Gui Zhi Jia Long Gu Mu Li Tang桂枝加龙骨牡蛎汤
Cinnamon Twig Decoction plus Dragon Bone and Oyster Shell
Ingredients7 herbs
Indications
Yin and yang both depleted, with yang no longer contained: what should be stored escapes — essence, sweat and sleep alike. The pattern is one of deficiency rather than of fire, which is why the treatment anchors and harmonizes instead of clearing.
Clinical Manifestations
- Nocturnal emission and premature ejaculation of the deficiency type
- Sexual dreams followed by exhaustion
- Palpitations and anxiety with spontaneous or night sweating
- Insomnia with an easily startled, unsettled quality
- Chronic fatigue with cold lower abdomen and hair loss
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Night sweating pronounced — add Fu Xiao Mai 浮小麦 and Wu Wei Zi 五味子
- Kidney yang clearly weak — cold limbs, clear copious urine — add Rou Gui 肉桂 or move toward a Kidney-yang tonic base
- Kidney yin depleted with mild heat signs — add Shan Yao 山药; only mild cooling, since heat is not the pattern
Contraindications
Not for emission or sweating from damp-heat pouring downward, nor from yin-deficient fire — anchoring on top of an unresolved heat pattern only traps it. The mineral ingredients are heavy on a weak digestion and are decocted first; long courses are reviewed rather than simply continued.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Generally compatible — the Gui Zhi Tang base is among the gentlest classical formulas — but the heavy mineral additions mean it is used in pregnancy only on a practitioner's judgment.
References
Source Jin Gui Yao Lue 《金匮要略》 · Eastern Han
「夫失精家，少腹弦急，阴头寒，目眩发落……男子失精，女子梦交，桂枝加龙骨牡蛎汤主之。」
- Classical source (public domain), cited in the source-quote section.
2. Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies, 2nd ed. — composition & dosage cross-checked.
3. 《方剂学》（全国中医药行业高等教育规划教材）— pattern analysis cross-checked.
Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.