In TCM Treatment, One Must Not Treat One Drug With Another
Some patients develop symptoms after taking medicine and then take another drug to treat the symptoms caused by the first—this is treating one drug with another. In treating disease, TCM should not treat one drug with another.
Patients often tell me, in conversation, that they have a series of discomforts; if I trace them to the root, many turn out to be reactions after taking prescriptions from earlier doctors. Unless these reactions are clearly identified, the doctor who prescribes next will easily end up merely treating the side effects caused by the previous doctor's drugs—which does not help the next doctor understand the patient's true cause.
Therefore, during my inquiry I often dig to the bottom, asking the patient which symptoms were present at the onset and which appeared after taking which formula or which Western drug. Chinese patients do not have the habit of keeping medical records; when a physician tries to understand the patient's specific situation, he inevitably lacks knowledge of the patient's prior condition, and prescribing hastily greatly reduces efficacy.
As a patient, one should recognize that medical records are critical documents on which one's life depends; keeping them completely and properly is very important. That is why I often ask patients to photocopy their records for me to keep on file for reference. When tracing the patient's cause, these materials are needed. Only after ruling out various interfering factors can one know where the patient's true cause lies. And only thus can one write an effective prescription.
Therefore, when a physician sees a patient, the patient should begin submitting the various records at the time of booking, so that the doctor can do some research and preparation. By the time of the actual visit, the physician is well prepared, understands the patient's basic situation, and during the inquiry can gather more detailed information; only after synthesizing all this can the judgment be as accurate as possible.