Acupuncture for Menopause: A Personal Experience

itsmejuli

I knew it was coming, it was just a matter of weeks before the darkness would set in.

I'd been on Premarin for years for menopausal symptoms but in early October I decided it was just too expensive so I switched to the generic. The generic kept my hot flashes and irritability away but after a few weeks I had this horrible dizziness and lethargy. I could barely function so I stopped taking it and asked the pharmacist what was wrong. He told me I was sensitive to one of the inactive ingredients.

Oh please, I said to myself, please don't let me fall into that pit of doom and despair. I'm in nursing school and I'm working weekends, I don't want to slip into the darkness. This should be a time of happiness in my life, I'm 48, I'm single, my kids are grown and gone. Its my time!

Menopause for many women is a fairly smooth transition in life, many women experience some hot flashes and minor mood changes. But for some women, like me, menopause can be debilitating. Its not the hot flashes that got to me, it was the brain fog, depression, anxiety, and decreasing cognitive abilities. I didn't want to do anything, couldn't concentrate on studying. I was irritable, it was so hard to bite my tongue and not lash out at everyone. It took so much effort to do my job and not make mistakes.

Be careful, don't let the psychosis set in...you know its coming soon.

I had a hysterectomy in 2002 and was left with one ovary. After a few months of some minor hot flushes my ovary was doing its job and I felt great. Then in the summer of 2007 I started feeling horrible. I'd get these hot flushes that started at my feet and they'd run up through my body, they happened almost every 30 minutes. I had shoulder pain and a constant headache. I was anxious and irritable, depressed and barely functioning. I thought I was losing my mind. I wanted to end the pain by cutting myself, I wanted to die, I couldn't stand myself. I couldn't function, couldn't work, I checked myself into the hospital because I was suicidal. I was so scarred, I called my mother to come stay with me. I was started on anti-depressants, but they made me dizzy.

You're losing your mind, you know what the problem is, only you can pull yourself out.

My primary care doctor wanted me to try another anti-depressant, but I wasn't willing to do that. I'd been reading up on menopause and knew that what I was experiencing was probably due to menopause. I asked to be put on Premarin, my mother had excellent results and no side effects from Premarin.

You can't go back on Premarin, you smoke and you don't want a stroke. What other options are there?

I'd tried estrogen supplements such as black cohosh in the past with no luck. I decided this time to try acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. This had worked wonders for me in the past with a case of bronchitis and sinusitis that my western doctor couldn't clear up.

I've had 3 acupuncture treatments in the last 5 days and have been taking Chinese herbs. My darkness, despair, anxiety and cognition have all greatly improved. I can finally concentrate long enough to write this article. The hot flashes are still with me, I sat in class today one minute fanning myself and the next putting on a sweater. I'm getting better with each new day, I can't wait to sleep through the night without being woken by a hot flash.

I hope this article encourages readers to consider acupuncture and Chinese medicine for menopausal symptoms. In my case it saved my life.

Acupuncture for Menopause: A Personal Experience

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