A natural approach to dealing with menopause symptoms is on the minds of many women these days. After the continuing bad press regarding hormone replacement therapy (HRT) many women now fear using HRT. When the results of the Women’s Health Initiative were released relaying the many serious health consequences of use, many women on HRT decided to go off the hormones that they had been using for years. Many decided that they would never go on them.

The symptoms of menopause and perimenopause can vary from woman to woman, from mild to severe and life disrupting. One woman may have mild occasional hot flashes, another may experience severe hot flashes every fifteen minutes accompanied by heart palpitations and feelings of severe anxiety.

Some of the symptoms of menopause are:

• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Insomnia
• Depression
• Irritability and mood swings
• Heart palpitations
• Feverish feelings (hot then cold)
• Dryness
• Headaches and migraine
• and many more

With a large number of women currently entering menopause years and the years leading up to menopause, known as perimenopause, what can be done if HRT is not their choice?

How can we help these women?

Many women will try herbs like black cohosh or others. But there is much variation in the success women have with these herbs touted for menopause relief. One product may work for one woman, but her friend will try it and have no success at all. These are all wonderful and helpful herbs but women may become discouraged not understanding why this so called wonderful
and helpful herb that works for her friend isn’t working for her.

Acupuncture and herbal medicine are two proven natural remedies for menopause symptoms. In Traditional Chinese Medicine we look at each person as a unique individual with a unique set of symptoms and constitution. The herbs and acupuncture treatment we give for one woman will differ from the next, as each person’s symptoms and constitution will not be the same. We tend not to use a single herb but a formula with many herbs that are chosen to work synergistically with one another to enhance the overall treatment success.

In the hands of a skilled acupuncturist and herbalist many women can achieve success and relief from menopause symptoms. Each women receives her own specific herbal formula addressing her uniquely specific needs.