Acupuncture for Menopause Symptoms
Victor Tsan, CHP, is the founder of the Philadelphia Holistic Clinic. Victor Tsan began his medical career when he graduated with honors from the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Moldova, USSR in the spring of 1976. After this initial success, Victor pursued his first internship in Psychotherapy at 1st... more
Menopause Treatment
Menopause treatment is usually a palliative healing that aims just to relieve unfortunate symptoms of menopause. Menopause is not a health problem but a natural transition. However, it can involve unwanted physical and mental changes. A woman may find that some methods of treatment for menopause are beneficial for relieving menopause symptoms.
The most common options for menopause treatment are:
Over-the-counter gels and other products for vaginal dryness
Patients may pick from many genital lubricants. All lubricants supply relief of vaginal dryness, but they differ in numerous essential parameters, such as the number and range of line extensions marketed under each brand name, dosage types, and also auxiliary benefits declared by their makers.9.
The K-Y brand and also its line expansions are the most acquainted set of products for genital lubrication.10 All work with condoms. One of the most well-known is K-Y Jelly, consisting of detoxified water, glycerin, hydroxyethylcellulose, chlorhexidine gluconate, gluconolactone, methylparaben, as well as sodium hydroxide. (The producer does not list concentrations on the tags of its items.) The jelly might be made use of as required to give comfort with sexual activity. Its uniformity enables simple postcoital removal. It is special among the K-Y item line-up because the producer suggests its use for relieving rectal insertion of thermostats or enema nozzles as well as vaginal insertion of tampons.
K-Y Ultragel is promoted as a smooth product that is “less messy,” being somewhat thinner than the jelly. The firm also asserts that it transcends to K-Y Jelly, due to its smoother uniformity and boosted duration. Its components are detoxified water, propylene glycol, sorbitol, polysorbate 80, Natrosol 250H, benzoic acid, methylparaben, as well as vitamin E.
K-Y Liquid is a fully fluid product, with cleansed water, glycerin, sorbitol, propylene glycol, Natrosol 250H, benzoic acid, methylparaben, and salt hydroxide. The firm asserts that this product is also smoother and longer-lasting than the initial jelly. With K-Y Warming Liquid, the maker claims that application creates gentle warming. On a company-sponsored listing of frequently asked questions, the supplier states that warming is generated through the use of a “unique patented blend that is proprietary to the brand name” as well as also guarantees readers that it has actually been checked as well as located securely for use.10 The labeled ingredients are propylene glycol, glycerin, purified honey, and also methylparaben.
According to the item packaging, K-Y Silk-e Liquid resembles the person’s natural dampness. The listing of active ingredients resembles that of K-Y Ultragel but includes aloe vera as well as substitutes polysorbate 60 for 80. The maker of K-Y Long-term promises the item will certainly last for days, with an active ingredient list that includes cleansed water, glycerin, mineral oil, calcium/sodium PVM/MA copolymer, PVM/MA decadiene crosspolymer, hydrogenated hand glyceride, methylparaben, benzoic acid, vitamin E, and also sodium hydroxide. It is important to keep in mind the visibility of mineral oil. Although mineral oil breaks down rubber items such as prophylactics, the business Web site is insistent that all K-Y items are risk-free to make use of with condoms. The supplier also markets a line of K-Y Sensual Haze products, a distinct dosage kind among personal lubricants. The warming variation of the mist contains propylene glycol, PEG-400, and also tocopherol.
Numerous other companies market vaginal lubricating substances. The Astroglide brand consists of a gel, fluid, warming up liquid, and Astroglide Silken Secret– a jelly marketed in prefilled applicators. All work with prophylactic use.
Lubrin is a genital insert that the supplier recommends putting a minimum of 5 minutes before sexual intercourse. It is developed to dissolve quickly as well as supply several hrs of lubrication. If the person uncovers that one insert generates excessive lubrication, half of an insert might be sufficiently effective. If the inserts are subjected to severe warmth, they might thaw. The client must position the inserts in a refrigerator for 24-hour, allowing them to resolidify without altering their efficacy. A tiny graph on the insert enclosed in the Lubrin packaging validates that the inserts work with condoms.
