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.

But it’s not “normal.”

No woman should have to suffer every month, and from the perspective of Chinese medicine, you shouldn’t have those difficult symptoms. “Normal” from an acupuncturist’s point of view is a body in balance — a body that’s not exhibiting signs of Qi stagnation. PMS as we known it is the result of blocked energy. That’s what causes the swelling, cramping, distention pain and imbalance (physical and emotional).

Different women regularly experience different kinds of pain. Pain before menstruation suggests energy blockage and blood stagnation together, along with other lifestyle and emotional factors. Pain now and after menstruation is likely a result of a deficiency from having lost so much Qi and blood during the cycle. Pain in a particular part of the body is a combination of energy and lifestyle: Some have low back pain, whereas others have breast distention or are emotionally distraught.

What acupuncture is able to do is replenish or free up the energy the body needs to function properly. We’ll open up the liver or gall bladder channel, strengthen and tonify kidney energy, remove blood stagnation — whatever the particular situation calls for. In doing so, we’ll eliminate much of the pain and allow you to get back onto a regular, far more comfortable cycle.

“Regular” can refer to the amount and the timing. Acupuncture and medicinal herbs well help balance both by balancing the body’s hormone levels.

How Long Will it Take to Get Relief?

As a general rule, I say to receive regular acupuncture treatment through the course of three menstrual cycles to enjoy all the potential benefits. When the body’s natural energy and blood is flowing and its hormones are nicely balanced, the change can be tremendously significant. For some women, one treatment is enough to feel very different; they just need that little boost to get back on track. Some women take longer, depending on the other lifestyle factors in play.

Anger, unhappiness and stress can put additional stress on the body and work against the treatment’s balancing benefits. Anything that brings a person farther out of balance will require more help to bring back. So, to avoid rocking back and forth from improvement and regression, it’s helpful to address the pain holistically. What lifestyle changes can be made that will complement the treatment and lead to lasting relief and improvement?

Good information is also key. Many women don’t realize that eating cold food and drinking ice-cold beverages at that time of the month has a “numbing” effect that slows down blood flow and works against a natural, comfortable cycle. Constricted blood vessels will not help menstruation flow. On the other side of the equation, drinking warm liquids and eating warm foods will increase circulation and help keep things open. Many women having extreme discomfort will drink ice water and other iced drinks simply because they don’t know it will make them feel worse.

At Eastern Medical Center, we hope to be a source of helpful information through this blog and private in-office consultations, as well as a source of healing and relief through acupuncture treatments. If you’re in intense (or even marginal) discomfort every month, it’s not to be expected. There are straightforward steps we can take to improve your health and comfort level.