You have obviously slept for eight hours, but you feel like you haven't slept when you wake up; you feel short of breath as soon as you say a few words; even if you lie still, your whole body feels like lead... If this state has been bothering you for more than half a year, and is accompanied by poor memory, confusion, muscle aches, palpitations and chest tightness, but no "problem" can be found when you go to the hospital, then you should be vigilant. This may not be "lazy", but a disease that requires formal treatment - chronic fatigue syndrome.
According to statistics, the global incidence of this disease is about 1%, and it is increasing year by year. In this issue of "Specialized Diseases of Traditional Chinese Medicine", we specially invited Chen Min, deputy director and deputy chief TCM physician of the Department of General Internal Medicine of Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, to help everyone understand this invisible health killer cloaked in "fatigue" and interpret the regulation behind the imbalance of the five internal organs from the perspective of "consumption" in traditional Chinese medicine.
Expert business card:
Chen Min is the deputy director of the General Internal Medicine Department of Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and a master's tutor. He is the successor of Liu Chenlin's academic experience in the seventh batch of famous veteran Chinese medicine doctors in the country. He is also the deputy chairman of the Young Chinese Medicine Research Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a member of the Special Committee of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Classic Ward, a member of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnosis Branch of the Chinese Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and a member of the Spleen and Stomach Disease Special Committee of the Nanjing Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He has been engaged in the clinical, teaching and scientific research of TCM internal medicine for more than ten years. He has studied under Xu Jingfan, a master of traditional Chinese medicine, Liu Chenlin, a nationally famous TCM doctor, and Sun Xuemei, a provincial famous doctor. He is good at combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine to treat common internal diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, anemia, and fatigue through syndrome differentiation. It treats sub-health conditions such as qi and blood deficiency, kidney deficiency, dampness, qi stagnation and blood stasis, menstrual disorders, and menopausal syndrome. It specializes in fatigue syndrome, recurrent oral ulcers, and sweating syndrome. It has rich clinical experience in strengthening the body and strengthening the foundation after tumor surgery.
I'm not being pretentious, I'm really sick. Recognize chronic fatigue syndrome.
Fatigue is all too common, but not every case requires a visit to a doctor. Chen Min pointed out that ordinary physiological fatigue is generally caused by working overtime, staying up late or strenuous exercise. It can be recovered after a day or two of rest. There is no persistent soreness, palpitation and other discomforts. If you eat and sleep normally, there is no need to worry too much about this situation.
What is more serious is sub-health fatigue, which lasts for one to two weeks or even a month and can only be relieved for a short time after resting. It is often accompanied by dizziness, shoulder and neck pain, shallow sleep, and emotional irritability. If you go to the hospital for a checkup at this time, the indicators may still be normal. But this is the key window for Chinese medicine to "treat the disease before it's too late". At this time, timely adjustment of work and rest, diet and mentality will most likely lead to rapid reversal.
"The most difficult thing is pathological chronic fatigue syndrome." Chen Min mentioned that it is not diagnosed by feeling tired, but has strict diagnostic criteria: severe fatigue of unknown cause that cannot be relieved after rest, lasting for more than 6 months, and may be accompanied by low-grade fever, headache, sore throat, muscle and joint pain, depression, insomnia, poor memory, inattention, and even small lymph node enlargement can be touched in the neck or armpit, but there are no abnormalities on examination.
All tests are normal, why is he so tired? Chen Min said that there is no single cause of chronic fatigue syndrome, and it is often caused by multiple factors working together. Among them, long-term mental exhaustion ranks first, and overthinking and mental stress are the most draining of energy and blood. In addition, staying up late and eating improperly are two "accelerators" that directly damage the spleen and stomach, resulting in loss of Qi and blood biochemistry. In addition, modern people generally sit and look for a long time, which further aggravates the stasis of Qi and blood.
Clinically, most of these patients are young and middle-aged people aged 25 to 50. Doctors, nurses, teachers, programmers, financial practitioners, etc. are high-risk groups. They are typical "double overdraft" of physical and mental strength.
"Continuous fatigue is a sign that the essence of the five internal organs is gradually exhausted." Chen Min said. Without timely intervention, the condition may gradually worsen, with long-term relief after activity, body pain, chest tightness and sweating, insomnia worsening, and even metabolic disorders, hair loss, irregular menstruation, sexual dysfunction, and secondary mental problems such as anxiety and depression.
