If your headaches and insomnia have worsened after vaccination, the real cause is elsewhere.
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"My head feels heavily pressed for 2-3 days at a time. I can't sleep soundly either." |
For the 32-year-old man, the past year felt like a nightmare. Headaches, which had been intermittent for two years, dramatically worsened after his second COVID-19 vaccination. Rather than throbbing, the pain felt like his entire head was heavily pressed, lasting for 2-3 days once it started. A month ago, after suffering from shingles, he also developed insomnia, finding it difficult to fall asleep at night and waking up once or twice.
In the past, he took flunarizine (Sibelium) for several months as a headache preventative, but stopped due to a foggy mind and severe depression. Currently, he intermittently takes hydroxyzine for post-herpetic neuralgia and sleep issues, and also takes medication for kidney stones and gastritis. He was concerned about adding traditional Korean medicine (TKM) to his regimen given that he was already taking multiple Western medications.
1. Your Body is Like a Collapsed 'Jenga'
To understand his condition, we must avoid the easy path of pointing to the vaccine or shingles as the 'cause.' They were merely 'triggers.' The real problem had already begun much earlier.
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His body was like a precarious stack of 'Jenga blocks'. Years of stress and chronic fatigue had been slowly, subtly removing Jenga blocks, one by one. His body appeared to be holding up, but its internal structure was already precarious. In this state, when the crucial blocks of 'COVID-19 vaccination' and 'herpes zoster virus' were touched, the entire supporting structure suddenly collapsed. |
The worsening of his headaches and insomnia was the sound of that collapse.
2. A Storm in the Head: 'Ganfeng Neidong (Liver Wind Stirring Internally)'
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Traditional Korean Medicine Interpretation: Ganfeng Neidong (Liver Wind Stirring Internally) |
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In Traditional Korean Medicine, a state where the autonomic nervous system is extremely unstable, leading to internal tension and overload, is referred to as 'Ganfeng Neidong' (Liver Wind Stirring Internally). The 'Liver' (肝) is the organ responsible for regulating stress and balancing the autonomic nervous system. If stress persists, the Liver's function becomes obstructed (Liver Qi Stagnation, 肝鬱). If this state continues for too long, unnecessary heat (Fire, 火) can arise, or internal wind (Wind, 風)—meaning abnormal nervous excitation (pain, spasms, dizziness)—can be generated. |
His 'heavy and pressed' headache pattern is characteristic of a typical tension-type headache, reflecting a state where the muscles of the brain and cervico-occipital region are excessively tense due to 'Ganfeng' (Liver Wind). His insomnia also stems from excessive sympathetic nervous system activation, keeping the brain in an aroused state even at night when it should be resting.
Ultimately, the vaccine and shingles merely intensified the 'Ganfeng' (Liver Wind) storm that already existed within his body; they were not the storm's origin.
3. Cautious Approach: Prioritizing Treatment
So, how should we rebuild this collapsed Jenga tower? Especially when a patient is taking multiple medications, as he is, treatment requires a very cautious approach.
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Step 1: Extinguishing the Immediate Fire (Acupuncture and Lifestyle Management)
Step 2: Considering Herbal Medicine (After Reviewing Concomitant Western Medications)
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⚠ Caution: What he needs now may not be another medication to suppress headaches. Instead, he needs time to reflect on why his body's 'Jenga' became so precarious and to calmly rebuild the blocks, one by one. Small efforts like adequate hydration and maintaining sleep hygiene will be the first steps in re-establishing the collapsed structure. |