The manufacturer of Replens efforts to distinguish its item from these by stressing that it is a moisturizer as opposed to a lubricant.11,12 The Website suggests that other lubes are useful mostly for coital purposes, while Replens allegedly advertises the “all-natural function of the vaginal lining.” 11 It works with prophylactics. A research compared the supposed bioadhesive residential or commercial properties of polycarbophil (as used in Replens) versus pectin (as used in various other creams).13 The scientists stopped working to discover any type of one-of-a-kind benefit to the Replens formula in raising vaginal lubrication.
A topical cream referred to as Finally has actually been greatly promoted for boosting the level of sensitivity and also satisfaction for ladies during sex. How it could complete that is unidentified, yet the firm guarantees compatibility with prophylactics, suggesting that it might be utilized as a lubricant. The components consist of plants of unidentified security as well as efficiency when applied vaginally, such as aloe, ginseng, palmaria/palmata, Cananga odorata, and lavender. One record implicates lavender in call allergy that made complex a situation of persistent vulvovaginitis.14 Products promoted to the ordinary public without FDA-approved proof of safety and also effectiveness ought to be scrutinized extensively prior to they are offered for sale in pharmacies.
Prescription pills, creams, and rings for vaginal dryness
This form of treatment for menopause helps balance the body’s hormone levels by providing supplemental estrogen and a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone.
Hormone therapy comes in various forms, including skin patches and topical creams. It can help reduce the occurrence of hot flashes and other menopause symptoms.
Estrogen-based medicines are the most effective healing options for relieving menopausal hot flashes. Depending on your personal and family medical history, your doctor may recommend estrogen in the lowest dose and in the shortest amount of time needed to provide symptom relief for you. If you still have your uterus, you will need progesterone in addition to estrogen. Estrogen also helps to prevent bone loss. Prolonged use of hormone therapy may present some cardiovascular and breast cancer risks, but the onset of hormones at the time of menopause has shown benefits for some women. Talk to your doctor about the benefits and risks of hormone therapy and whether it is a safe choice for you.
Vaginal estrogen.
To relieve vaginal aridness, estrogen hormone can be taken straight into the vagina by applying a vaginal cream, vaginal tablets, or vaginal estrogen rings. During the healing process cream or tablet or a ring releases only a tiny amount of hormone, which is absorbed by the vaginal lining tissues. It can help relieve vaginal dryness, discomfort during sex, and some urinary discomfort.
Low-dose hormonal birth control pills for hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and mood changes
“Hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety, headaches, menopausal acne, joint pain, and scorching new belly fat during menopause?” Woot! BRING IT ON! “Said no woman. EVER.
And yet, if we’re lucky enough to live long enough, we women are sure to go through menopause at some point along the way, and many of us will endure at least some of these symptoms during perimenopause. and menopause.
Irregular and falling estrogen is the main culprit for many symptoms of menopause. Before reproduction ceases for good at around the age of 51, rises and falls in hormone levels are responsible for the emotional and physical roller coasters many women experience in their thirties.
Low-dose antidepressants for hot flashes, even among people who do not have depression.
Some antidepressants in a class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can reduce menopausal hot flashes. A low-dose antidepressant used to treat hot flashes may be helpful for women who cannot take estrogen for health reasons, or for women who need an antidepressant for a mood disorder.
Menopause does not require medical treatment. Instead, treatments focus on relieving your signs and symptoms, as well as preventing or treating chronic conditions that can occur with aging. Treatments can include:
What is menopause?
Menopause occurs when a woman hasn’t menstruated in 12 consecutive months and can no longer become pregnant naturally. It usually begins between the ages of 45 and 55, but can develop before or after this age range. Each woman may experience menopause differently.
The anatomy, as well as the physiology of the female reproductive system, is quite complex when compared with the male reproductive system. Menopause is a very prominent stage in the life cycle of all females.
Menopause usually starts between the ages of 40 and 58 years in developed countries, where the average age is 51 years. For some, it will occur earlier due to a medical condition or treatment, such as the removal of the ovaries.
Around the time of menopause, many females experience physical symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, and a reduced sex drive. It can also lead to anxiety, changes in mood, and a reduced sex drive. These symptoms may start before menstruation ends, and they can last for several years. The impact on a person’s quality of life can range from mild to severe. However, there are ways of managing these symptoms.
What happens during menopause?
What happens during menopause is a common question often asked by most women. During menopause, your body goes through major hormonal changes, decreasing the number of hormones it makes particularly estrogen and progesterone.
