When we think of menopause, “hot flashes” are one of the first things that come to mind, but menopause involves much more than this, with a wide range of symptoms. When it comes to treating menopause, some studies have shown acupuncture to be just as effective as hormone replacement therapy, which, while effective, comes with health risks. Let’s take a look at how a skilled Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner can help a menopausal patient through this uncomfortable time in their life.
There are few things guaranteed in life, but for women, menopause is one of them. Menopause is defined as occurring 12 months after your last menstrual period and it marks the end of the menstrual cycle. It can result from a natural decline of reproductive hormones, hysterectomy, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and primary ovarian insufficiency. Today, the average age that menopause occurs is 51 years old, and that is fairly consistent across all cultures.
The symptoms of menopause, depending on the severity, may affect a woman’s quality of life and therefore require the attention of health professionals.
A host of physical and mental symptoms can begin in the years and months leading up to and during menopause. These symptoms can include anything from:
- Hot flashes
- Insomnia
- Vaginal dryness
- Mood swings
- Slowed metabolism
- Dry skin
- Stiff joints
- Night sweats
Western medicine does offer treatment in the form of hormone therapy with replacement estrogen, either by itself or with progesterone, as the most consistently effective therapy. However, in a well known study (the Women’s Health Initiative), healthy post-menopausal women who were given long term replacement hormone therapy, researchers noticed higher rates of stroke, breast cancer, heart attack, dementia, and blood clots in the lungs and legs, which many would argue outweighed the benefits. Since then, the FDA recommends that women with moderate to severe symptoms (seeking menopausal hormone replacement therapy for relief) use it for the shortest time needed at the lowest effective dose.
So, does Chinese Medicine having anything to offer menopausal women?
Yes: in Traditional Chinese Medicine, we use treatment protocols that tonify the kidneys, in particular kidney yin, the foundation of Ying fluid (responsible for the body fluids, blood etc. of the whole body). It moistens and nourishes the organs and tissues.
There are several TCM patterns causing symptoms of menopause, and not all women experience the same one and therefore what is appropriate for one woman may not be appropriate for the next. For example, kidney yin deficiency presents with symptoms of:
- Hot flashes
- Dryness of the vagina
- Dizziness
- Tinnitus
- Night sweating
- Dry mouth with a desire to drink in small sips
- Backache
- Poor memory
- Scanty dark urine
However, a woman does not need to be experiencing all of these symptoms in order to be diagnosed with a kidney yin deficiency.
TCM practitioners can offer a variety of treatments depending on their assessment and diagnosis of the individual patient. These are just a few recommendations that can be made:
- Herbal formulas
- Acupuncture treatments
- Dietary changes
The effect of acupuncture on hot flashes works by affecting (serotonin and beta-endorphin activity) in the central nervous system and may influence the part of the brain that monitors and controls body temperature to make it more stable. Due to the individualized nature of acupuncture and TCM treatments, large studies are very difficult carry out, but a few studies have been done with results finding acupuncture to be as effective as hormone replacement therapy in regulating hormone levels.
I hope you have found this informative. If you are still curious about whether acupuncture or Chinese medicine may be appropriate for you during menopause, I encourage you to email me or book a free 15 minute consultation with me where we can discuss the specifics of your situation one on one!