But there’s another related topic that could almost be considered Part II of what women need to know: Prescribing birth control pills to regulate your cycle is NOT normal, either! It happens all the time. In fact, it happened to me.

During my college years, I went through a two-year period where I just didn’t have a period. Something was clearly out of balance. My mother was very concerned and wanted to be as thorough as possible, so she took me to a Western specialist for an examination. That doctor’s solution to my menstruation problem was birth control. I immediately resisted the idea and asked how long I’d need to take the pills. The doctor said, “For the rest of your life.

That wasn’t an option for me, but acupuncture treatment from my father, Dr. Mason Shen, certainly was. After two weeks of my father’s expert acupuncture care, my period came and was completely normal. There were no pills … and certainly nothing I had to take (and pay for) for the rest of my life. Just a little natural help to get my body unstuck.

What’s important for women to remember is birth control pills mess with your hormones and body chemistry. Ingestion of hormones (or anything extreme or sudden) forces the body to regulate itself and go into homeostasis. To use the common example of Yin and Yang, suddenly you’re ingesting a whole lot of one, overwhelming the other. Now, your body has to react and go through changes to try to create the equilibrium of the image you see in this post. The more pills you take, the more you put your body through.

I think most people taking Western medication realize this in one form or another. They think, “This can’t be good,” referring to side effects or long-term impact. It just makes common sense to treat an issue in a natural way that’s easy on the body, whenever possible.

So, if you or someone you know is experiencing PMS discomfort or is regulating cycles with birth control, call us or come in for a consultation to talk about natural options to support your health and rebalance your system. That way, you won’t be reliant on pills for the rest of your life.