Peri-Menopause Symptoms Relieved with Acupuncture & Traditonal Chinese Herbs

Peri-menopause is a 2-5 year period during which a woman progresses from her fertile years into menopause. Menopause is defined as a lack of menstrual flow for greater than 12 months. Peri-menopause is not a disease, nor is it an HRT (hormone-replacement therapy) deficiency. Peri-menopause is a gradual physiological process that begins before birth! A woman will have 6,000,000 follicles as a fetus, 600,000 at birth, 300,000 at puberty, and only 10,000 at menopause. Thus, a woman's lifestyle and diet throughout life will determine the degree to which she experiences menopause. Remember there are some women who, as we say, cruise through this time.

A therapy that is able to address menopausal symptoms that I like to use most is acupuncture complimented by Chinese herbs. This approach focuses on re-balancing the body and tonifying deficiencies in either Yin or Yang.

Symptoms commonly addressed in peri-menopausal women using acupuncture and Chinese herbs are: headaches, fatigue, lethargy, irritability, anxiety, nervouseness, depression, insomnia, lack of concentration, hot flushes (i.e. power surges), vaginal dryness, sweating, and a decreased libido.

In British Columbia, the majority of Naturopathic Doctors (ND) have additional certification to preform acupuncture. The benifit of seeing an ND who also is certified to do acupuncture is that they can also offer you their opinion as to other means which will address other concerns you may have. (Ex: elevated cholesterol or blood pressure.)

ND's scope of practice includes: dietary and lifestyle counseling, acupuncture* and Chinese herbs, Western herbal medicine, homeopathy, functional medicine and nutraceuticals, physical medicine, and laboratory assessment, physcial exams, intravenous* and chelation therapy*.

*requires additional certification