The tongue body was slightly red, and the tongue fur was yellow and slimy. The pulse was slippery and rapid. Five ji were prescribed. After taking the prescription, the chest oppression lessened, the appetite improved, the mouth bitterness disappeared, and the penis became vigorous. The patient was capable of an erection but not for a prolonged period of time.
Impotence is an illness which is usually associated with kidney vacuity.
Although this patient had repeatedly supplemented the kidney and invigorated yang, there were no good results. This patient s symptoms were chest oppression with desire to vomit, a bitter and sticky taste in the mouth, no pleasure in eating, slimy tongue fur, and a slippery pulse, a group of symptoms typical of phlegm heat. Therefore, using Wen Dan Tang to clear and transform phlegm heat, together with Kang Wei Ling , the two formulas drain and free the flow of qi and blood, enabling the turbid phlegm to be dispelled and the heat to be cleared. As a result, the spirit mind was no longer encumbered, the flow of qi and blood was promoted, and the patient regained his ability to achieve an erection. Hence the illness was cured.