A thirty-two year old male patient presented with headaches, which occur every evening.  Lately the headaches have been getting quite severe and are only slightly alleviated when he pounds on his head or after taking analgesics. When asked when the headaches started he mentioned that he works as a driver, and last summer when the weather was extremely hot, he would often drink iced soft drinks or beer on his breaks. Initially there was no problem but once the autumn arrived, the headaches began. I asked aside from the headaches, where else he felt discomfort. He mentioned that he also had black spots in his vision, and would get disorientated at times.  His complexion was soot black, his tongue was pale and tender with a wet, slippery coating, and his pulse was deep, wiry, and moderate. This is a pattern of yáng vacuity with water exuberance, and turbid yīn scurrying upwards. When clear yáng is clouded there is dizziness, and when there is struggle between yīn and yáng, this will result in headaches.

Formula:

fù zǐ (Aconiti Radix lateralis preparata) 12g

shēng jiāng (Zingiberis Rhizoma recens) 12g

fú líng (Poria) 18g

bái zhú (Atractylodis macrocephalae Rhizoma) 9g

zhì gān cǎo (Glycyrrhizae Radix preparata) 6g

bái sháo (Paeoniae Radix alba) 9g

guì zhī (Cinnamomi Ramulus) 6g

After six packages of the above formula his headaches had decreased substantially. He was then given four packages of líng guì zhú gān tāng (Poria, Cinnamon Twig, Atractylodes, and Licorice Decoction) to consolidate the treatment, and afterwards his condition completely resolved.