(255) Case: Chronic Insomnia

[HB KIM]

CASE REPORT: Menopause after chemotherapy by BY Choi, L.Ac.

I had a patient who was a 63 year old female with insomnia since her 20s after abruptly cancelling her wedding and breaking off the engagement.  She had difficulty falling asleep, it took her 60-90 minutes to fall asleep, and she woke up at least every two hours.  Her big dream was to sleep six hours straight.  She had tried every solution she could think of over the last 20 years, including western drugs, yoga, meditation, and various other therapies.  Acupuncture was her last resort since she was afraid of needles.  She had hyperthyroidism and she was very thin.  Her tongue was just slightly red-purple. 

I knew that Spleen tonification was the most appropriate acupuncture treatment, but I wasn't quite sure was herbal formula to provide for her.  I was torn between Gui Pi Tang which could address her qi and blood deficiencies and weakness associated with age, or Wen Dang Tang because she was exhibiting some phlegm signs and also had some emotional symptoms.  I couldn't decide, since I felt that the qi and blood deficiency should be treated with Gui Pi Tang, but at the same time Gui Pi Tang could not address her emotional symptoms.

So I called HB for advice, and his solution was simple: use Gui Pi Wen Dang Tang, which is a combination of Gui Pi Tang plus Wen Dang Tang. 

After taking Gui Pi Wen Dang Tang for 20 days, the patient reported that she could fall asleep with 30 minutes every night.  She had also reached her big dream of sleeping 6 hours straight!

Then I changed the formula to Gui Pi Tang since all of the phlegm symptoms had dissipated.  After 20 days of Gui Pi Tang, she could fall asleep with no difficulty and sleep for 7 hours straight.

She wanted to be totally cured of her insomnia, so she requested more herbal treatment.  Since she was tonified and very energetic, I gave her a modified Gui Pi Tang with Dang Shen replacing Ren Shen.  After 20 days of that, her condition improved so that she could sleep for 8 hours straight with no problems.

Three months later, her symptoms have not regressed at all.