Always the last place you look

This letter is so classic, angry doc has to feature it even though it is from the Chinese newspaper.

You can get a passable version of the story by running the text through Babel Fish, but in brief, the writer related how she had sought medical advice (from both western and traditional Chinese physicians) for a total of 11 times for her symptoms of vertigo and vomting, but could not find a cure or relief. On the advice of a specialist, she underwent an MRI; while no pathology was identified, her symptoms continued.

Eventually she saw a TCM physician, who made the diagnosis of vestibular neuronitis and prescribed her with a five-day course of medicine, after which her symptoms disappeared and she was gradually restored to health.

The cure, as it turned out, was at the last place she looked.

Isn't it always?

Taken at face value the story is one of how one physician managed to cure a patient of her (until then) intractable illness while 11 others could not - from the way she told the story, this was probably what the writer wanted to convey - and certainly this could have been the case.

But those who know more about vertigo and the natural history of vestibular neuronitis may have a different take on the story. They will know why an MRI was done, and the significance of a 'negative finding' on the MRI. They will also know that the condition may run a course of several weeks, but be ultimately self-remitting.

The cure, eventually, will come from the last place you looked, or the last doctor you saw.

Still, angry doc would like to know what medicine the writer was given.