eventually it weakens the Kidneys. In this case, she originally suffered
from Blood deficiency (deriving from Spleen-Qi deficiency, as
evidenced by the prolapsed uterus): this was still evident in the Pale
sides of the tongue. The Blood deficiency is also a contributory factor to
the chronic aches in the joints. The deficiency of Blood was aggravated
after the four miscarriages and the childbirth, leading to the postnatal
depression. The long-term deficiency of Blood eventually weakened the
Kidneys (primarily Kidney-Yin) causing the depression, feeling of heat,
night sweating, backache, dizziness and tinnitus. It is also evidenced by
the Deep and Weak pulse in the Rear position, the slightly red colour of
the tongue and the rootless coating.Treatment principle She was treated over a period of 12 months primarily with acupuncture.
The main principle of treatment was to nourish Blood, nourish
Kidney-Yin and remove obstructions from the channels.
Acupuncture The main points used were SP-6 Sanyinjiao, KI-3 Taixi, ST-36 Zusanli,
KI-7 Fuliu, BL-23 Shenshu and Ren-4 Guanyuan with reinforcing
method to nourish Blood and Yin. Several other local and distal points
were used in succession to remove obstructions from the channels and
treat the Painful Obstruction Syndrome.
Herbal treatment She was prescribed the Ba Zhen Wan Eight Precious Pill to nourish
Blood and help to treat the chronic ache in the joints.
Excess Type
The main Excess patterns which can cause tiredness are:
- Liver-Qi stagnation
- Liver-Yang rising
- Liver-Fire
- Liver-Wind
- Phlegm
- Dampness.
There are other Excess conditions which cause chronic tiredness, notably those when some Heat
(or Damp-Heat) remains in the body after an invasion of Wind-Heat. Called "residual pathogenic
factor", this is one of the main causes of tiredness in many cases of myalgic encephalomyelitis
(ME) or post-viral syndrome, which is discussed in a separate chapter (Chapter 25).
Another cause of tiredness is Latent Heat. This occurs when an exterior pathogenic factor (which
may be Wind-Cold or Wind-Heat) enters the body in an insidious manner, causing no symptoms
at the time of entry. The exterior pathogenic factor then lurks in the Interior and it changes into