Acupuncture for Menopause and Perimenopause in Hassocks

Traditional Chinese Medicine has a strong track record in understanding and treating the root causes of the symptoms associated with Perimenopause and Menopause. Women who start receiving regular acupuncture will start to feel considerably better within just a few sessions, whether or not they already take HRT.

Katie at Acupuncture Hassocks uses acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine (if necessary), dietary and lifestyle advice to treat menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms, relieving them by restoring balance to mind and body.

What are typical Menopausal or Perimenopausal symptoms?

During Perimenopause (which can start several years before a woman reaches Menopause) typical symptoms might be irregular, heavy or painful periods, mood swings, anxiety, fatigue

During Menopause (defined as being reached one year after periods cease), typical symptoms include hot flushes, vaginal dryness, low libido, digestive and urinary problems, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders.

Can acupuncture help with Perimenopause or Menopause?

Yes! Acupuncture starts to relieve the symptoms of Perimenopause and Menopause within a few sessions. Hot flushes and night sweats usually respond quickly, as do joint pain, irritability, headaches, brain fog and mood. Perimenopausal symptoms such as PMT and irregular periods may take a little while longer (usually around 3 months for hormones to regulate), but improvements are usually seen from the first month.

Can I use acupuncture and herbs if I am already taking HRT or anti-depressants?

Yes. For those women who are already taking HRT but are finding that HRT alone is not sufficiently relieving their symptoms, or is creating others, TCM can safely be used as an adjunct since it works in a completely different way to HRT or other medication.

Can acupuncture help with Chemotherapy-induced Menopause?

Yes! Acupuncture really excels with this group of women as they can suffer with complete Menopause in a very short space of time and are often unable to take HRT and so have limited options medically. The suffering of these women can therefore be immense. Within a few sessions of acupuncture, these women start to feel so much better, with symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, anxiety, low mood all improving.

Can acupuncture help with Menopause caused by removal of ovaries (oophectomy)?

Yes! This group of women go into Menopause as soon as the second ovary has been removed, so it is a medically-induced Menopause, which can cause extreme symptoms and be very difficult to cope with, even if they are able to take HRT. Fortunately, acupuncture can really help these women to feel better. Within 3 or 4 session, symptoms associated with menopause should start to abate.

Can I use acupuncture and herbs if I am already taking HRT or antidepressants?

Yes. For those women who are already taking HRT but are finding that HRT alone is not sufficiently relieving their symptoms, or is creating others, TCM can safely be used as an adjunct since it works in a completely different way to HRT or other medication.

How Menopause is viewed and treated in Western medicine

Menopause in Western Medicine is understood as a cessation of menstrual periods, driven by a dramatic decline in reproductive hormones, namely estrogen and progesterone. The decline in estrogen is considered to be the main cause of many of the unpleasant symptoms associated with Menopause. It is typically viewed as a medical condition and is medically treated via various forms of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

How Menopause is viewed in Western Culture

Culturally, Menopause in Western countries is viewed in fairly negative terms. It has become a time that women dread and fear and see as something to override hormonally. It is seen and treated as if it were almost a biological inequity that we should cease to be able to reproduce in mid-life when men do not. Women often see and think of themselves in negative terms (“old”, “past it”, “dried up”). It is sometimes lamented almost as an ending of a woman’s usefulness to society and women in our culture often report feeling “invisible”.

How Traditional Chinese Medicine and other Eastern Cultures View Menopause

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and in Eastern cultures in general, Menopause is viewed not as a medical condition to be overcome, but as a natural stage of life and a significant transition, which brings with it a shift away from the reproductive pressures of menstruation, pregnancy and chid-rearing into a time of great opportunity for empowerment, self-discovery and wisdom.

Described within TCM as a “Second Spring”, it explains that Menopause involves a redirection of blood and energy from the uterus and ovaries to the heart, the home of wisdom.

With women living such a large proportion of their lives free of of the worries and strains of reproduction, they are free to turn their attention and life-experience towards other areas in life. We see this with so many wonderfully strong, wise and dignified women in their latter years these days. It is my hope that many more women use this transition to their advantage, and come to view Menopause as it is viewed in other parts of the world. Far from being an endpoint, it is truly a new beginning!

