Menopause and TCM

Menopause is a natural part of a woman’s life that has been frequently associated with annoying symptoms and disturbing hormonal changes. But little do people know, with some right prevention and assistance, women can go through menopause easily, without suffering.

When women age, the hormonal level starts to decline and fluctuate around the mid-40s making this the common time for menopause syndromes to show. Other than aging, some surgical procedures and hormonal medication could also cause the hormonal disturbance. So the important tip of going through menopause easily is about how we can maintain a stable hormonal level.

Here are some of the common symptoms of menopause syndrome:

• Hot flushes or redness in the face day and/or night

• Excessive sweating, especially with hot flushes

• Insomnia and dream-disturbed sleep

• Thirst and dry mouth

• Frequent urination during day or night

• Anxiety, restlessness, irritability, depression

• Swollen lower legs, ankles, feet

• Tiredness and headaches

• Lower back ache

• Constipation

• Vaginal dryness or itchiness.

Why the symptoms appear?

When we characterized the above symptoms using the TCM theory, we will see “Hot/ Red/ Dry/ Restlessness” are the common nature of these symptoms. It is very understandable in a TCM perspective. We believe that the Kidney system is where our body stores energies, especially the powerful essence energy. And the doctrining energy of Kidney system is the Water energy, a calming, nourishing, moisturizing type of energy. When women ages and Kidney Water energy runs low, the body is no longer able to balance out the Fire energy therefore causing all those fiery type of symptoms. Since the Water energy is also working as a medium of circulation, assisting the delivery of other types of energy like Qi, so she might experience fatigue and depression. Last but no least, the Kidney system also doctrine the water circulation so when the energy is low, it fails to control the urination and sweating.

Kidney system plays an important role in managing menopause peacefully but it is not the only systems to be taken care of. Diet, lifestyle, history of birth, stress level all affect the general balance of Water and Fire energy. No two women experience menopause in the same way. TCM is able to use unique theories to interpret the diversified and subtle nature of the symptoms, and correlate them with internal disharmonies. For example, most menopausal women go to see TCM physicians for treatment of their hot flashes, but these may also be accompanied by a variety of other symptoms. One may complain about frequent hot flashes but also have sweating, palpitations and dizziness; another may complain only about mild hot flashes, but experience more severe emotional distress or fatigue. All these combination of symptoms have significant implications for TCM diagnosis and treatment. [Read more: Stress Management: How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with Stress]

In addition to the above symptoms resulted from the Water/Fire energy imbalance, women have to face many other changes. For example, even though they eat less and exercise more, it is harder to maintain their body shape, because their Spleen or Kidney become less efficient in cleaning up and building new tissues; visual problems like blurred vision, tired eyes because of the blood energy deficiency and Liver system congestion; Kidney Water energy deficiency causes marrow depletion in the brain that leads to loss of mental sharpness or behavioral changes and so on. [Read more: The Psychology Behind Weight Loss And Maintaining The Result]

Menopause is a natural part of a woman’s life. This is nothing to fear, rather something to embrace as a sign that the body needs support. The good news is that women can learn to rebalance their bodies and increase their energy. This can be accomplished at any age.

What you can do:

• Reassess your eating habits and avoid cold foods and drinks

• Work with an acupuncturist to help building and balancing your energy

• Take herbal supplements to support energies (under supervision of a trained herbalist)

• Take time each day to relax and enjoy your life [Read more: Simple mindfulness exercises]

• Make time for yourself to simply rest

• Learn to accept imperfection and let go of desire [Read more: Practicing gratitude brings health benefits]

• Awaken your inner sense and listen to your body in a holistic way

[Read more: Circadian Rhythms and the Chinese Medicine Body Clock]