Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin天麻钩藤饮
Gastrodia and Uncaria Decoction
Ingredients11 herbs
Indications
Liver yang rising with internal wind stirringon a base of Liver and Kidney deficiency. Heat and yang push upward while the root below is empty, so the formula settles the top and supplements the bottom in one prescription.
Clinical Manifestations
- Headache and dizziness that worsen with stress or anger
- Raised blood pressure with a flushed, tense feeling
- Tinnitus with a hot face and bitter taste
- Insomnia with dream-disturbed sleep
- Numbness or twitching of the limbs
- Residual weakness after a stroke, alongside medical care
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Marked Liver fire with red eyes and a bitter mouth — add Long Dan Cao 龙胆草 and Xia Ku Cao 夏枯草
- Yin depletion below with heat above — add Sheng Di Huang 生地黄, Gou Qi Zi 枸杞子 and He Shou Wu 何首乌
- Severe headache and dizziness — add Ju Hua 菊花 and Sang Ye 桑叶
- Wind with tremor or twitching — add Zhen Zhu Mu 珍珠母, Long Gu 龙骨 and Mu Li 牡蛎
- Insomnia predominant — increase Shou Wu Teng 首乌藤 and add Suan Zao Ren 酸枣仁
Contraindications
Not for dizziness or headache arising from qi and blood deficiency, phlegm-damp or cold — the cooling, downward-directing herbs would deepen those patterns. It is not a substitute for antihypertensive treatment; anyone taking blood-pressure medication should remain under medical supervision and not change that treatment on their own.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Use in pregnancy only under practitioner supervision — Yi Mu Cao and Chuan Niu Xi both move blood and direct it downward, and are ordinarily avoided; raised blood pressure in pregnancy needs medical assessment in its own right.
References
Source Zhong Yi Nei Ke Za Bing Zheng Zhi Xin Yi 《中医内科杂病证治新义》 · Modern (published 1958)
- 《中医内科杂病证治新义》（胡光慈，1958）— the originating text; it is a modern work still in copyright, so no passage is quoted here.
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.
4. Manufacturer ingredient label for the granule sold under this name — retail composition 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.