Chilling Out In Menopause With Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine believes there are three women within the body of each woman—the one that grows to puberty and menstruation, the one that lives from menstruation to menopause, and the one that reaches menopause and moves on through the rest of her life. When inhabiting a menopausal body for 20 to 40 years of our life, we should want to live out those years as pleasantly as possible. Instead, many women have so many complaints and issues with this third woman! Thankfully, we have ancient, traditional and highly effective treatments available to make your post-menopausal life comfortable, cool and lovely, instead of dry, hot and crabby!
The Third Woman
Women are full of yin and yang (estrogen and testosterone), from puberty until our 40’s and 50’s. Humans are in their prime reproductive states in their 20’s and early 30’s when the body has optimal strength, and you have the maturity to care for offspring. As you age, not only does hormone production decrease, but bodily functions do as well. When your reproductive ability stops, menopause (the cessation of your monthly period) begins, and the body starts to put your blood and energies toward maintaining strength and vitality, pooling its resources. The blood that was once used for menstruation is no longer in production so between that and lower estrogen levels, the body parts that need moisture like skin, hair, and nails, are negatively impacted. The process of digesting food and turning it into energy and blood starts to slow as we age, and that blood, the fluid that keeps us young and viable, starts to become scarce. Your body’s main focus turns to keeping the internal organs moving properly and using limited resources for everyday life functions such as digestion, breathing and elimination. We like moist skin, but it’s not necessary to our daily function. The body allocates less blood to keeping our skin glowing and it no longer sends blood to the monthly process of menstruation or keeping the genitals replete with blood.
Acupuncture Balances Menopausal Symptoms
As our bodies begin to conserve this blood and dryness takes over, pain and discomfort can arise. Our eyes may burn and become uncomfortably itchy. Intercourse can be painful and result not only in bacterial infections from torn skin, but also emotional upset and problems with our relationships as physical intimacy becomes more difficult. Many women choose HRT or hormone replacement therapy to offset these unpleasant effects of aging. Chinese medicine chooses to address these life changes with a different approach than that of replacing diminishing or “missing” hormones. We use acupuncture and herbs to first cool the body if you are experiencing hot flashes. There are points on the body connected to all the organs, some of which hold inner heat. The large intestine, which upcycles estrogen, can hold a lot of heat, especially if there is constipation. This throws off a normal reading of this vital female hormone. Your system is now imbalanced, and your body is trying to harmonize. Side effects of this process can include problems with temperature regulation, insomnia, foggy headedness, and irritability. So, we start your treatment by cooling your body, then we start moving the blood in the right direction. This is done through acupuncture points that help the body send a signal to the brain to redirect the misguided information. Once we begin to stabilize the hormones and decrease the side effects via acupuncture, we look to the brilliance of herbal formulas to keep the production of moisture and blood flow intact. I always utilize points that communicate with the liver and the kidneys when working on menopausal symptoms. I also treat points on your body corresponding to the small intestine for bloating and water retention. Acupuncture on lung points helps to treat dry skin, and spleen acupuncture points help with nervousness and anxiety. The specific treatments that I give depend on the particular health issues and complaints of each patient.
Herbal Medicine for Healthy Aging
There is a myriad of formulas available depending on the severity of each of your complaints. All of the formulas have the general aspect of keeping the yin (estrogen) moving and blood circulating throughout your body. In the Acupuncture by Andrea clinic, we prescribe Balance Spring to assist your body in the healthy aging process.
Two very famous and well known formulas for this third lady and her menopausal symptoms are Er Xian Tang and Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan.
Er Xian Tang works on the kidney yin, yang and essence. When a patient complains of hot flashes, nervousness, dizziness, fatigue, insomnia, depression, frequent urination and soreness of the low back and knees and I know that the liver needs to be nourished and cleared of heat, the blood needs to be cooled and the kidneys need to be supplemented. Health Concerns, carried in the clinic, has a proprietary blend of herbs based on the original formula.
Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan is another formula often used for menopausal symptoms. When there is excessive heat and sweating, that must be cooled before the nourishing of the yin can take place, and this is the formula I call on. It works with and on the kidneys to both cleanse and strengthen them. It also tonifies the liver, assisting with insomnia, dry mouth and related symptoms.
Acupuncture and herbal medicine acknowledge that all women age differently and your needs can be treated on an individual level at all levels of your life processes. The three women you have been and will be are a beautiful and incredible part of your life. Each stage has made you the woman that you are today, and with Traditional Chinese medicine, you will be rewarded with a smooth passage into the third stage of your life.