Chinese Medicine Perspective of Menopause
Natural menopause often occurs at the age of 46 to 56 years old with reported hot flushes and night sweats as the most disturbing vasomotor symptoms that affected their quality of life. With the decline of the hormone, vaginal dryness and osteoporosis also frequently reported in most menopausal women. According to the Chinese medicine perspective, menopause is a natural transition from a fertile reproductive to a non-reproductive phase of life. The kidney Jing which is the life essence that responsible for the qi, blood, and fluid production is declined following the decline of Tian Gui. Tian Gui is part of the menstrual blood that forms at the first phase of 7 and matures into the second phase of 7 in which most women start menstruating and able to conceive at the age of 14. Tian Gui starts declining at the 7 phase of 7 (age 49) and kick start the menopause phase. This natural transition of life may or may not occur smoothly in some women. Women who experienced the preexisting disharmony of the kidney yin and kidney Yang seem to experienced more pathological menopausal symptoms.
A recent study reported the sedentary lifestyle, diet, lack of physical activity and higher alcohol consumption have huge influences on the vasomotor symptoms and osteoporosis in menopause women. The study also showed hot flushes may alter hippocampal and prefrontal cortex function to decrease verbal memory. Not to also mentioned the increasing prevalence of emotional distress and depression in menopausal patients with reported vasomotor symptoms. According to Chinese medicine, emotional distress like anxiety, fear, or guilt weakens the kidney, Yin. Those women who have prolonged work history exhaust the Kidney Jing in Long Run. These result in a deficiency of Kidney Yin to nourish heart Yin leading to insomnia, worsening the night sweat, and hot flushes.
Unresolved anger and stress could also lead to liver yang rising to cause headaches or migraines and aggravate the hot flushes.
Western Perspective of Menopause
According to the western perspective, menopause is a phase that transitions from a reproductive to a non-reproductive phase with declining of the ovarian function. The decline of the female hormonal from the ovarian leads to osteoporosis, hot flushes, vaginal dryness. The difficulty in adjusting to the hormonal changes also lead to emotional distress causing insomnia, depressed mood, irritability, lethargic and anxious mood. Many have turned to hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) to introduce artificial hormone into the body. There is some good evidence of using HRT to reduce the risk of osteoporosis, improved vaginal dryness, and hot flushes condition. However, the increased risk of Deep vein Thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and stroke following prolonged use of HRT should be considered before initiation of HRT. The choice of the type of HRT is also important in accessing the increasing risk of breast cancer in combined HRT due to the prolonged use of progesterone. It is suggested that combined HRT should be used in women with an intact uterus due to an increased risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer with the use of estrogen-only HRT. Some find some temporary relief and some experience some side effect that has prompt them to seek for an alternative solution such as acupuncture and Chinese medicine.
How Acupuncture and Chinese medicine help in Menopause
Although there is a generalized statement to relate menopause with the kidney Jing Deficiency. Individualized pattern diagnosis should also be incorporated to determine the individualized treatment approach. For instances, if the patient also suffers from weight gain issues or digestion issues. The earth element of spleen and stomach will need to be consolidated on top of Kidney Jing nourishing treatment. While heat-clearing is one of the branch treatment strategies to be focused, the tonifying treatment principle should always be emphasized as the long term strategies whether it is to tonify the yin, yang, or specific element. Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine is a natural holistic approach that looks into the disharmony of the underlying condition and formulates an individualized treatment approach to tackle both the manifested symptoms and the underlying issues.
Role of Lifestyle and Dietary in Managing Menopause Symptoms
As the lifestyle and diet play an important role in maintaining a good healthy mind and body. The Yin nourishing diet should be also introduced and remove any harsh and drying processed food or alcohol that further drying the bodily fluid. Chinese menopausal women seem to suffer less vasomotor symptoms compared to the western woman, these might be due to their ability to understand the thermal nature and flavor of the food and cook according to the body need. Chinese medicine physicians often use food as one of the primary medicine to treat illness. The flavors, thermal nature, and propensity of the food is utilized to formulate the food medicine and heal the body. Excessive use of tea or coffee with the diuretic effect is not recommended due to its drying effect, nevertheless rose tea with the liver Qi Smoothing effect is recommended. The Schisandra Berry which is known as Wu Wei Zi in Chinese is the most popular herb that used to make in tea to astringes sweat, generate fluids and quiet the spirit and calm the heart Qi.
