Three Cases of Somatoform Disorder Considered as "Hontonki" Disease, Successfully Treated with Keishikakeito / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

We report three cases with somatoform disorder which were considered as “Hontonki” disease, successfully treated with keishikakeito. Case1 was a 34-year old male who was suffering from headache and palpitation. He said ‘Something pierces and it goes up from the chest to the head.' We considered his complaint as Hontonki disease and administered keishikakeito. After one week, the headache disappeared and four weeks later, palpitation and tinnitus were definitely improved. Case2 was a 22-year old male. His complaints were excessive strain and general fatigue. Because he had coldness of lower extremities and spasmodic headache, we interpreted these symptoms Hontonki disease and administered keishikakeito. After that these symptoms and his psychological test scores improved markedly. Case 3 was a 75-year old female. Severe headache and palpitations presented after remodeling her home. Three weeks later taking keishikakeito, her symptoms had disappeared dramatically. Recently, Hontonki disease are often compared with panic disorder, and it is possible that some somatoform disorder cases include Hontonki disease. It is important to consider the possibility of Hontonki disease behind the physical complaints such as headache and palpitation, when we use keishikakeito.