Alternative to Rehmania Eight (non cloying)?

Basically while yin herbs can be cloying, ba wei di huang wan already has a few herbs in the formula which account for this. If it’s not a good fit, then the diagnosis is probably incorrect and you should go a different direction. Remember that trying to treat everything at once, rather than resolving in layers, will be problematic in most cases.

Yes, it makes a reasonable amount of sense. I guess where I see a possible issue is trying to figure out one formula that works universally. In my mind you will need small amounts of different formulas either switching back and forth day by day or week by week or small amounts at targeted parts during the day. Just as an example, ba we di huang wan in the am, small amount of spleen formulas with lunch or mid afternoon depending on the formula and then possibly something more mildly yin/shen calming in the evenings. And by small amounts, I mean fairly small, almost clinically insignificant amounts. In our sunten brand that we use - a normalish dose would be 2 capsules 3x/day - I might literally use 1 capsule in the AM of a particular formula, a couple in the afternoon and then 1 or more in the evening and may vary that from day to day. In some sense you are using these more as a homeopathic way (i.e. suggesting) than a western medicine way (i.e. forcing). By using light recommending doses instead of strong clinical doses you avoid many potential issues, particularly with complicated cases. It doesn’t always work, but I would say I find those approaches effective 80% of the time.