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The following is the case of a young Lady,
who has, at different times, been under the care of
several eminent Physicians both in town &
country. She some time ago applied to me, & tho'
I have paid particular attention to her disorder,
& left nothing untried that appeared to me likely
to remove it, the utmost I have been able to
effectuate, has amounted to no more than a
temporary palliation of some of the most ur¬
gent symptoms. The inability, under which
She has all along laboured, of retaining either
food or medicine beyond the space of a very few
hours, upon her stomach, has hitherto baffled
every attempt I have made to give her relief.
Some years ago, she went to Buxton, & received
benefit from the waters. She intends to give them
a second trial, but has consented to take your opinions

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before she goes ----

Miss J--- a young Lady under 30, of a delicate
constitution & great sensibility has for ten years
laboured under a disorder of her stomach, which
has been daily increasing not with standing
every attempt that has been made to re¬
move it. She traces the commencement of her
indisposition to an apprehension of becoming
too fat, which induced her to take more exercise
than she had strength to bear, & to live on a diet
too low & too sparing to afford the systems the
necessary support. From this time, her appetite
gradually failed her, her strength declined, her
catamenia disappeared, & her stomach became
so extremely relaxed & irritable that food of
no kind remained, above an hour, upon it,
but was rejected without nausea & without
pain. Such was her situation, till within these

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four years, when a vomiting of bile [supervened?], a
complaint which has since distressed her more
than all the other symptoms of her disorder.
She not only throws up her food in less than an
hour after taking it, but is every second or
third day seized with a violent headach, sick¬
ness, a load & sense of heat at her stomach, ac¬
companied with a copious vomiting of bile.
These symptoms generally continue many
hours, & till the bile be entirely discharged,
she suffers extreme anguish. She has been
long much emaciated, & is now reduced to
such a state of weakness as to be able only
to walk a very little way without being
fatigued. She is extremely sensible to cold, &
never finds the air sufficient warm. Her skin
is always dry, her pulse feeble & languid, but
never hectick. She has all her life been so sub¬
ject

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to costiveness that unless when Glysters or laxative
medicines are employed, a week & often more
elapses without a stool. She either walks or
rides out, every day, in a carriage; She finds rid¬
ding on horseback not only fatigues her, but
increases her bilious disorder. The obstruction
of the menstrual flux seems merely the
effect of inanition, for since the commencement of
her disorder, it has returnt once or twice with¬
out any alleviation of the other symptoms.
Milk, vegetables & all kinds of wine disagree
with her exceedingly, become acid, produce flatus
sickness & vomiting. But such indeed is the
state of her stomach that food & medicine
of every kind generate these effects in a greater
or less degree. Beed tea & bread disagree the least
Buxton waters, when she formerly drank them,
acted for some days as a gentle emetick, but after
the bile was evacuated, ↑they↑ braced the stomack, and

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enabled it to retain every thing several hours
longer than it had done for some years. This
circumstance induces her to hope that if
these waters continue to operate in the same
manner, some medicine may be thrown
in, that shall assist their tonick virtue, &
render their effects more permanent. I must
likewise add that when formerly at Buxton, no
attention was paid to the state of her bowels,
& she was then so costive as not to have pas¬
sage once ↑a↑ week, but they have of late been
kept gently open, & she has since suffered much
less from bile upon her stomach. She has tried
many laxatives, but none agree so well as Ander¬
son's pills -- what medicines you would recom¬
mend to her when at Buxton, & what plan
you would wish her afterwards to pursue,
she hopes you will inform her when convenient.

I shall take the opportunity of a gentleman

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who sets out to night or to morrow on a four thro'
Scotland, to remit you a fee ----

The last time I took the liberty of writing to
you I was extremely anxious to go out to
America as one of the Physicians to the
Army, & had procured the promise of
the secretary at war to that purpose,
but as there is no immediate prospect of
any new hospitals being established there,
& especially as I find things likely to turn
out pretty well here, I have given over all
thoughts of quitting Durham for some years.
As Literary honours add not a little to a
physicians reputation, I have yelded to the
persuasions of several ingenious members
of the Royal Society who wish me to see me
a member of their respectable body. Seven
or eight have already offered to sign my

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petition & promised to procure me Sir John
Pringle's name, if you will do me the ho¬
nour of adding yours, you will confer a
very singular favour on one who sincerely
wishes for an opportunity of convincing you
of his respect & esteem ----- I am

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✍

35
Dr. Cullen
Edinburgh

P. D. Leslie
Query
A Young Lady.
August 1780
XI. p.
Required farther information
of the measures already used.