Need TCM advice on health situation

Hello community! I would like to start out by mentioning what my tongue diagnosis is as well as finger/toenail diagnosis and pulse. what issues I have been dealing with and what has been done thus far in terms of herbs and foods. I will then follow up with questions pertaining to what direction I should be going in from here, especially because of how perplexing the situation has become. I am very determined and will do whatever it takes. I appreciate any and all comments/help.

Tongue: Red tip and sides (heat in heart, liver/gallbladder), puffy, teeth marks along sides (spleen dampness), back of tongue has red swollen bumps/ slight cracking just past the tip of tongue (kidney yin def.), distinct line down the middle of tongue as well as occaisionally furry texture most of the time white sometimes yellow but not as often anymore since I have been working on anchoring the liver yang and boosting yin with slightly more yin foods.

Finger nails: size of the white part at base of the nail slightly larger on my right index and middle finger due to receding cuticles.

Toe nails: thickening, more brittle, with lines (liver yin or blood def or liver qi and blood stagnation?)

Pulse: About 7 months ago I was told by from a TCM doctor at Lin Sister Herb Shop in New York that my kidney yin was weaker in the pulse and liver yang was too high and from every thing he looked at he sold me 1 weeks work of extracts to make a tea of:

(Sang Ji Sheng) (Tian Hua Fen) (Sheng Zhi Zi) (Ge Gen) (Sheng Huang Qin) (Xia Ku Cao) (Nu Zhen Zi) (Xuan Shen) (Gan Cao) (Sheng Di Huang) (one more thing that doesn't have a name in english)

which felt good but was told I am not supposed to use this one consistently.

I am 25 years old and have had vision problems (nearsighted) since I was 9 years old. This vision issue had been progressively getting worse but then tapered off for a while to around -5 in each eye but I can only see clearly 6-7 inches in front of my face now. ( is this due to liver wind, qi/blood stagnation, dampness or cold?)

For the past 8 years or so I have had joint pain in my hands and they always seem stiff and in need of cracking which gets worse on damp rainy days especially in the morning, same with my ankles and elbows. Both cold or warm water seems to temporarily reduce the pain. I started taking Du Huo Ji Sheng which helped but then I developed a fever after trying it for a week or so and read that if you develop a fever using that mix you should discontinue its use.Now I have now switched to the liver fire clear (Long Dan Xie Gan Wan) since then for about a month. (Since symptoms are always shifting and pain isnt ever consistent is it wind?)

A couple years ago I was getting into working out more and lifting weights. After a while, possibly due to too much lifting or improper lifting, I injured my neck around the C7, C8, T1 area as well as the right shoulder/collar bone area, it felt sore for a while and still does randomly. But the real issue is the neck pain which seems to be worse on some days than others. I've been to a chiropractor who was telling me it is from sleeping on my stomach, texting, etc. Even after changing those postures and habits the pain still exists. It feels better with massage, heat or cold application but always comes back. I had tried a variety of different chinese herb mixtures with some varying degrees of success but nothing permanent. I started making a tea blend of:

Te Xiao Jing Zhui Tong

(Bai Zhi) (Qiang Huo) (Yan Hu Suo) (Wei Ling Xian) (Ge Gen) (Ru Xiang) (Mo Yao) (Pian Jiang Huang) (Bai Shao) (Chuan Xiong), but without the (Dang Gui)

I seem to break out with boils/acne occaisionally which I presume is heat toxin being expelled due to liver yang or heat rising (can deficiency heat do that?); the largest ones are inbetween my shoulder blades. And coincedentally it is directly to the left and right of those C7, C8 and T1 points at the base of my neck where the shoulders meet.

My hair seems to be thinning above the forehead for the past few years but I have been able to reduce the amount lost through various herbs, foods, shampoo with black strap molasses, breathing exercises, etc. but have not had any significant regrowth or thickening in thinner areas. I also have a couple white hairs popping out on the side of my head. Was considering Fo-ti again but didn't want to accumulate more heat since it is slightly warming, would it be ok to consider?

To reduce dampness I eat more sourdough rye bread, mung and adzuki beans, raw honey, celery, romaine lettuce, asparagus, carrots, etc. What form of food preparation would be best for damp conditions? What foods/herbs would be good at cooling and drying in this situation? At the same time I am taking into consideration the external environment/weather but always keeping health situations as top priority.

Questions:

1.) One of the main questions I have is how do you boost kidney and liver yin without increasing the amount of dampness in the body from too many yin foods/herbs leading to liver, qi and/or blood stagnation?

2.) Also how do you balance the yin energies in food/herbs out in daily diet with enough yang foods/herbs to make sure yang is anchored and not producing excess heat/cause liver yang to rise?

3.) What other herbs and foods would you recommend for this situation that would be of particular benefit?

4.) Am I doing the right thing by taking the Liver Fire Clear (Long Dan Xie Gan Wan) at this point in time or should I be using a different patented mixture. Is there any other correlation between symptoms and organ systems that I am confused about or unaware of?

5.) What can I do to help heal my neck permanently?

6.) What situation would be best to tackle first because everything in TCM is like a domino effect. Should I start with tonifying liver and kidney yin then move on to dampness? Should I include acupuncture and if so what points would be beneficial? Any recommendations?

Sorry if this is overwhelming, hopefully this gives enough background information to develop an accurate answer. I appreciate your time and efforts in reading this post and I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart fire!

Best Regards,

Wildturtle

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