How TCM understands and explains Menopause

TCM understands that Menopause is not an event, rather it is a natural process which begins even before birth! Our Kidney energy (Qi, Jing, or Essence) is our life-force and is partly acquired from our parents at conception (our Inborn Qi), and partly acquired during our lives (our Acquired Qi). This energy peaks at puberty and then starts a gradual decline, particularly from around the age of 35. How quickly or slowly it declines however, (and in particular, how smoothly) is determined to a great extent by our diet, our stress levels and our lifestyle. Smooth-flowing, gradually-declining Qi equates to a long and healthy life, as well as a smooth transition through menopause.

This understanding is particularly pertinent to women, because how well a woman lives, whether she eats well, sleeps well, whether or not she is typically stressed or over-worked, especially in her 30s and 40s, determines how smoothly and slowly her Qi declines, and therefore, how easy or otherwise her menopause will be. Going into, and therefore coming out of menopause well sets a woman up for a long and healthy remainder of her life. This is where acupuncture and herbs can help enormously.

TCM takes an individual approach to menopause, looking at the pattern of symptoms as well as a person's overall health and constitution.

Typical imbalances seen in Menopausal women:

Kidney Yin deficiency with internal heat

One traditional TCM pattern commonly associated with menopausal symptoms is Kidney Yin deficiency. Yin is traditionally understood as having nourishing, cooling and moistening qualities. When Yin is considered insufficient, relative heat may arise, which TCM associates with symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, restlessness and disturbed sleep.

Kidney Yin is most closely correlated with Estrogen, however it is so much more than Estrogen alone. When we nourish Kidney Yin with acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine, we moisten the tissues of the entire body (skin, eyes, mouth, vagina, etc), strengthen the bones, nourish the brain, strengthen the teeth and strengthen any weakness of the lower back and the knees!

Kidney Yang deficiency
Another TCM pattern associated with menopausal symptoms is Kidney Yang deficiency. Yang is understood as having warming, “doing” qualities. When Yang is considered insufficient, we may feel colder than those around us and have cold hands and feet, and need to go to the toilet during the night or early morning, which can disrupt sleep.

Kidney Yang is most closely correlated with Progesterone and Testosterone, however it is so much more than both of these hormones! When we nourish Kidney Yang with acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine, we warm the body, increase the libido, reduce night-time urination, strengthen the bones, nourish the brain, strengthen the teeth and strengthen any weakness of the lower back and the knees!

Liver Qi Stagnation/Liver Heat

These patterns are very common and arise from stress. They are highly correlated to high Cortisol and are almost always one of the underlying factors in women presenting with Menopausal symptoms. When left untreated, Liver Qi Stagnation or Liver Heat can give rise to irregular periods, clotty periods, painful periods, bloating, sore or distended breasts, night sweats, hot flushes and mood issues including frustration, anger or even rage.

Heart Qi/Blood Deficiency

This is also a common pattern during Menopause and Perimenopause, and can cause palpitations as well as feelings of energy rushing upwards in the chest, sweating on the chest and fatigue.

Your symptoms may reflect one or several different TCM patterns, which is why treatment is individually tailored rather than using the same approach for everyone.

How does acupuncture treat Menopause from a Western physiological point of view?

Acupuncture works via numerous physiological mechanisms, which account for its multitude of effects on the human body. One of the most important of these is its effect on ‘purinergic receptors’.

Purinergic receptors have been investigated as potential therapeutic targets in a broad range of disorders, including many which affect peri and post-menopausal women. They include depression and anxiety, sleep disturbances, osteoporosis, endocrine disorders, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative disease. In terms of vasomotor symptoms (hot flushes), studies have suggested that acupuncture influences the release of beta-endorphins. These neurochemicals are thought to be involved in the pathophysiology of hot flushes, although this is still not clearly understood.

Acupuncture also appears to influence cortisol, cortisol metabolites, and DHEA levels. Cortisol levels tend to increase following menopause, contributing to changes in mood, metabolism, bone density, and cognitive decline. It is, therefore, possible that the same underlying mechanisms play a role in the treatment of hot flushes, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, abdominal obesity, osteoporosis, and dementia.

Further suggested mechanisms for acupuncture’s effects on obesity include anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, regulating the endocrine system, promoting digestion, and influencing lipid metabolism.

Finally, MRI studies on patients with AD or mild cognitive impairment have shown that acupuncture activates and deactivates several regions of the brain. They include the basal ganglia, cerebellum, cognitive, visual, and sensorimotor-related areas.