However, there are three stages:
- Perimenopause: This is the transitional time that starts before menopause and includes the 12 months that follow a person’s last period.
- Menopause: This starts either 12 months after the last period or when menstruation has stopped for a clinical reason, such as the removal of the ovaries.
- Postmenopause: This refers to the years after menopause, although it can be difficult to know when menopause finished and postmenopause starts.
What are the causes of menopause?
Menopause is caused by an imbalance in the body’s sex hormones that occurs with age.
It happens when the ovaries stop making as much of the hormone estrogen as possible and no longer release an egg each month.
Premature or early menopause can occur at any age, and in many cases, there is no apparent cause.
Sometimes it is caused by treatment such as surgery to remove the ovaries (ovariectomy), certain breast cancer medications, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy, or it can be caused by an underlying condition such as Down’s syndrome or Addison’s disease.
The most common causes of menopause are:
Naturally declining reproductive hormones.
As you approach your late 30s, your ovaries start making less estrogen and progesterone, the hormones that regulate menstruation, and your fertility declines.
In your 40s, your menstrual periods may become longer or shorter, heavier or lighter, and more or less frequent, until eventually by age 51 your ovaries stop releasing eggs, and you have no more periods.
Surgery that removes the ovaries (oophorectomy).
Your ovaries produce hormones, including estrogen and progesterone that regulate the menstrual cycle. Surgery to remove your ovaries causes immediate menopause. Your periods stop, and you’re likely to have hot flashes and experience other menopausal signs and symptoms. Signs and symptoms can be severe, as hormonal changes occur abruptly rather than gradually over several years.
Chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
These cancer therapies can induce menopause, causing symptoms such as hot flashes during or shortly after the course of treatment. The halt to menstruation (and fertility) is not always permanent following chemotherapy, so birth control measures may still be desired. Radiation therapy only affects ovarian function if radiation is directed at the ovaries. Radiation therapy to other parts of the body, such as breast tissue or the head and neck, won’t affect menopause.
Primary ovarian insufficiency.
About 1% of women experience menopause before age 40 (premature menopause). Premature menopause may result from the failure of your ovaries to produce normal levels of reproductive hormones (primary ovarian insufficiency), which can stem from genetic factors or autoimmune disease. But often no cause of premature menopause can be found. For these women, hormone therapy is typically recommended at least until the natural age of menopause in order to protect the brain, heart, and bones.
What are the symptoms of menopause?
Menopause is the time in a woman’s life at which she can no longer reproduce. Symptoms of menopause vary greatly from woman to woman. However, common symptoms of menopause include
- Hot flashes
- Mood changes
- Fatigue
- Stress
- Tiredness
- Vaginal dryness and itching
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- Reduced muscle mass
- Painful or stiff joints
- Reduced bone mass
- Less full breasts
- Hair thinning or loss
- Increased hair growth on other areas of the body, such as the face, neck, chest, and upper back
How long does menopause last?
How long does menopause last is not a question that has a simple answer. The length of menopause can be anywhere from a few months to several years? Many women begin perimenopause at some point after their mid-40s. Other women skip perimenopause and enter menopause suddenly.
About 1 percent of women begin menopause before the age of 40, which is called premature menopause or primary ovarian insufficiency. About 5 percent of women undergo menopause between the ages of 40 and 45. This is referred to as early menopause.
Natural remedies for menopause – most effective and safe menopause treatment.
Menopause is a natural biological process, not a medical illness. In the majority of clinical cases, menopause treatment is not required. However, the symptoms of menopause can disrupt your sleep, cause fatigue and depression in addition to weight gain, hot flashes, as well as loss of interest in intimacy. So, of course, we want real relief and it only makes sense to turn to natural remedies.
Natural remedies for menopause are ideal to help reduce the symptoms using plant-based products.
Listed below are some of the most popular natural remedies for menopause:
Beta-1,3D-Glucan
Beta Glucan is naturally extracted from all-natural grains, yeasts, and fungi, it is a natural remedy for hot flashes without hormones. Beta Glucan is one of the most essential natural remedies for menopause. It helps boost your bone marrow production and helps stimulate your immune system. When you take Beta Glucan, it really helps to alleviate a lot of your menopause symptoms. Beta Glucan has also been found to help relieve your joints… it acts like a lubricant and helps reduce swelling and inflammation.
