22 year old Tom broke up with his girlfriend two month ago. Since then he had trouble sleeping. He went to bed at 11pm but was still awake at 2am. It had made him grogy at work. He took Ambien for two months but he felt the drug making him sleeping light although it did help him fall asleep. During the day time, he was still sleepy. He came to clinic for acupuncture and Chinese herbs for help. His neck and shoulder muscles were tight. He was depressed, anxious, and fatigue. His blood pressure averaged 140/90. He also had bad breath. His pulse was wiry. His tongue was pale, slightly swollen and scalloped, with greasy tongue coat. His hands and feet were clammy but he said he had always had the problem since childhood.

He felt much better after first treatment. During the treatment, he was shown a few calming techniques to practice at home. First, he was shown the techniques of a proper deep breathing; then he was instructed to hum his favorite lullaby without really making efforts; finally, he was told to keep his mind blank as much as possible. This was all done while he was lying in bed. Tom was also told not to drink coffee, soda, and tea after 3pm. When Tom showed up for his second treatment, he reported that he had been sleeping well and slept through the whole night. The tightness and pressure pain on his neck and shoulders were gone.

Micky was a 33 year old man who had "irratic sleeping" issues for more than ten years. He falls asleep without any problems but wakes up in the middle of the night and is wide awake and cannot go back to sleep. It happens sometimes around 1am but mostly around 4-5am. He tosses and turns until he has to get up to work. It got worse in the past three months and would like to seek Chinese herbal remedy.

Micky was otherwise a very healty person. He works out on a regular basis. He was clear headed without any drinking issues. His dad had a similar sleeping issue all of his adult life, too. His problem does not seem to be stress related. His GI track had no problems and did not exhibit any of the stomach issues. His problem seems to be a genetic issue. So we treated him with a typical insomnia formula:

Yuan Zhi - 7g, Sang Shen Zi - 7g, Long Yan Rou - 7g, Fu Shen - 7g, Suan Zao Ren - 7g, Ye Jiao Teng - 7g, Bai Zhi Ren - 7g, He Huan Pi - 7g, Dan Shen - 7g, Wu Wei Zi - 7g, Huang Lian - 4g, Zhi Zi - 4g, Lian Zi Xin - 2g, Rou Gui - 3g, Yu Jin - 4g, Da Zao - 3g, Fu Xiao Mai - 5g, Zhi Gan Cao - 3g.

The base formula was derived from the Gan Mai Da Zao Tang.

It worked very well on Micky. Two weeks later he sent in words that his sleep was considerably better.

This case was treated under the tutorledge of Dr. Tao Xie of Quincy, Mass in our clinic.