Offer choices (acupuncture, herbs, oils, moxa, massage, then NSAIDs, narcotics, anxiolytics); acupuncture first line; end-of-life anxiety often somatizes as pain. (Lewis) → Death and Dying
• [Analgesics (pain relievers)] Pain relievers = dampness / cold in the liver: Teacher's understanding of analgesics' energetics. (Lewis)
• [Psychedelics (psilocybin, ayahuasca, peyote), Marijuana, Morphine] Psychedelics and the hun: Psilocybin, ayahuasca, peyote, marijuana, morphine deactivate the liver/hun → memory gaps; prefers shen-calming formulas over running from pain. (Yuen) → Altered States
• [Narcotics, Psilocybin] Psychedelics open the Pericardium (teacher's view): Narcotics blanket the psyche (Liver); hallucinogens like psilocybin seem to open the heart/pericardium and arouse the Hun, hence their use for end-of-life anxiety. (Lewis) → Death and Dying, Altered States
• Quercetin / lysine (supplements): Quercetin a favorite multi-purpose anti-inflammatory; lysine suppresses EBV (which loves arginine) and helps other herpes viruses. (Ross)
• SP-21 Dabao / SP-10 Xuehai: Raised sodium with high hematocrit/MCV and normal kidney markers means a damp spleen, not the heart — treat with SP-21 and SP-10. (Yuen) → SP-21 Dabao, SP-10 Xuehai
• Supplements by energetics: CoQ10 = antioxidant = clears heat; vitamin E = anti-inflammatory; turmeric cools the blood. (Gioioso)
• [Thyroid hormone (levothyroxine)] Thyroid: Usually yang/qi deficiency (kidney, spleen or heart) plus check liver qi stagnation; thyroid often normalizes; doesn't wean thyroid hormone while trying to conceive. (Lewis) → Hypothyroidism, Infertility
• [Letrozole] Vitex vs Letrozole: Vitex increases yang; letrozole depletes yin and raises yang; neither treats underlying yin/yuan qi deficiency — tonify yin, qi and blood first. (Lewis)
• White blood cells = Wei Qi: WBCs are equivalent to wei qi, linked to lung, kidney and spleen qi. (Yuen)
• [Aspirin] Willow bark (aspirin origin): Willow grows in damp swampy places and so treats dampness/stickiness (sugar, cholesterol, fungus), explaining why baby aspirin also lowers cholesterol. (Yuen)
• [Birth control pill] Xiao Yao San / Jia Wei Xiao Yao San: Pattern-specific liver-harmonizing options for re-establishing cycle rhythm (e.g. after stopping the pill); custom tea for ~3 months. (Lewis) → Jia Wei Xiao Yao San (Dan Zhi Xiao Yao San), Xiao Yao San