Avoid Stress
This is considered one of the most important natural remedies for menopause. You need to avoid being stressed out. It will aid your hormones to keep balanced. Menopause has a tendency to increase stress. Hence, it is better to avoid further stress. If you noticed that you are thinking too much, the best thing that you can do is to rest for about half an hour. Through this, you are able to balance your hormones. The best thing to do this is through yoga.
Exercise
This is one of the great natural remedies for menopause. It helps counter tiredness, stress and improves overall health. It also aids to burn calories and strengthen bones to help maintain osteoporosis at a minimum. It is vital to do an everyday routine. However, ask professionals about that right exercise that you need to do daily.
Diet for menopause – an essential part of any natural menopause treatment
Diet for menopause is considered the simple and essential natural remedy for menopause. The diet should be advanced to aid your body to generate appropriate hormones to help your way through menopause.
Eating more fruits and vegetables and vitamins and minerals are the ideal diets for menopause. This will help increase the hormonal levels of a woman that is going through menopause. Your body will respond favorably to the increased hormone balance and you will notice a reduction in the number of irritability and hot flashes episodes.
Many people do not consume beans on a regular basis but the increase of beans in a menopausal women’s diet is also beneficial. This is because they are a low source of protein but they provide the benefit of extra added B6 vitamins. So with your next meal don’t forget to add beans to a soup or salad in order to get the extra added protein.
Ensuring a steady blood sugar level from consistent meals and drinking lots of liquids to avoid dehydration will help with mood swings and headaches. On a daily basis, you should be drinking up to eight cups of water. Such a simple solution but you would be amazed to hear how many women don’t drink water on a regular basis. Water helps in maintaining clean skin, avoiding cramping, constipation, and wrinkles. Diet for menopause is also a natural remedy for hot flashes without hormones.
Herbs for menopause – effective home-based menopause treatment
There are a number of herbs for menopause. These herbs have clinical research supporting their use and defining their benefits. Blended together in a specific formula, they can be very effective.
It is believed that one of the causes of menopausal symptoms is a hormone called luteinizing hormone. If levels are high, unpleasant symptoms are likely to appear. In order to obtain relief from the most unpleasant symptoms, there are a few herbs that work to reduce the luteinizing hormone.
Some of the most common herbs for menopause include:
Dong Quai
- This is a natural alternative to estrogen replacement treatments. Dong Quai has been around for centuries. It is used in Native American culture and is thought to have mild estrogen-like effects.
Red clover
- This herb for menopause is popular in Europe. It contains compounds similar to estrogen and progesterone. It may help to regulate the luteinizing hormone in a similar manner to Black Cohosh. Red Clover Extract contains isoflavones that are similar to estrogen (a female hormone). The effects can vary from woman to woman based on the stage of menopause they are in.
Black Cohosh
- This is another of the most common herbs used in treating menopausal symptoms. Black Cohosh works by lowering the levels of the luteinizing hormone. The luteinizing hormone is believed to be linked to unpleasant symptoms and is produced in the body at high levels while in menopause. This is also a natural remedy for hot flashes without hormones.
Homeopathic remedies for menopause – the #1 natural menopause treatment
Homeopathic remedies for menopause can be very effective in the treatment of symptoms of menopause. Homeopathy is a complete system of medicine, which aims to promote general health by reinforcing the body’s own natural healing capacity.
Homeopathic remedies for menopause are truly holistic medicine that treats not just the symptoms of menopause like hot flushes but the body as a whole. Listed below are homeopathic remedies for menopause
Graphites
- Graphites is one of the homeopathic remedies for hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause like chilly, pale, and sluggish with trouble concentrating, and a tendency toward weight gain during or after menopause.
Lachesis Mutus
- Lachesis Mutus relieves hot flashes from menopause, especially when hot flashes are relieved by sweating or the occurrence of periods.
Sepia
- This remedy can be helpful if a woman’s periods are sometimes late and scanty, but heavy and flooding at other times.
Sulphur
- Sulphur is a homeopathic remedy for hot flashes and flushing during menopause
Belladonna
- Belladonna relieves hot flashes with profuse sweating and head congestion.
Calcarea carbonica
- Calcarea Carbonica remedy may be helpful to a woman with heavy flooding, night sweats, and flushing (despite a general chilliness), as well as weight gain during menopause.
Glonoinum
Ignatia
- Ignatia is often helpful for emotional ups and downs occurring during menopause.
