Wu tou gui zhi tang also known as Di dang wu tou gui zhi tang
chuan wu tou 9 gui zhi 9 bai shao 9 sheng jiang 9 da zao 6 zhi gan cao 6
In cold hernia with pain in the abdomen, reversal cold, numbness of hands and feet, and if there are body aches, which moxa, acupuncture and all herbs have been unable to treat, it should be wu tou gui zhi tang.
Use for abdominal hernia due to cold, can also be used for numbness in extremities. This formula is a version of gui zhi jia fu zi tang. The difference is the dose of the da zao. Use fu zi in place of wu tou.
Fu zi, Aconiti radix lateralis praeparata is pungent dispersing of liver blood and the ministerial fire in the san jiao. It is pungent dispersing of the heart and kidneys. It is pungent dispersing of the tai yang channels. It is pungent dispersing of excess water.
Gui zhi and fu zi are the emperors. Gui zhi rules without causing unrest. Fu zi rules with might and action. Gui zhi nourishes and fu zi does not. Fu zi disperses more than gui zhi and needs to be controlled. Gui zhi warms the tai yang bladder to warm the shao yin kidney water. Fu zi directly warms the shao yin kindey water to create qi.
Fu zi warms the source yang of the body as imperial fire of the heart. Fu zi infuses the body with fire and promotes water metabolism through the descent of fire into the water reservoirs of the body to draw qi from the body.
The combination of fu zi and gui zhi is the strongest to promote water metabolism through warming cold fluids.
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.
Warms the vessels and frees the movement of yang qi. It frees the flow of heart yang in the chest and promotes the circulation of heart qi through the channels.
Bai shao, Paeoniae radix lactiflora is sour, bitter and cool. It is sour collecting of yin fluids and blood. It is bitter descending of heat. It nourishes dryness in yang ming and the jue yin. It descends Earth and Metal and calms Wood wind.
Bai shao anchors the yang herbs but also protects the blood layer from the dispersing action of fu zi and gui zhi.
Bai shao is the primary pain herb with fu zi second.
Sheng jiang, Zingiberis rhizoma recens is pungent dispersing of the liver and pericardium blood and the ministerial fire in the san jiao. Sheng jiang is pungent dispersing of dampness and cold in the stomach domain, spleen and lung. Sheng jiang is pungent connecting of the tai yin with the tai yang. It supports raising of the clear qi to the chest and the 100 vessels.
Sheng jiang supports tai yin in raising clear qi to the surface and also supports the dispersing of the fu zi and gui zhi.
Da zao, Jujubae fructus is sweet tonifying and moderating. It tonifies and nourishes the stomach domain, spleen, lungs, and heart. It directly nourishes the shao yin heart.
Gui zhi, da zao and zhi gan cao tonify and nourish the heart. Da zao calms excessive movement of Wood wind. The dose of the da zao has been lowered to increase the movement of the Wood wind.
Zhi gan cao, Glycyrrhizae radix prep is sweet tonifying and nourishing of all organs but especially the heart.
Zhi gan cao is sweet and mildly warm tonifying and nourishing of yin fluids. It nourishes yin fluids in the tai yin and shao yin. It calms wind in the jue yin.
It balances the pungent gui zhi, sheng jiang and fu zi with its sweet moderation and nourishing.