A patient I have been seeing in Flatiron, NYC over the past year started experiencing trouble with sleep, anxiety, and night sweating. She was previously seen for neck pain, which has been resolved with a combination of acupuncture, chiropractic, physical therapy, and trigger point injections; and menstrual issues.
In particular she mentioned her periods have been very painful and resorted to using an over the counter medication every 4 hours to alleviate some of the pain. After acupuncture she was able to forego the OTC medications.
In the beginning stages of her anxiety, she would wake up at 3 AM with palpitations and would be unable to fall asleep. A few times per week she would also wake up hot and sweaty during this time. Occasionally she would experience palpitations throughout the day, but for the most part it occurred during the night. When dealing with palpitations we are looking at the heart channel and the heart wrapping vessel network (pericardium in TCM).
Channel palpation revealed impairments in the pericardium, spleen, liver and heart. In terms of the organ systems there was a problem in the heart and kidney organs. According to the chart, when the kidney (water) is weak it leads to an over abundance of heart (fire). When the heart becomes excessive, palpitations, insomnia and anxiety result. In addition, acupuncture was administered to the channels showing changes namely the heart, pericardium, liver, spleen and kidney.
Acupuncture to Treat Insomnia
However, acupuncture to the channels system wasn’t as effective in this case. When this occurs we have to do a thorough investigation into the patient’s medical history. The key to unlocking her case came when she complained of a Reynaud’s like condition in her feet, which became severely cold and painful she couldn’t walk correctly, during this episode she also complained of feeling chills. When severe chills occur we are often looking at the reservoir of Yang (heat) energy which is the Governing Vessel that passes along the spine. Treating this channel allowed her to sleep for a few days and would resolve the night sweating as well.
To further enhance the effect of acupuncture I administered an herbal formula that works on the relationship between the heart and kidneys as discussed earlier. After being on the formula for 1 week, she noticed her sleep was much deeper and had less waking and sweating episodes. After 1 month, the anxiety and palpitations went away and she regained her energy. Because her energy has improved, she started exercising again. She says being on the herbs have made a night and day difference in her mood and happiness levels overall.
In New York, because many are still working from home, the lack of movement and exercise may result in a patient’s inability to deal with stress, which progressively gets worse with time. In this case, getting motivated to exercise is difficult especially when a person doesn’t sleep and has very low energy. Acupuncture and herbal therapy can help tremendously in these cases and get a person back on the right track to greater health and well being.
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