Natural Remedies for Menopause Symptoms

A natural approach to dealing with menopause symptoms is on the minds of many women these days. After all the bad press regarding hormone replacement therapy (HRT) many women now fear using HRT. When the results of the Women's Health Initiative were released relaying the many serious health consequences of use, many women on HRT decided to go off the hormones that they had been using for years. Many decided that they would never go on them.

The symptoms of menopause and perimenopause can vary from woman to woman, from mild to severe and life disrupting. One woman may have mild occasional hot flashes, another may experience severe hot flashes every fifteen minutes accompanied by heart palpitations and feelings of severe anxiety.

Some of the symptoms of menopause are:

• Hot flashes
  
• Night sweats
• Insomnia
• Depression
• Irritability and mood swings
• Heart palpitations
• Feverish feelings (hot then cold)
• Dryness
• Headaches and migraine
• And many more
  

With a large number of women currently entering menopause years and the years leading up to menopause, known as perimenopause, what can be done if HRT is not their choice?

How can we help these women?

Many women will try herbs like black cohosh or others. But there is much variation in the success women have with these herbs touted for menopause relief. One product may work for one woman, but her friend will try it and have no success at all. These are all wonderful and helpful herbs but women may become discouraged not understanding why this so called wonderful and helpful herb that works for her friend isn't working for her.

Acupuncture and herbal medicine are two proven natural remedies for menopause symptoms. In Traditional Chinese Medicine we look at each person as a unique individual with a unique set of symptoms and constitution. The herbs and acupuncture treatment we give for one woman will differ from the next, as each person's symptoms and constitution will not be the same. We tend not to use a single herb but a formula with many herbs that are chosen to work synergistically with one another to enhance the overall treatment success.

In the hands of a skilled acupuncturist and herbalist many women can achieve success and relief from menopause symptoms. Each women receives her own specific herbal formula addressing her uniquely specific needs.

As a specialist in Women's Health I successfully treat many women for menopause and perimenopause symptoms. Please visit my website for more information.

Can Acupuncture and Herbs Get Rid of PMS?

Let's face it, as women we have all at some point in our lives experienced PMS, or premenstrual syndrome. If it is a mild case it can be unpleasant, but if severe it can be debilitating. Some of the symptoms of PMS are:

• bloating
• breast tenderness
• irritability
• moodiness
• depression
• anxiety
  
• headache or migraine

You may have suffered one or two or more of these. In some cases a symptom such as depression can be severe enough to be disabling and sometimes a migraine can last for days. For these women a monthly period is something indeed to dread! Often women with these symptoms also have severe menstrual cramping making the menstrual week and the week leading up to it a pretty miserable experience. Often women are put on birth control pills to control their symptoms regardless of whether they are sexually active or not.

For the women who would rather not use birth control (and for those who currently do) there is an answer to your pain and suffering.


In using Chinese Medicine we look to the root cause of the problem in order to correct it and alleviate symptoms. We do this by balancing the organs systems, removing blockages and supplementing where needed. Often in PMS we might say the women has qi stagnation, although other imbalances could also be present such as blood deficiency or blood stagnation. There are many possible imbalances as each person is a unique individual. We consider all of the variables in making our assessment. This is the way in which we get to the root of the problem to eliminate the symptoms.


When a woman comes to my office with menstrual problems I do a complete evaluation of her health and arrive at a diagnosis and treatment plan. I usually treat the person with acupuncture and a custom herbal formula that is specific for that person, as no two people with PMS are alike in their constitution. Once the woman is taking the herbs and receiving acupuncture for one or two months she will notice a big improvement in her symptoms. Sometimes the PMS will go away with the first menstrual period, sometimes the second. Sometimes it may take a little longer, but it does improve. And the best part, with proper care it is an improvement that can last a lifetime.

For more information or a free phone consultation call: (310)367-1564