Mu fang ji tang
shi gao 18 ren shen 12 fang ji 9 gui zhi 6
Propping rheum in the diaphragm can manifest with panting, fullness, glomus and hardening below the heart, a soot-black facial complexion, and sunken tight pulses. This can last for dozens of days and it cannot be resolved by ejection or purgation. Mu fang ji tang is indicated. The deficiency pattern will resolve immediately, and the excess pattern will resume in three days; however, application of the same prescription will not be effective. Mu fang ji qu shi gao jia fu ling mang xiao tang is then recommended.
Move water, dissipate binds, recover yin, and calm counter flow. It treats rheum collection in the region of the diaphragm with gasping, fullness, and glomus in the epigastrium. The patient suffers from yang qi vacuity and thus cannot move water which collects in the chest.
In mu fang ji tang the heat is causing panting, once the heat is cleared using mu fang ji tang the pattern may not resolve so think about clearing it out with fu ling and mang xiao.
Shi gao, Gypsum is pungent dispersing of heat in the stomach domain and lung. It is sweet nourishing of the stomach, spleen, and lung. It is pungent cold dispersing of the yang channels: tai yang, yang ming, shao yang. It saves yin and blood by clearing heat.
Very cold pungent and sweet shi gao clears the qi layer heat, clears internal heat in the shao yang and yang ming channels. Purges excess yang ming or qi layer channel fire with pungent dispersing and cools heat with cool sweetness.
Ren shen, Ginseng radix is sweet tonifying and nourishing of the spleen, lungs, heart, and kidney. It nourishes yin fluids and therefore is the foremost qi and yin tonic.
Ren shen strengthens tai yin qi to push the invading heat and water outwards. It tonifies qi and strengthens the middle to prevent damage from purging herbs by mildly moistening.
Fang ji, Stephaniae radix is pungent dispersing of the lung, spleen, bladder and kidney. It is bitter draining of fluids in the lung, spleen, bladder and kidney.
Fang ji is pungent and neutral. It eliminates dampness while also clearing accumulated heat due to stagnation.
Gui zhi, Cinnamomi cassiae ramulus is pungent sweet and warm dispersing of the imperial and ministerial fire. It warms and tonifies the shao yin and jue yin. In doing so it warms and tonifies the whole body.
Gui zhi is the main herb to restore the water metabolism of the tai yang fu organ. It warms the yang on the bladder channel and promotes the transformation of kidney qi as vapor from the stored fluids of the bladder.