Menopause Winter is associated with the kidney in Chinese Five Element Theory. Common kidney disharmonies are perimenopause and menopause. Women who are years away from menopause note that your lifestyle and diet from childhood play a significant role in determining what kind of menopause you will have. All women go through menopause. Some experience it naturally and others have it thrust upon them like Bandit when she was spayed. In either case Chinese medicine has shown to be successful at alleviating the symptoms. Chinese medicine has addressed womenıs specific health problems for 3,000 years. There were specialists in womenıs medicine as early as 2,500 years ago. Gynecological formulas that we use today date back over 2,000 years. Western doctors are now discovering the benefits of this ancient wisdom. Chistiane Northrup, MD mentions the benefits of acupuncture and Chinese herbs in her new book, The Wisdom of Menopause. Kidney Essence In Chinese theory, the kidneys contain a substance called kidney essence that is fundamental to life. If the essence is good a person will have a strong and robust constitution, if not then they can be susceptible to disease. Essence is also necessary to transform kidney yin and yang into kidney qi. Part of this essence is fixed at birth and part of it can be replenished. A good analogy is that you can recharge a car battery by having a good alternator; in turn, you can recharge the kidney essence by living a balanced lifestyle; but the kidney essence, like the car battery, eventually runs down. Some things can speed up the decline of essence, such as disease, drug abuse, poor diet or too little sleep. From a Chinese medical perspective, menopause is primarily caused by the decrease in kidney essence. As the essence declines the kidney yin and yang get out of balance and menopausal symptoms occur. The chart shows an example of menopausal symptoms. Both yin (moistening, nourishing and cooling) and yang (warmth, activity, light) are depleted. In this case the patient will have more yin deficient symptoms such as hot flashes, dryness and night sweats, (not enough cooling yin), but she might also have cold hands and feet (not enough warmth from the yang). A good illustration of this is shown in the following case. A recent client, a 55-year-old female, complained of severe shin pain when she walked. During her visit I asked if she was still having her period. She was, but not every month. She confirmed that she had night sweats and hot flashes (a kidney yin deficiency), but that usually her hands and feet were cold (a kidney yang deficiency). Her leg pain is considered a stagnation of qi and blood, but in her case I felt that it was made worse by the kidney yin and yang deficiencies. I treated her for the shin pain and also included points and herbs for the other problems. After just one treatment and two weeks on the herbs she reported that her night sweats were less often and less severe. Her leg pain also improved. I recommended continuing on the herbs and monthly treatments. It is important to continue getting treatments because things change as you progress through menopause so treatments and formulas must be adjusted accordingly. Making Lifestyle Changes Besides acupuncture and herbs there are lifestyle changes you can do that can ease the path through menopause. From the western perspective, hormone replacement therapy is also an option. However, weıre all different and each of us needs to find the course that works best. Diet: Eat more soy and make sure you get essential fatty acids. Good sources for these fatty acids are high fat fish like salmon, and flax seeds and oil. Eat foods to nourish your bones; see recipe on back page. Reduce sugar, alcohol, and caffeine intake. Exercise: Include weight-bearing exercises like running, walking, skiing, weight training, yoga, or marshal arts. Spiritual/Social: This is a perfect time to make time for you. Try something new like calligraphy, dance, or meditation. Join the church choir. Be eccentric if you want to. Back to Different Drummer Acupuncture Portland Newsletter Index |
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