Traditional Chinese medicine differentiates and treats "deficiency" by accurately classifying and regulating the five internal organs
Modern medicine currently has no specific medicine to treat chronic fatigue syndrome, and can only provide symptomatic treatment for symptoms such as insomnia, aches, and anxiety. Traditional Chinese medicine classifies this type of disease as "deficiency", "stagnation syndrome" and "visceral impatience". The core pathogenesis is "deficiency and excess, deficiency and excess mixed together". It is not simply "deficiency", but also "blockage" and "chaos" in the body.
"The advantage of TCM syndrome differentiation and treatment lies in the overall treatment, which not only relieves fatigue and soreness, but also regulates the qi and blood of the five internal organs to prevent recurrence at the root." Chen Min explained that the doctor will accurately classify the type of liver stagnation, qi deficiency, yin deficiency, or phlegm-dampness and prescribe a prescription that suits you. In addition to oral administration of traditional Chinese medicine, it can also be combined with external treatment methods such as acupuncture, massage, scraping, moxibustion, etc. to synergize internal and external treatment.
Mild cases can be prevented by changing lifestyles and simple TCM intervention, while standardized treatment for severe cases can prevent the condition from worsening into metabolic diseases, severe anxiety and depression, etc. According to clinical experience, the vast majority of patients can achieve clinical cure through standardized treatment. Mild patients with a disease duration of half a year to one year can recover with comprehensive conditioning in 1 to 3 months; severe patients with a disease duration of more than two years or combined with other problems can eliminate core symptoms by insisting on standard treatment for 3 to 6 months, and follow up with daily maintenance.
"After cure, if you have a regular schedule, a stable mood, and a healthy diet, it is rare to relapse. However, if you continue to be mentally stressed, overeat, and suffer from excessive internal consumption, the disease is likely to be delayed and repeated." Chen Min reminded in particular.
Restart your body’s energy in all aspects from diet, work and rest to exercise
If you want to get rid of chronic fatigue syndrome, in addition to drug treatment, lifestyle changes are the key.
Chen Min recommends going to bed before 23:00 and taking a nap of no more than 1 hour to avoid damaging Qi by lying down for a long time; exercise moderately for 30 minutes a day, including brisk walking, Baduanjin, or slow walking, and avoid high-intensity strenuous exercise; sit for a long time at work and get up and move around every 40 minutes to clear the Qi and blood; avoid raw, cold drinks, heavy oil, and heavy exercise Spicy, don’t over-diet, eat three regular meals at regular intervals to protect the spleen and stomach; look at mobile phones or computers for no more than 1 hour, close your eyes for 5 minutes to prevent blood damage from long-term viewing; reduce mental internal consumption, leave 10 minutes a day to empty yourself, and people with long-term high pressure should regularly do soothing liver and qi conditioning.
At the same time, experts recommend four simple health-preserving tea recipes suitable for different body types, which are gentle tonic and suitable for daily drinking.
People with liver stagnation and spleen deficiency, accompanied by fatigue, irritability, abdominal distension, belching, and emotional depression, can drink rose tangerine peel tea. Take 3g of roses and 5g of tangerine peel and brew it with boiled water. It can soothe the liver and regulate qi, strengthen the spleen and stomach, and is gentle and non-greasy;
For those with heart and spleen deficiency, palpitation, forgetfulness, insomnia, fatigue, and dull complexion, we recommend astragalus, longan, and red date tea. Take 5g of astragalus, 2 longan, and 1 red date and brew it to nourish qi and blood, nourish the heart, and calm the mind. If you are prone to getting angry, you can reduce the amount of longan;
For people with liver and kidney yin deficiency, staying up late for a long time, dry eyes and hot flashes, wolfberry and Ophiopogon japonicus chrysanthemum tea is suitable. Take 6g of wolfberry, 5g of Ophiopogon japonicus, and 3g of chrysanthemum, which can nourish yin, improve eyesight, and clear away deficiency fire;
People with spleen and kidney yang deficiency, fear of cold, and loose stools can drink ginger, red dates, and cinnamon tea. Take 2 slices of ginger, 2 red dates, and a little cinnamon and brew it to warm yang and dispel cold. People with yin deficiency and hot flashes are prohibited from drinking it.
