Menopause and acupuncture – are you wasting your time?

Today Tonight had a great story tonight on acupuncture and it’s use in menopause.

Although it isn’t really a “new treatment” option as the story lead us to believe.

Acupuncture has been around for hundreds of years and is a valid and proven way to treat the symptoms of menopause. It may assist with flushes, low energy levels and can improve your sleep. But is that all you can try?

GOOD NEWS – There are many ways to manage the symptoms of menopause.

If you go down the natural route (which I definitely think should be your starting point) you can help your body balance itself much quicker than if you take a synthetic pills (or even bio identical hormone) which tells your body that it is fine, even though it isn’t.

You can try herbals, natural medicines, homeopathics, teas, reiki, bowen therapy, osteopathy and acupuncture. All of them have great research showing their effectiveness and plenty of women will testify to their effectiveness (results speak for themselves)!

When I help women through menopause I like to find out what their hormone levels are so we can tailor treatments. This is best done via a saliva test as sex hormones are often discarded during normal blood testing so can be very inaccurate.

There is a list of 34 common symptoms in my book Menopause, True there were side effects. See how many you have. EXTRACT FROM MENOPAUSE – 34 symptoms

A few interesting things happen during menopause and often flushes and dry skin are NOT due to low oestrogen as everyone is lead to believe.

Oestrogen is the hormone that is made by our eggs (from the ovaries). It is also made by fat supplies, adrenals and other tissues.

Unfortunately there is a belief that as the ovaries shrink and atrophy (which is what happens during menopause) that all women will suddenly have low oestrogen levels. This is true for a small percentage but for many the opposite happens. Women can gain weight due to other causes and this leads to HIGH oestrogen. As well as herbacides, pesticides and other sources of chemicals acting like oestrogen which confuses the body. Making sure you liver is metabolising oestrogen is critical as well as moving your bowels daily ( we reabsorb oestrogen if it stays in the bowel longer than 24 hours)!

Symptoms of high oestrogen include flushes, flashes, headaches, anxiety and depression, weight gain, cellulite, poor skin, dry vagina and low sex drive. Untreated, high oestrogen can lead to all the female cancers developing (breast, ovarian and cervical cancer).

Well it depends on your beliefs and willingness to try natural therapies first. Try to find a practitioner who has had experience with others. Ask your friends who helped them.

While natural therapies might cost more (you will be out of pocket) the absolute upside is the safety (pharmaceuticals and HRT cause an increase in heart disease and cancers) and the fact you are balancing your body.

If natural therapies fail then go and see your doctor.

Menopause is  a normal transition for women. Try not to fear it and if you haven’t embraced your health and life until this time, it’s a great prompt to start looking after yourself. I have a book I have written on Menopause (you will find this in shop as hard copy or ebook) and have lots of other articles on menopause.

I would love to hear about your experiences with menopause, what worked and what failed. And share with your friends. Your advice might help them during this time.