Merchant and doctor

Chapter 2005: Trust between doctors and patients has prerequisites.
Since meeting Bian Mu, Dr. Ning has been dedicated to learning and diligently studying, resulting in a significant improvement in her medical skills. She can now handle many milder but more complex cases with ease. While she still has some shortcomings in areas such as geriatrics, orthopedics, and psychosomatic medicine, she has gradually reached the level of a top-tier doctor in other fields. Her reputation in gynecology and pediatrics is growing, and she has a constant stream of patients seeking her services.

Dr. Ning was caught off guard by a patient she was completely helpless with, and she couldn't accept it for a while.

After Bian Mu subtly hinted at something, Dr. Ning seemed to understand.

"Thinking back now, his eyes did indeed have a somewhat effeminate quality. At the time, I was wondering how a man with such big, delicate eyes could have so many minor ailments. It turns out... it means that yin is dominant and yang is weak, and the body's energy is constantly driven by yin energy. At his age... he was already starting to show signs of yin increasing and yang decreasing. With both of these factors combined... oh! No wonder... how did you figure that out?" Dr. Ning asked with a smile.

"Look here, when this patient is emotionally agitated, his blood pressure rises, showing very obvious symptoms of hypertension. Some doctors suggested medication to correct it, while others advised him to observe further. Later, he first took Western antihypertensive drugs, which resulted in two major symptoms: palpitations and profuse sweating! Later, he switched to traditional Chinese medicine, but the symptoms persisted—still palpitations and excessive sweating. There's something he didn't explain in detail. Actually, I suspect that after taking the traditional Chinese medicine, the palpitations worsened, while the sweating should have subsided. This subtle change wasn't noticed by his family in time, nor was it mentioned in his chief complaint. That means that palpitations and excessive sweating are just his subjective symptoms, so our treatment focus shouldn't be on them. However, his actual feelings suggest that we need to investigate further, starting with the deficiency of Yin Qi." Bian Mu pulled out a copy of the medical record, pointed to it, and explained with a smile.

"Oh... Yin 'sun'... Yin 'yu', although it's only a one-word difference, the diagnostic directions are completely different! The head of the academy is indeed a hundred times more meticulous than us in making diagnoses, I admire you! It seems that I still need to work harder to improve in the future!" Dr. Ning said with some emotion, praising Bian Mu while also reflecting on his own shortcomings.

“We’re on the same side! Strictly speaking, this isn’t entirely your fault. Although I didn’t have direct contact with that patient, it’s not hard to imagine that he’s not entirely honest. When he speaks, he’ll unconsciously edit his words from time to time. Of course, when he comes to you for medical advice, he certainly won’t target you. It’s probably a bad habit he developed since childhood, or even a vice! So… when we’re dealing with patients, sometimes it’s really a bit like a lawyer dealing with a client!” With that, Bian Mu got up and refilled their teacups.

"Lawyer?! You mean... a good lawyer never fully trusts his clients... clients only use lawyers as tools to uphold their own justice when they go to court?! They'll even deceive the lawyers they've hired at high prices just to achieve their own interests and avoid harm?" Dr. Ning's social circle naturally includes many top-notch lawyers, so she has a fairly good understanding of the legal profession.

Bian Mu nodded gently.

“The underlying logic is exactly the same! In this vast world, you can encounter all sorts of strange patients, and this one should be one of them. You treat him with kindness, but he has complicated feelings and will occasionally dodge the main point in his words. If Old Master Liang encountered this kind of person, he would usually just serve tea and send him away!” Bian Mu replied with a smile.

"Hahaha... I accidentally fell for the patient's trick. I feel so ashamed to be a doctor..."

"Hey! Such people are a tiny minority! Let's continue. After being misled by him, you diagnosed his basic Yin energy as 'stagnation.' But based on the symptoms and corresponding medical reports he provided later, he actually suffers from Yin energy depletion, some of which is not age-related. That is to say, at his age, the Yin energy in his body shouldn't be depleted to that extent. There must be a reason. Look here... mitral valve regurgitation, but not to the point of needing oral medication; multiple small cysts in the liver, but not to the point of needing surgery; gallbladder crystals, but not to the point of gallstones. He's not even forty years old, yet he has so many problems, and the symptoms are already there, just needing to develop further. These are all manifestations of insufficient Yin energy and depletion. Things don't happen more than three times, but if they do, there must be a deeper meaning! So why aren't his symptoms very severe? Maybe he comes from a good family, and his female relatives have always taken good care of him, and his Yang energy has been replenished in a timely manner, so... for example, the kind of care that comes with a life of luxury!" Bian Mu pointed to a few pages of photocopied medical records and speculated.

“I see… No wonder… It’s all clear now! Everything is going smoothly now. So my approach of treating it based on ‘running pig syndrome’ was biased. It could only alleviate the main symptoms, but the root cause could never be eradicated.”

Bian Mu nodded politely.

“That man is probably two-faced, you really don’t need to get entangled with him. By the way, when he came to our clinic for his treatment, he was accompanied by at least two sisters or other relatives, right?” Bian Mu asked with a smile. “That’s right, I didn’t really think anything of it at the time. So next time he comes for a follow-up appointment, should I send him to Old Liang or go directly to you?”

"I reckon... he probably won't come for a follow-up appointment. To be frank, it won't be long before he's unable to get out of bed!"

"Huh?! What do you mean?!" Dr. Ning was so startled that she almost stood up.

"Didn't you say he was divorced? Back then, his severe alcoholism almost drained his spinal cord essence. Luckily, his family desperately helped him and sought medicine everywhere, so he managed to pull through. Judging from the pulse you remembered, he had been messing around outside quite a bit. His brain essence, spinal cord essence, and kidney essence were all in a straight line! It had formed a very obvious Yang deficiency cavity. To give an inappropriate analogy, it's somewhat similar to the ozone hole in the Earth's atmosphere getting bigger and bigger. By the way, I recently saw on the news that the ozone layer above our planet is gradually returning to normal."

"Really? That's good. Are you sure his life is in danger?! But I didn't detect any 'death pulse' or anything like that at the time!"

"It's not a matter of life and death, but we didn't find anything wrong at our branch. They won't trust us anymore. They'll definitely go to Dr. Nie, a top-notch doctor, for help. I'll go check and see exactly when he first came to see you for treatment." As he spoke, Bian Mu got up and found a computer to check.

Then, Bian Mu counted on his fingers.

"That's right! In about two weeks, the man will be unable to get out of bed and will have to use a wheelchair to get around. Don't worry! His family knows him better than we do. I just looked at the prescription you wrote, and there's absolutely no problem with it. With their brains, they wouldn't even think of going to your place, and their family members don't have the time to come and cause trouble!"

"Oh, I see... It makes me feel a little strange..."

"You have the face of a noble person, so you'll just avoid strange things like this! But... if you encounter a patient who's not very honest in the future, you might as well refer them to Dr. Liang or me. As a female doctor, you really don't need to deal with them."

"Okay! I'll be more careful in the future."

They were so engrossed in their conversation that the food got a little cold. Bian Mu found a few plates to replace the utensils, heated them up in the microwave, and the two continued eating. Feeling much more at ease, Dr. Ning's appetite improved, and she ate noticeably more than usual.