Success using Chinese herbal preparations.

[AussieRodney]

I recently spent some time being needled by an acupuncturist (yes, pun intended), who also recommended Chinese herbal preparations. Unfortunately, both the treatments and the herbs were too expensive for our limited budget & I haven't been back there for a whiule.

However, I did do my research on the preparations he had suggested, or ones that were fairly close. I now use 2 preparations made by Black Pearl, who seem to be highly regarded & available locally or online in most countries:
Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang (Peony & Licorice Combination) for the RLS symptoms. A few during the morning & lots of these in the evening.
Chai Hu Shu Gan Wan (Bupleurum & Cyperus Combination) to help me sleep. Anywhere from a few to heaps in the evening, depending on how the day has been & the evening is shaping up.

So far, this is a reasonably inexpensive method of keeping my night time symptoms under control.

[ViewsAskew]

Hope it keeps working.

[AussieRodney]

Thanks. Yes, it has been working for a couple of months so far.

[badnights]

Do you eat the herbs? Or make tea?

I like licorice tea in the evenings...

[AussieRodney]

They are tiny little pills that look like black pearls, hence the brand name.

[erika13]

Hi AussieRodney,

That’s great to hear you are having success with Chinese herbal medicine. There are actually several studies on some Chinese and Japanese herbal formulas and WED (RLS)… they are a little different to the ones you are taking, but they do contain Peony and Bupleurum.

You can buy them in the US (or in Australia too) online through places like Acupuncture Atlanta.

I actually saw a neurologist here and he prescribed the first herbal formula, which is fully covered by health insurance in Japan.

I am, by the way using Kratom successfully, which is unfortunately illegal in Australia.

Anyway, here are two formulas, which have been studied here:

1.
Yokukansan (Japanese name of formula)
Yi-Gan San (Chinese name of herbal formula)

* The names are different in Japanese and Chinese, but they are the same formulas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokukansan

Successful treatment of restless legs syndrome with the herbal prescription Yokukansan, 2010.

http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/19913 ... dDSq2U7.10

Here is a link to an article on PubMed, which indicates that it is used to treat Restless Leg Syndrome in Japan:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23094294

And another study on the herbal formula:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23151467

There is another formula, which has also been studied here in Japan:
Jia Wei Xiao Yao San (Chinese name of formula) – Bupleurum & Peony formula
Kami-shoyo-san (Japanese name of herbal formula)

http://www.k-kenkyukai.com/toyoshinshin ... 9_k_08.pdf

[badnights]

Fantastic information, erika13, thank you! I started to look up AussieRodney's ingredients, but stalled out - I got as far as seeing that peony is useful for muscle cramps, but knew I was in for some longer hunting when I read on one site that it's used to initiate abortion and on another that it's good for pregnant women. That obviously bears some looking into and I was too tired to continue - doesn't have to do with WED/RLS, I understand, but factors in finding a reliable source of information.

[AussieRodney]

It's good that my discovery is generating more research.

The Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang (Peony & Licorice Combination) was actually recommended by the acupuncturist specifically for RLS. I managed to find a cheaper version than the $60 a week made by hand that he wanted to sell me. When I mentioned Black Pearl to both him & the receptionist, they both said, "That's great!"