As we all know, the kidneys are the "major housekeeper" of our body's vital energy and essence. When kidney essence is sufficient, we remain healthy, energetic, and less prone to illness. If kidney essence is deficient, various discomforts will inevitably follow.

Some time ago, a patient came to see me, complaining of daily lower back pain and soreness, weak and tired legs, frequent and urgent urination, and, most importantly, a lack of interest in intimacy, which had even begun to affect the couple's relationship. Upon further inquiry, he also reported chronic insomnia, loose teeth, frequent dizziness and tinnitus, occasional abdominal bloating and pain, and cold hands and feet.

When the weather turns cold, the knees and legs ache and feel numb. What's even stranger is that during the day, there's a fear of cold along with a tendency to sweat, while at night, the whole body feels restless and hot, tossing and turning with difficulty sleeping, and frequent night sweats. Upon asking him to stick out his tongue, it could be seen that there was a crack in the middle of the tongue, the tongue color was pale, the coating was white and greasy, and there were tooth marks on the sides.

In fact, all of this is caused by kidney essence deficiency and dual deficiency of kidney yin and yang. The kidneys nourish the brain marrow and ears, and deficiency can lead to dizziness and ringing in the ears; the waist is the "home" of the kidneys, so when the kidneys are deficient, the waist and legs are bound to feel uncomfortable; insufficient kidney yang fails to warm the body, resulting in cold hands and feet, joint pain, and the spleen and stomach acting up as well; prolonged yang deficiency can also deplete yin fluids, leading to kidney yin deficiency, where deficient fire rises upward, causing restlessness, night sweats, and insomnia at night. The tongue also needs nourishment from kidney essence; when it's insufficient, cracks can appear.

Given his condition, I used a classic kidney-tonifying formula — a modified version of Wuzi Yanzong Wan for regulation. After taking it for one course of treatment, he reported significant improvement in issues such as soreness and pain in the waist and knees, lack of energy, low interest, fear of cold, and insomnia.

If anyone has further questions, feel free to leave them in the comments, and I’ll reply when I see them.