Menopause

Menopause is when a woman's menstrual periods stop altogether. The physical and emotional signs and symptoms that go with "the change" usually span 1-2 years or. There is something in TCM that can be done to ease them through it and make life a little easier.

In women around the age of 50, the menstrual cycle occurs less regularly and finally stops altogether. This is the menopause. While Western medicine typically offers hormone replacement therapy for the discomforts which may come with menopause, many women cannot or do not wish to take hormones. Traditional Chinese medicine has a great deal to offer these women. Instead of the standard hormone replacement therapy, Chinese medical practitioners treat each woman individually, taking into account the whole pattern of each patient’s physical and mental-emotional symptoms. In terms of TCM, the menopause as being concerned with or caused by at least one of the following: 1) Deficiency of Kidney Yin Symptoms: Irregular menstruation or a shortened menstrual cycle with profuse flow, hot flushes, heat sensations in the body, night sweats, abnormal perspiration, irritability, insomnia, dream-disturbed sleep, soreness and weakness of limbs and knees, dryness of the mouth, constipation, scanty and yellow urine, red tongue with scanty coating and a thready, rapid pulse.

Treatment method: To nourish Yin, suppress Yang, soothe the heart and calm the mind. 2) Deficiency of Kidney Yang Symptoms: Irregular menstruation or a prolonged menstrual cycle with scanty flow, a feeling of suffocation, restlessness, irritability, poor sleep, a sallow complexion, loose stools, epigastric and abdominal distension, puffy oedema in the face and four limbs, frequent urination, a pale tongue with thin, white coating, and a deep, thready and weak pulse. Treatment method: To warm kidney Yang, invigorate the spleen and soothe the heart. Individual Chinese herbal mixture can be used to treat the menopause depending on each patient’s case. The main herbal products which have been proved very effectively for the treatment of manopause are: TAI TAI JING XIN KOU FU YE, KUN BAO WAN, ZHI BAI DI HUANG WAN. Other treatment may include either one or a combination of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage, dietary suggestions, and/or specific exercises or lifestyle recommendations.