How can acupuncture help with symptoms of menopause?
In a randomized, two-group clinical study reported in Holistic Nursing Practice, researchers used acupuncture for relieving menopausal hot flushes, sleep disturbances and mood changes. The experimental acupuncture treatment consisted of specific acupuncture body points related to menopausal symptoms. The comparison acupuncture treatment consisted of a treatment designated as a general tonic specifically designed to benefit the flow of Qi.
Results from the experimental acupuncture treatment group showed a decrease in mean monthly hot flush severity for site-specific acupuncture. The comparison acupuncture treatment group had no significant change in severity from baseline over the treatment phase. Sleep disturbances in the experimental acupuncture treatment group declined over the study. Mood changes in both the experimental acupuncture treatment group and the comparison acupuncture treatment group showed a significant difference between the baseline and the third month of the study. The researchers conclude that acupuncture using menopausal-specific sites holds promise for non-hormonal relief of hot flushes and sleep disturbances.
Acupuncturists and medical doctors in New York and Michigan are conducting a series of studies to determine whether acupuncture can cure hot flashes caused by commonly used treatments for breast cancer. Should acupuncture prove effective, the researchers hope it can be used to treat other problems that may be caused by traditional cancer treatments.
“Patients are tired of taking drugs with side-effects,” said Dr. Eleanor Walker, a radiation oncologist at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, and the principal investigator of the Michigan study. According to Dr. Walker, the most common treatments for the prevention of recurring breast cancer are chemotherapy sessions and drugs such as tamoxifen. Unfortunately, these treatments cause hot flashes—often severe enough to be considered debilitating—in up to two-thirds of the women who take them.
The study is funded by a $250,000 grant from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Collaborating on the research with Dr. Walker is Elizabeth Kohn, L.Ac., who practices at the Ford Center for Integrative Medicine in nearby Novi, Michigan. In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Kohn said she has treated patients with hot flashes caused by menopause, with good results.
“Acupuncture may be considered a new treatment in this culture, but it's actually a 4,000-year-old medicine,” Kohn said.
In New York, meanwhile, Dr. Barrie Cassileth and a team of colleagues at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer’s Integrative Medicine Service are conducting a separate study on breast cancer patients suffering from hot flashes, with subjects receiving either true acupuncture or a type of sham treatment.
According to Dr. Cassileth, acupuncture “seems to be pretty effective” for a variety of cancer-related problems such as chronic fatigue, dry mouth and post-surgical pain.
“The evidence is fairly strong for a number of indications, especially pain,” said Cassileth. “But we need more randomized trials.”
A pilot study in England demonstrated conclusively that acupuncture lessens the frequency and severity of hot flashes in women being treated for breast cancer with tamoxifen.
Researchers at both Stanford University Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh are currently studying the efficacy of acupuncture for a variety of menopausal symptoms for all women. Anecdotal evidence alone is strong: acupuncture works.
Since 2002, when the Journal of the American Medical Association reported a possible link between estrogen/progesterone combined therapy and an increased risk of breast cancer, heart disease, and/or cognitive dysfunction, women have been struggling to find alternative therapies to alleviate hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disorders, dry skin and vaginal tissue, mood changes, and other symptoms related to menopause.
Too often these days, allopathic doctors are prescribing antidepressants to treat menopausal symptoms in women who don’t want to take hormone replacement. But antidepressants such as Paxil, Effexor, and Prozac hold the potential to cause agitation, irregular or rapid heart rate, muscle pains or weakness, rashes, diarrhea or constipation, reduced sexual drive and ability, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, headaches, excess perspiration, nausea, vomiting, urination problems, tremors, shakiness, insomnia, weight gain, and fatigue. Studies indicate that 18-50% of patients experience sexual dysfunction alone.
In short, antidepressants carry the risk of permanent damage while treating what is in most cases a temporary problem—menopause. Synthetic hormone replacement was used for 60 years before government studies finally showed their health risks. SSRI antidepressants were just introduced in 1988. Who knows what the next 50 years will reveal about the risks of extended use of antidepressants?
There is a safe, effective, affordable, and viable alternative to risky drugs for menopausal symptoms. That alternative: acupuncture and herbal medicine.
Menopause is a transition period from a reproductive to a non-reproductive stage in a woman’s life. It usually occurs between the ages of 48 and 55, with the median age in the U.S. being about 51. Ovarian function has declined steadily over the course of a woman’s life, since birth, so although the experience of menopause may sometimes seem abrupt and disconcerting, it is actually a gradual physiological process that has been occurring over a long time.
As ovarian follicle activity decreases and then ceases, there is a lack of estrogen and then a cessation of the menses. This is a normal process, not a disease or a condition, although symptoms can become very uncomfortable and disruptive for some women.
As seen in Chinese medicine, menopausal symptoms usually are the result of a Kidney system deficiency. Emotional strain—worry, anxiety, fear, and stress—and overwork can all contribute to a depletion of the Kidney system.
For ten years as a licensed acupuncturist I have worked with many women of all ages and have had great success in reducing or eliminating menopausal symptoms. Neither acupuncture nor herbal medicine cause disagreeable or dangerous side effects, as do many of the prescription medications being prescribed for these symptoms. Because I was originally a massage therapist before becoming an acupuncturist, hands-on work plays a role in many of my sessions, which gives the added benefit of relaxation and nurturing for the often stressed, multi-tasking, and overly committed woman.
CHINESE HERBS FOR MENOPAUSE
If a woman is currently having hormone replacement therapy (HRT) it is fine to seek treatment also with Chinese medicine because the two work in dramatically different ways at the same time. A woman electing to stop taking HRT may do so without adverse reactions, but menopausal symptoms may return temporarily before the Chinese herbs have time to take effect, often about two months.
There are a number of highly effective, classic herbal formulas used to help women minimize problems arising during the menopausal transition. The severity of symptoms can depend on the pre-existing condition of a woman’s Kidney system as it is viewed in Chinese medicine. Therefore it’s important to allow Chinese medicine to help in a slow and gradual way. It can be hard to wait for relief of symptoms, since we Americans are used to taking a pill and getting immediate results. But so many prescription medications also carry the threat of serious risks and side effects. With HRT, studies have indicated significantly increased risks of endometrial and breast cancer.
Chinese medicine, with its gentle, steady support of the entire Kidney system without adverse side effects, offers a safe, effective, and logical alternative to HRT, even though its effects will occur at a slower pace. HRT works by “tricking” the body into thinking that it is still ovulating, but it doesn’t tonify the Kidney system. Chinese medicine works by gently supporting and tonifying the Kidney system and the entire body.