TCM Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome is a recently-named condition. Late in the 20th century — in fierce competition — its incidence has risen year by year.
Main features: six months or more of persistent or intermittent fatigue and weakness, not eased by bed rest. Symptoms include low fever, sore throat, neck and axillary lymph-node swelling, unexplained muscle weakness, headache, insomnia.
TCM specialists hold the key lies in disorder of liver-and-spleen. The liver stores blood — storing and regulating it; the liver also governs the sinews — kidney-essence weak, sinews cannot move. Hence its name root of fatigue. The liver governs shu-xie (free venting), spreading qi-blood, smoothing qi-mechanism, dispersing emotion; with liver-qi stagnated, spleen-stomach loses harmony. The spleen governs transport, the four limbs, and the muscles; with spleen transport disordered, generation has no authority — hence muscle and limb weakness.
Chronic fatigue often comes from long mental tension and body fatigue, leading to storehouse-bowel yin-yang-qi-blood imbalance, with liver-gall pivot blocked, spleen-stomach transport disordered, sanjiao damp-heat lodging. Treatment matches. Several effective formulas:
1. For upper-heat-lower-cold, yin-yang imbalance: irritability with bitter dry mouth, dizziness, insomnia, listless spirit, body fatigue, low fever sore throat, gut rumbling diarrhea, low-back-and-leg ache, frequent night urination — use Wumei Wan modified.
2. For qi-stagnation, water-retention, phlegm-damp blocking the network: sensation of object in throat, sticky phlegm, chest-flank distension, epigastric fullness with poor appetite, insomnia with much dreaming, irregular stool — use Wendan Tang modified.
3. For spleen-qi insufficient, liver-blood deficient: dizziness, insomnia, dry eyes, scant qi, lazy speech, low-back and leg ache, menstrual irregularity — use Jiawei Shengxian Tang.
4. **For damp-heat in the sanjiao:** heavy head, dizziness, dry mouth without thirst, poor appetite, body fatigue, drowsiness, gut rumbling and distension, loose stool — use Sanren Tang modified.
TCM treatment of chronic fatigue is high in efficacy and free of side effects.