Name: Ding.

Sex: Female.

Age: 25 years.

0ccupation: A payee.

Chief Complaint: Distending-pain of breasts for 3 days after stopping suckling baby.

History of Present Illness: Ten months ago, the patient had a normal parturition. Since then she had kept suckling her baby by herself all along. 3 days ago she stopped suckling her baby. However she immediately got a distending-pain in her both breasts and the breasts got swelling and stiff quickly. The pain occurred continuously and got worse and worse, so that she couldn't sit or stand at ease. Then she herself took some Germinated Barley (Chao Mai Ya) for oral taking. But the distending-pain couldn't be relieved yet, she felt the skin of the breast seemed to be contracted, furthermore, the both sides of armpit and shoulder were all involved. When it occurred severely, it caused she couldn't sleep as normal. Then she came to our hospital for treatment on April 15,1999. Since the illness came on, her appetite, urination and defecation had been all normal. There was not other complaint.

Physical Examination: The patient was conscious with a normal general condition. The pulse was taut and slippery, the tongue was light red with a thin layer of white fur. The both breasts were all swelling, the portial skin were contracted. If touch upon, there was severe tenderness. There was not other abnormal sign.

Diagnosis: Syndrome of Stopping Suckling.

Differentiation: Parturition, suckling, menstruation and leucorrhoea are all normal physiological phenomenon of women. The essential substances in the blood are ordinarily transformed into the milk. After a woman had a normal parturition, liver-qi ordinarily became hyperfunctional. The hyperfunctional liver-qi then invigorated the qi and blood, the invigorated qi and blood then flew upward into the breasts along the Foot-JueYin liver channel in order to produce milk for suckling the baby. According to such physiological mechanism, we can draw a conclusion that the hyperfunctional liver qi is the impetus to produce milk. If a woman wants to stop suckling, what she should do is merely acting in a diametrically opposite way dispersing the hyperfunctional liver-qi and keeping liver-qi calm, by such way, she can stop her suckling very easily. Otherwise if she didn't know about this principle and stopped her suckling suddenly, the hyperfunctional liver-qi wasn't dispersed and it continuously invigorated qi and blood, the invigorated qi and blood then continuously flew upward into the breast along liver-channel. But the progressively produced milk couldn't be drained off as before, then the progressively produced milk accumulated together in the breasts. So that the patient got the distending-pain in the breasts.

Therapeutic Principle: Soothing liver to relieve depression, soothing chest to dissipate stagnation, invigorating spleen-qi, activating blood to resolve stasis.

Recipe :

DangShen,Pilose Asiabell Root 30g

BaiZhu,Bighead Atractylodes Rhizome 15g

FuLing, Tuckahoe 15g

MeiGuiHua,Rose 15g

ChiShao,Red Peony Root 18g

YuanHu,Corydalis Tuber 15g

ChaiHu,Bupleurum Root 10g

GuaLouPi,Trichosanthes Fruit 25g

XiangFu,Nutgrass Flatsedge Rhizome 12g

XiangYuan,Citron Fruit 12g

Zhike,Fruit of Citron 10g

ChaoMaiYa, Germinated Barley (fried) 18g

HongHua, Safflower 8g

TaoRen,Peach Seed 12g

ShengGanCao,Raw Liquorice Root 6g

All the above drugs were to be decocted in water for oral taking. 1 dose was prescribed.

Effect Observation: After taking the decoction, the distending pain in the breats disappeared at once. After 1 week's follow-up, the illness didn't recur. Then it's ending.