Acupuncture for menopause – natural treatment for a natural condition.
Acupuncture for menopause is a gentle, natural, non-evasive, and effective way to deal with the symptoms of aging of the woman’s reproduction system. Acupuncture for menopause balances symptoms, by matching hormones, reducing hot flushes, insomnia, and irritability, and inducing better sleep. It will improve the quality of life and inspire a woman to take a positive perspective on the changes happening in her life.
Acupuncture for menopause is a natural treatment; it will reduce hot flashes, anxiety, mood swings, and correct emotional and hormonal imbalances.
Natural menopause normally occurs in women between the ages of 45 and 56. During the period of the climacteric, a variety of symptoms may be experienced, which cause varying extents of distress. The most common of these are hot flushes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness, but insomnia, anxiety, depression, fatigue, aches and pains, headache, palpitations, genital and urinary problems are also common. Estimates of the percentage of women who experience symptoms distressing enough for them to visit their GP vary from15-25% (Chamberlain & Malvern 1996:136) to 20-60% (Lyttleton 1990b:5). For a percentage of these women, their ‘normal way of life and work becomes increasingly difficult. Conventional treatment is usually hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which is considered to be effective in treating the symptoms and may be prescribed for years. Some women find HRT effective, but others experience many distressing effects; some are advised against taking it or are unwilling to take it. Continuing distress caused by their symptoms prompts many women to seek help from acupuncture. Interestingly, Wadlow & Peringer (1996) show that nearly 30% of all patients presenting to acupuncturists are women aged 40-59.
How acupuncture as a form of menopause treatment may help you?
Women seeking acupuncture for menopause may suffer from a variety of symptoms that may present in a configuration that is unique to them. One of the strengths of acupuncture for menopause is in the tailoring of treatment to that unique individual. However, it also makes for difficulties when designing studies to examine its effectiveness. The reported randomized studies are small but sufficient enough to recognize the value of acupuncture for menopause in a clinic.
Throughout our life, we spend Yin energy on work, stress handling, grief, giving birth, taking care of others’ illness, and just general day-to-day living. This means that the woman’s body is not as efficient at balancing natural rhythms of cooling, calming, moistening, leaving us with symptoms we describe as irritated, hot flushes, anxiety, not sleeping, and generally feeling out of balance and not quite self-confident.
Although in general terms the main perspective of treatment is to nourish Yin. Acupuncture does not treat any two people alike, your acupuncturist will take your medical and emotional history and put together a treatment protocol recognizing that the symptoms you are feeling will change at each visit.
As menopause can occur at any age, for some females this period of life may become a time of heightened emotions. An acupuncturist will help those women to understand the physical and emotional symptoms they are suffering from. The holistic practitioner who is an expert not only in acupuncture for menopause but also experienced in hypnotherapy, homeopathic medicine, reiki, etc. will help patients to create a self-care program that suits their lifestyle. Also, this practitioner can work with female patients to take conscious action to overcome and self-manage symptoms of menopause
What is the role of acupuncture in menopause treatment?
The classical Chinese explanation for acupuncture for menopause is that there are special energy channels inside of human bodies that run in regular patterns throughout our body and over its surface.
These energy channels are called meridians. Like rivers flowing through a human body, they irrigate and nourish all tissues. These meridians’ lines can become obstructed by emotional or physical trauma much like a landslide that obstructs the flow of a river.
To re-establish the regular flow of Qi energy through the meridians, very fine needles are inserted into acupuncture points along the meridians to regulate your energy flow and unblock obstructions or stagnant energy which activates your body’s natural healing to correct imbalances in your body’s systems.
The modern scientific explanation is that needling the acupuncture points stimulates the nervous system to release internally synthesized chemicals to the skin, muscles, spinal cord, and brain.
Menopause treatment in Philadelphia.
At Philadelphia Acupuncture Clinic the team of well-trained licensed practitioners under the supervision of the internationally recognized specialist in alternative medicine, Medical Doctor Victor Tsan, developed a protocol for acupuncture for menopause that brings women’s bodies to harmony relieving the specific for this condition symptoms.
If you are suffering from symptoms of menopause and prefer to get a holistic treatment instead of hormonal replacement therapy, contact our clinic at 267-314-7575 and schedule your evaluation or use our scheduling application and find the most convenient day and time for your appointment.