Experience and tradition
Traditional Chinese medicine pays attention to syndrome differentiation and treatment in the treatment of insomnia, and clinical syndrome differentiation is divided into syndrome types of excess and deficiency. Common syndromes are hyperactivity of heart fire, stagnation of liver qi, internal disturbance of phlegm-heat and disharmony between stomach and qi. The common types of deficiency syndrome are yin deficiency and hyperactivity of fire, deficiency of heart and spleen, and deficiency of heart and gallbladder. Traditional Chinese medicine has accumulated rich experience in treating insomnia. According to their own understanding and clinical experience, they put forward the principles of treating insomnia from Wei Ying, from the heart, from the spleen and stomach, from the liver, from blood stasis, from phlegm, from fire and comprehensively, and achieved their respective academic achievements.
Inherit and carry forward
The author was born in a family of traditional Chinese medicine, and was instructed by my late father Shi Wenji since childhood. My late father's treatment of insomnia advocated "adjusting the unfavorable and eliminating the harmful". It means that the treatment of insomnia must first find out the cause of insomnia. If insomnia is caused by dysfunction of zang-fu organs, then the disorder of zang-fu organs should be adjusted first, and then insomnia will disappear naturally. If insomnia is induced by exogenous pathogens invading the body, we should first distinguish the nature of exogenous pathogens and get rid of them, so that sleep will tend to be stable. The prescriptions sent by my late father are all straight to the point, hitting the root of the disease and being stubborn repeatedly, not counting the living. On the basis of inheriting my late father's academic thought and clinical experience, combined with my clinical practice in insomnia specialty for many years and the clinical symptoms of insomnia patients today, the author divides insomnia into eight clinical symptoms on the basis of syndrome differentiation, and then uses Chinese medicine to treat different insomnia syndromes, which often achieves good results.
The clinical symptoms of qi deficiency can be seen as follows: restless sleep, sleepless all night, dreaminess, listlessness during the day, dizziness, forgetfulness, inattention, and may be accompanied by palpitations and fatigue. Treatment principle: nourishing yin and blood, calming the nerves.
Clinical symptoms of liver depression and qi stagnation can be seen: lying in bed at night, thinking a lot, having difficulty sleeping, feeling depressed during the day, sighing, chest pain, pain without position, abdominal distension, frequent burping and so on. Treatment principle: soothing the liver and relieving depression, calming the nerves.
Clinically, the symptoms of nourishing blood and gathering heat can be seen: lying awake, or waking up early, and then being in a daze until dawn, accompanied by dry throat, lack of body fluid, five-upset fever, acne on cheeks, night sweats, or accompanied by tremors of hands and feet, muscle beating, mouth shaking and other symptoms. Treatment principles: clearing the camp, cooling the blood and calming the nerves.
The clinical symptoms of spleen-stomach disharmony can be seen as follows: restless sleep at night, waking up when sleeping, dreaminess, greasy mouth, tasteless food, discomfort in the upper abdominal cavity, shapeless stool or endless feeling of wanting to solve. Treatment principle: regulating stomach, invigorating spleen and calming nerves.
The clinical symptoms of hyperactivity of heart and liver can be seen as insomnia at night, lying awake for a long time, or intermittently waking up, dreaming more, even staying up all night, accompanied by symptoms such as head swelling, red eyes, bitter taste, irritability, dry stool, and red urine. Treatment principle: clearing away heat and purging fire, calming the heart and calming the nerves.
The clinical symptoms of timidity and guilty conscience can be seen as follows: restless sleep, often accompanied by frightening nightmares, restless mind during the day, fidgeting, easily frightened and frightened, timid as being chased. Treatment principle: calming the heart and calming the nerves.
The clinical symptoms of blood stasis type cerebral collateral can be seen: less sleep at night, early awakening, difficulty in falling asleep after waking up, often accompanied by dizziness, tinnitus, brain ringing, numbness of hands and feet, forgetfulness (especially remembering numbers and recent events), drowsiness and other symptoms. Treatment principle: strengthening brain, dredging collaterals and helping sleep.
The clinical symptoms of liver depression and kidney deficiency can be seen as follows: sleepless nights, intermittent awakening, or early awakening, dreaminess, and difficulty in repeating after waking up, often accompanied by head swelling, headache, discomfort in neck traction, bitter mouth and dry mouth, dizziness, tinnitus, cheek stains, burning in both cheekbones, backache and knee weakness, frequent urination at night, or tepid limbs and cold back. Treatment principle: nourishing kidney, calming liver and calming nerves.
Because the symptoms of insomnia patients are complex and diverse, doctors should comprehensively consider and flexibly master the above syndromes and treatment principles in clinical practice to improve clinical efficacy. This is also the advantage of Chinese medicine in treating insomnia.