Looking for Acupuncture for Menopause Symptoms?
You are likely reading this blog post because you are desperately seeking some kind of answers for your hot flashes, night sweats, and other menopausal symptoms and are hoping that acupuncture can help. As a Portland acupuncturist with over seven years of experience in helping most women ease their way through menopause, I have some natural options that work amazingly well.
The physical symptoms of menopause can be challenging, and onset can be sudden or gradual. Menopause related symptoms include skin and hair problems, urinary and vaginal symptoms, and both emotional and physical symptoms that can seem hard to pin down. Plus, some medical professionals dismiss, undertreat, or overdo treatment when it comes to those bothersome menopausal symptoms.
Menopausal Symptoms Can Negatively Affect Your Quality of Life
Hormonal imbalances can cause menopausal symptoms, and critical research studies often debate the risk versus relief for hormone replacement therapy, especially in menopausal women with a history of breast cancer. Women dealing with menopause often experience common symptoms such as sleep problems, breast tenderness, menopausal flushes, joint pain, mood swings and other emotional symptoms, and skin and hair problems, as well as even more severe symptoms.
The good news is: you don’t have to deal with menopause symptoms without reprieve. Acupuncture intervention can help you improve your quality of life — without increasing your risk for breast cancer and other adverse effects.
You have come to the right spot.
1. Get acupuncture for menopause.
I specialize in treating women’s health with acupuncture and Chinese medicine and have had women find me or get referred to me by their OB-GYNs when they do not want hormone therapy to be a part of their treatment plan. When symptoms become unbearable, it’s past time for us to have a chat.
Hormone therapy has helped many women, but over the years, we have also seen that it is not entirely safe and can even increase your risk of cancer. The beauty of acupuncture is that while being incredibly effective, it is also incredibly safe, having very few side effects.
I have been astounded by how well acupuncture alone has helped my patients reduce or eliminate their hot flashes, night sweats, and sleep disturbances. As a by-product of eliminating night sweats, you will sleep better, which will improve your mood and diminish your brain fogginess.
Now isn’t that what you’ve been hoping for? To top it off, you get to do all of this while resting on a nice heated (or not!) massage table, letting someone else take care of you for a change.
By beginning this acupuncture journey and being open to alternative medicine, you may find the following symptoms are reduced in as little as six weeks by use of acupuncture treatment on acupuncture points:
- Mood swings
- Hot flashes or hot flushes
- Hormonal imbalances
- Hair problems and hair related symptoms
Many women also find that acupuncture reduces hot flashes within the first few weeks of treatment, and experienced a significant reduction in sleep disturbances.
Acupuncture for Menopausal Women: How Does it Work to Minimize Symptoms?
Acupuncture treatments for menopausal women is a Traditional Chinese Medicine method, tackling menopause related symptoms as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, hormone replacement therapy. Acupuncture aims to improve quality of life and reduce mood swings, hot flushes, sleep disturbance, skin and hair problems, and other symptoms of menopause with the use of fine needles.
The standardized acupuncture approach is best performed by a licensed acupuncturist or Traditional Chinese Medicine specialist at an acupuncture treatment center or acupuncture group. I assess the acupuncture points of my patients and use acupuncture needles on pressure points and specific areas such as the inner ankle, where treatment is most effective.
Previous research indicates that symptoms of menopause such as sleep disturbance can be reduced in as little as six weeks with consistent acupuncture for menopause treatment. The treatment can have a significant effect on hormone levels and hot flushes in particular, increasing quality of life for many patients. Knowing the right acupuncture points can help — let’s get started today.
2. Examine your Diet to Reduce Symptoms
In addition to acupuncture, I always talk about diet as a treatment in relation to any health concerns my patients may have, and I have seen incredible connections made between hot flash frequency and diet. When you come in as a patient, we work in tandem, forming a partnership in your health.
I am kind of like a health detective, and you provide me with your insights and observations about your symptoms. When we discuss your diet, you will find yourself paying more and more attention to how your body reacts to the fuel you put into it.
You may notice foods, drinks, medications, and/or supplements that might be compounding your hot flashes and night sweats. I have had more than one patient who, after keeping a food, mood, and health journal, noticed that consuming a specific food or group of foods (in one case, stone fruits!) made their hot flashes worse. We will also go over ideal foods to add or to take out of your diet in order to help cool you down.
3. Use Herbs.
Herbs are also a part of most treatment plans for patients contending with menopausal symptoms. You have likely heard of black cohosh either from friends or in your Google searches pertaining to your night sweats, and it can be very effective. I am nationally certified to practice Chinese herbal medicine, and what that means is that I have years of training in prescribing custom formulas as a treatment for my patients.
While black cohosh can be helpful for night sweats, you may have other health concerns that commonly come with menopause, such as mood swings, low sex drive, vaginal dryness/vaginal symptoms, or insomnia and when I prescribe herbs, I have the benefit of being able to customize formulas so that we can address all of your health concerns at once. These menopausal symptoms are persistent and pesky, but through use of herbs, we can lessen them.
Herbs are potent medicine, and although they are natural, this does not mean that you should self-prescribe to relieve menopausal symptoms. There are potential interactions with other medications or supplements that you may be taking that need to be considered, so please contact a qualified herbalist before adding herbs to your regimen.
Acupuncture Treatments for Post Menopausal Women
Acupuncture is a beneficial treatment for life, which is why I also recommend acupuncture as an effective treatment for women done with the change. After menopause, many women still experience vasomotor symptoms, joint pain, inflammation, fatigue, as well as the occasional hot flash.
Acupuncture can keep your energy flow and blood flow on track in any stage of life. If you’d like to increase blood flow as you age, standard treatments from a licensed acupuncturist can help. While your menopausal acupuncture treatment period might end, hormonal changes will continue to occur in your body, and continued acupuncture treatment can be effective.
Start Acupuncture Treatment and Reduce Menopause Symptoms and Sleep Disturbances
By using acupuncture, diet, and herbs, I have been able to help many Portland area women significantly reduce or eliminate night sweats and hot flashes (hot flushes). There is no need for you to continue to suffer when Traditional Chinese Medicine can offer you relief from your menopausal symptoms with acupuncture treatment. Visit my website for more information, and to schedule your first treatment, call 503-442-1205 to schedule your free consultation and get closer to your first treatment at my acupuncture group
