Menopause – 6 steps to alleviate symptoms

Let's face it ladies, Menopause can suck, with many of the symptoms really disrupting our lives. Here are a few tips, tricks and ideas around the subject, which could offer you some relief.

Menopausal transition or Perimenopause, are the names given to a group of signs and symptoms which include, night sweats, hot flushes, weight gain, fatigue, irregular menstruation and mental restlessness. Menopause is when a woman's period stops completely (12 months after the last period). From a Traditional Chinese Medicine (Acupuncture) perspective, many of the symptoms above come from different organ and substance deficiencies, so each is viewed and named individually, rather than as a collective. Let me explain...
 
Night sweating is typically due to a deficiency of the Kidneys and sometimes the Heart (in TCM the Heart controls sweat and contributes to anxiety). Hot flushes tend to come more from Liver deficiency. Weight gain is mostly due to the accumulation of dampness (dampness occurs when the process of food intake, digestion, and transportation, is not balanced) Fatigue is commonly seen as a symptom of Energy (Qi) Deficiency where the body is lacking sufficient energy to function at its optimum. Irregular menstruation can be connected to many different causes and a TCM practitioners job is to differentiate between short, long and chaotic cycles.
 
The most common complaint I hear within a conversation around menopause, is the presence of night sweats and hot flushes, so those are the aspect we will focus on in this blog post.
 
When there is an excess of heat in the body, it causes night sweats and flushes. The heat is present because of a lack of body fluids, or to put it another way a lack of cooling fluids. An accurate metaphor would be the combustion engine. When an engine overheats it's usually because the cooling system is faulty, one reason can be because of low motor oil levels (the cooling lubricant that coats the working parts and prevents friction). Our blood works in the same way, cooling and nourishing our bodies.
 
When practising Acupuncture, I use principles designed to enhance the blood therefore cooling the body. I also clear any excess heat present using various acupuncture points. Patients can reinforce their treatment with practical steps at home that are designed to cool the body and reduce heat. Below I’ve highlighted these practical steps, along with other considerations.
 

1. Hydration
 
In order for us to enhance the blood (increase the cooling fluid) women need to drink thin fluids such as water, herbal teas, clear soups and watery fruits/vegetables. Fresh mint tea is especially cooling and watery fruits/vegetables include watermelon, pineapple and cucumber.
 
I also ask my patients to consume liver, beef steak and leafy greens, which are foods high in iron that can help with iron deficiency anaemia in cases of heavy blood loss during menstruation. Nourishing our blood through food has both a cooling and healing effect.
 
It’s worth noting that Women’s basal body temperature (BBT) rises after ovulation and stays raised throughout the luteal phase (the second half of the menstrual cycle), which is why the night sweats and hot flushes are more prevalent during those times. Hydration therefore is especially important during menstruation.
 
People often ask how much water should we be drinking? The answer is it depends on the person. Those women who move much more during the day need more fluid. As a ball park figure I say 1.5 litres but also factor in the fluids we receive from our foods too, especially those that have been steamed or boiled.
 
The best way to measure and maintain regular consumption throughout the day, is to find a water bottle with the times of day printed on the side, that way you can easily track your intake. This bottle is a good example. 

2. Avoid heating foods
 
From a TCM point of view, certain foods create heat in our bodies. They include: Sugar, alcohol, coffee, black pepper and warming spices. This is why sometimes women will find that poor hydration during the day, coupled with alcohol consumption in the evening, exacerbates their night sweats and hot flushes.


3. Emotions
 
Emotions can also cause heat in the body. Stress (or more accurately frustration) particularly affects the Livers ability to stay cool and so heat rises very quickly creating hot flushes along with headaches, dry eyes and dizziness. The syndrome in TCM is called Liver Yang Rising is predominantly caused by Liver and/or Kidney Yin deficiency. One way to rebalance the Liver is through regular exercise, as it's a great way of moving Energy and clearing Blood stagnation.

Another Perimenopausal symptom is Anxiety and the Heart plays a large role in this. By bringing more joy into our day we can have a healing effect on the Heart. Belly laughing is a fantastic way of moving Energy through our torso and chest. I love finding an instagram feed or podcast that makes me laugh out loud because not only does it feel good but it also has a great affect on my wellbeing. Laughter is the best medicine, right?.

 
4. Medication
 
It's worth remembering that certain medications are recognised to have night sweats as part of their side effects. These include: Antidepressants, Hormone therapy, Methadone and drugs with Hypoglycaemic agents (used to treat low blood sugar with diabetes).

 
5. Duck down bedding
  
This is quite an obscure one, but a patient of mine always experiences night sweats when she stays away from home and sleeps with a duck down duvet and pillow. Feather Duvet Lung disease (a bird allergy), is pretty rare and the symptoms following exposure to new feather duvets or pillows, can range from three weeks to five years. Difficulty in breathing can grow over time and the patient can have night sweats, dry cough, weight loss and fever. The condition is often misdiagnosed if the person reports no birds in the home, and many doctors don’t think to ask about bedding.


6. Acupunture/Acupressure

Acupuncture/Acupressure and the philosophies of Traditional Chinese Medicine, can have a marked affect on the signs and symptoms of menopause. Treatment - coupled with the steps above - give women a chance to gain some control over their health again.

Below is an illustration highlighting the Acupuncture points and meridian I use on the patients back. In order to treat the Kidneys and Heart (typically responsible for night sweating) I start my treatment by warming the patients back with heat lamps as well as inserting acupuncture needles to the relevant organ points. This treatment can also be applied with the used of Massage and Acupressure (which anyone can do this at home). Massaging the lumbar and upper thoracic regions (both sides of the spine), produces the desired effect. I tend to use Tui na which is a massage using the knuckles because it gives me the ability to apply pressure to very specific areas.

If you would like to book a consultation or have a free chat on the phone with Anna Bennett BSc; (Hons); Lic. Ac. AAC. RBAF. Contact details are below.

www.annabennett-acupuncture.co.uk
[email protected]

Mob: 07710 482885
Clinic: 01491 577771