Menopause: We’re here to Help
Menopause, whether pre-, peri- or post- is one of the largest transitions a woman’s body will go through physically, emotionally and spiritually in her lifetime. The woman’s body is constantly changing. Puberty, pregnancy, postpartum and menopause are all times of significant change for women. Menopause is the process your body goes through to no longer be fertile. Most women are blindsided and shocked at how intense this time can be physically and emotionally.
We know hot flashes and night sweats are expected but there is a long list of other symptoms women don’t expect. Irregular periods, fatigue, mental fogginess, poor memory, drastic body temperature fluctuations, irritability, vaginal dryness, urinary frequency, urinary incontinence, weight fluctuations, osteoporosis, insomnia, hair loss, dry skin... YIKES! The list goes on and on.
Premenopause is the time before you start to experience symptoms and you are still fertile. Perimenopause is the time when you start to experience symptoms of this transition. It is normal for the menstrual cycle to become quite irregular during this time. The average age for perimenopause is 51 but can happen for some around 40 or even earlier. That age is heavily dependent on family history and lifestyle. What most don’t realize is that their hormones actually start to change 10 years before they ever start to experience symptoms.
From a western medicine perspective, the ovaries stop producing eggs during the menopausal transition. Menopausal symptoms are believed to be caused by a drastic decrease in estrogen, however, hormones can yo-yo all over the place during perimenopause. Getting blood work completed by your doctor is advised during this time if your symptoms are particularly intense. A woman is postmenopausal when she has not had a period for 1 year. Treatment suggestions for western medicine are hormones or HRT or bioidentical hormones.
From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, menopause is defined as Kidney yin deficiency. In a healthy person, there is a balance of water energy, or yin and fire energy, or yang. Yin is responsible for the processes of cooling, restoring and nourishing. Yang is responsible for heating, metabolism and having energy. As a result of natural aging, the Kidney energy begins to decrease and it is easy for both yin and yang energy to become imbalanced. Hot flashes and night sweats happen because the yin, the water, cooling mechanism, of the body is decreasing so the symptoms appear as heat.
A combination of acupuncture and herbs to help address the menopausal symptoms, balance hormones and nourish the source of the deficiency. Points are used that help to replenish and restore the water energy of the body so that there can be a balance between the water and fire. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs are essential during this time and can provide a real solution for women who are not getting relief from other menopause solutions. These tools can encourage your body out of sympathetic overdrive, nourish your adrenals, replenish your energy reserves and get relief from the intense hormone storm that perimenopause can bring on.
Just as important, it is time to reassess one's lifestyle and way of engaging with the world. As women, we take on the world. From careers to childrearing and everything in between. Women can be hit abruptly with the reality that their body is not going to allow them to run at the same pace it once did. Fatigue and lack of mental stamina and clarity is alarming and often women are expressing the sentiment, “Why didn’t anyone tell me it was going to be like this!”
This is your body’s way of saying SLOW DOWN. Our society encourages us to run ourselves into the ground leaving our energy reserves tapped out, our adrenals exhausted and often malnourished. No wonder this transition can be so tumultuous! There is a very big struggle that’s happening internally- “how can I get everything done, all the time?” Your menopausal symptoms are your body’s way of putting your foot down and saying “It’s time to take care of me!”
In Asian culture it is normal for women not to experience any change through menopause. Why is that? The culture is naturally quieter, they know how to protect the yin of the body through their lifestyle and they naturally take care of their elders. During this transition, the calm waters of the yin need to be nourished and protected. Gentle practices like yoga, tai chi, meditation, reading, writing, sewing and flower arranging are quiet, introspective activities. Cultivating a quiet mind and moving out of sympathetic overdrive is how to nourish the yin.
The menopausal transition can be prepared for easily starting in your 30s and 40s. Learning to take care of yourself, nourishing your body and balancing the yin and yang energy of the body are how you can prepare for the menopausal transition. By working to protect our yin, we are preparing for this major life transition.