Hot Flashes

Night Sweats and HOT FLASHES got you down? Cool off perimenopause or menopause with Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine and sleep nights too! In Traditional Chinese medicine theory, it's because of lacking of Yin (sort of body fluid), then makes fire and heat flare up. So we will use combination of natural herbs and acupuncture, nourish water and body fluid, pacify fire, so that balance Yin (water) and Yang (fire). The average time to relieve hot flashes is 2 to 3 weeks and maintenance is necessary.

Menopause

According to traditional Chinese medicine the reproductive function is governed by the kidneys. A woman's kidneys need sufficient energy in order to support fertility, libido, regeneration of the entire body, and tissue elasticity and strength. As a woman matures the blood flow provided by the efforts of her kidneys diminishes and this leads to menopause. Menopausal problems occur when the kidney energy is depleted and can not sustain the rest of the body. In other words, the body's vital life energy, or qi, (in particular the kidney energy) is out of balance.

During the perimenopausal years the Chinese believe that there is an increase in the active, dry, hot element called yang energy. Before thirty-five, a woman is more yin (moist, receptive, passive) but during the perimenopausal years her yang begins to express itself. She becomes more passionate about ideas, quicker to anger, faster to defend herself, and others. As more of this "hot" yang energy begins to move through the acupuncture meridians at first the flow is kind of halting as women get accustomed to using the new energy. Those halting manifestations of rising yang give rise to hot flashes. As the meridians open to the yang energy and we get used to using it the flow stabilizes.

When women have a lot of stress, either through poor diet, lack of exercise, or because of poor coping skills, the life-force energy can't flow smoothly through the meridians. In that case the flow of energy would have a hard time stabilizing and hot flashes would persist.

This imbalance may be corrected by a combination of herbal therapy, acupuncture, moxibustion, and dietary changes. Hot flashes and anxiety are considered a weakness of the heart; irregular menstrual flow and irritability a weakness of the liver; heavy menstrual bleeding and food cravings a weakness of the spleen.

In Traditional Chinese medicine, a personalized herbal formulas prescribed based upon the patients specific pattern is used along with acupuncture to alleviate hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms such as fatigue, headache, and menstrual irregularities.

PMS

Premenstrual syndromes (PMSs) are a group of menstrually related, chronic, cyclical disorders manifested by emotional and physical symptoms in the second part of the menstrual cycle, which subside after the beginning of the menstrual period.

Psychological and behavioral symptoms include: Mood swings and depression, tearfulness or feeling low, tiredness, fatigue or lethargy, tension or unease, irritability, clumsiness / poor coordination, difficulty in concentrating, altered interest in sex,
sleep disorders, food cravings, aggression and loss of self-control.

Physical symptoms that may be exhibited are: Breast tenderness, swollen / bloated feelings, puffiness of face, abdomen or fingers, weight gain, headaches, appetite changes, acne or other skin changes, constipation or diarrhea, muscle or joint stiffness, general aches and pains, especially backache, abdominal pain / cramps, and exacerbation of epilepsy, migraine, asthma, rhinitis or urticaria.

Chinese formulas contain natural ingredients such as Rehmannia (a yam species), Dong quai (an oyster shell mineral) White peony (from the peony tree), and Ophiopogon (a variety of asparagus root) and are prescribed based upon the patients specific pattern that has be identified to treat the patients particular PMS.