By Marieke A. Pieterman
So this article really struck home for me – as I suffered from relentless peri-menopausal hot flashes and night sweats at the ripe old age of 45! Yes, mom had gone through menopause early in life, and so that is how the proverbial cookie crumbles. I too, would suffer through menopause early in life! Yet I had an edge: I was in acupuncture school and had access to regular acupuncture in my student clinic! There was hope…
INTRO INTO THE SIDE EFFECTS OF HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY (HRT)
In addition, I was not interested in pursuing a pharmacological approach for this problem. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is given to relieve symptoms of hot flashes and day and night sweats; however, HRT cannot be given to women with certain types of cancer.
In fact, HRT is thought to actually increase the risk of getting cancer. With these risks, women have little choice but to seek out safe and alternative therapies such as acupuncture, to help reduce their menopausal hot flash symptoms.
A SIDE NOTE
Before I jump into the research, I have a bone to pick with the doctor at the conclusion of this article that states they “suspect that most of the effect of acupuncture is a placebo effect”. As an acupuncturist and someone who is constantly ensuring there is efficacy to her treatments, and as a woman who was suffering mightily from relentless peri-menopausal hot flashes (up to 25 a day!) and night sweats, I can tell you – hogwash! Forget the placebo effect – you KNOW whether or not are you experiencing this massive heat wave going up and across your body. It starts from your mid-section or the small of your back – and goes all the way up to the top of your head. You think to yourself - surely if someone was looking at me right now – they would begin to see steam rising off the top of my head because it honestly felt like it couldn’t get any hotter! So for the women out there who know what I am talking about, you either experience them full-on, or you notice a reduction, there is NO placebo about it! That said, let’s focus on the research.
THE STUDY
Researchers in Denmark conducted a study with 70 women who were experiencing moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms. They found that five weeks of acupuncture administered to these women reduced menopausal symptoms of hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, and emotional imbalances.
The women were randomly assigned to two groups – the control group and the acupuncture treatment group. The control group did not receive any acupuncture until week six of the research study. The acupuncture group received weekly acupuncture treatments from local providers.
The women were surveyed and asked to self-evaluate their symptoms at week three and at week six. By week six, the women in the acupuncture group recorded moderate improvements in all symptoms compared with the control group that did not receive acupuncture.
In the acupuncture group, 80 percent of the women felt that the acupuncture sessions had improved their symptoms. How is that for placebo? Come on, the acupuncture actually helped!
ARE YOU TIRED OF HAVING YOUR OWN PERSONAL SUMMER EVERY DAY WITH YOUR MENOPAUSAL HOT FLASHES? COME AND GET RELIEF AT HOLISTIC HEART ACUPUNCTURE!
Can acupuncture help menopause symptoms?
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47279032