Welcome to our website on Menopause and treatment through the use of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Larisa Turin is one of the most experienced acupuncturists in the metropolitan Chicagoland area. The foundation of her success is the unique combination of experience  and education as both a physician and an oriental medicine practitioner. She has over 35 years of expertise in Western and Oriental medicine. She merges the best aspects of western medicine (diagnosis, physiology, and disease etiology) with those of Chinese medicine (treatment of the root of the the disease instead of just the symptoms, restoring overall body balance without the side effects of medications). Larisa specializes in the treatment of chronic and complex conditions, as well as anti-aging and longevity medicine.  

Larisa's knowledge of anatomy as well as many years of experience allows her to perform safe and painless acupuncture.   

Read More about Larisa's extensive experience here

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 MENOPAUSE AND PMS

Larisa Turin has unique experience in using Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture to provide relief from Menopause and PMS. She treats Menopause and PMS with Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture in her AcupunctureChicago clinic with locations in Chicago and Northbrook.

TWO KEYS TO SUCCESS WITH ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENT

1 - Find the Best Acupuncturist

2– Follow the Advice

The success of your Acupuncture treatment depends on the experience and skills of your acupuncturist. You must find the best acupuncturist to achieve the best results.

Larisa Turin has the unique combination of education and experience. No other acupuncturist in Chicago or suburbs has a comparable education and experience.

Every graduate of a Traditional Chinese/Oriental Medicine college knows the location of acupuncture points. But this hardly will result in successful treatment of most conditions.

There is A SECRET that a student does not learn from the books. The key to success is the knowledge of the centuries old treatment recipes. The SECRET KNOWLEDGE is the centuries old combination of points that an acupuncturist should stimulate in treating a particular condition. Larisa Turin has learned the SECRETS and recipes that were passed from one generation of practitioners to the next through personal old-fashioned apprenticeship with Far East practitioners.

Larisa Turin has received an extensive personal apprenticeship from Chinese and Mongolian practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine.  This experience combined with her educational background assures that she is the one with the skills necessary to make dreams come true in the application of acupuncture techniques.

The effectiveness of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine in treating Menopause and PMS has been proven experimentally and scientifically as reflected in the following publications..

Can acupuncture ease the symptoms of menopause?
Holist Nurs Pract. 2003 Nov-Dec;17(6):295-9 Cohen SM, Rousseau ME, Carey BL.University of Pittsburgh, 440 Victoria Bldg, 3500 Victoria St, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. cohensu@pitt.edu

In a randomized, 2-group clinical study, acupuncture was used for the relief of menopausal hot flushes, sleep disturbances, and mood changes. The experimental acupuncture treatment consisted of specific acupuncture body points related to menopausal symptoms. The comparison acupuncture treatment consisted of a treatment designated as a general tonic specifically designed to benefit the flow of Ch'i (energy). Results from the experimental acupuncture treatment group showed a decrease in mean monthly hot flush severity for site-specific acupuncture. The comparison acupuncture treatment group had no significant change in severity from baseline over the treatment phase. Sleep disturbances in the experimental acupuncture treatment group declined over the study. Mood changes in both the experimental acupuncture treatment group and the comparison acupuncture treatment group showed a significant difference between the baseline and the third month of the study.

Acupuncture using menopausal-specific sites holds promise for nonhormonal relief of hot flushes and sleep disturbances.
PMID: 14650571 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Treatment of menopause with acupuncture.
[Article in Spanish] Rev Enferm. 2002 Feb;25(2):8-11 Gonzalez Torres M, Domingo C.

After analyzing the causes of hot flashes caused by menopause according to the theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the author describe nine clinical case studies and their corresponding diagnoses according to the five basic elements: water, wood, fire, land and metal. In virtually every case study, once the corresponding treatment of choice was applied, an improvement in the patient's symptoms was observed along with a positive evaluation on behalf of these patients.

 PMID: 13677775 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 
Use of alternative therapies for menopause symptoms: results of a population-based survey.

Obstet Gynecol. 2002 Jul;100(1):18-25 Newton KM, Buist DS, Keenan NL, Anderson LA, LaCroix AZ. Center for Health Studies, Group Health Cooperative, Seattle, Washington 98101, USA. newton.k@ghc.org

OBJECTIVE: To describe self-reported prevalence of the use of alternative therapies for menopause symptoms and subject characteristics associated with their use. METHODS: A telephone survey of 886 women aged 45-65 years (87.2% response rate) was conducted at Group Health Cooperative in Washington state. Women were asked about eight alternative therapies and their use for menopause symptoms. RESULTS: The proportion of women who used each therapy was 76.1% for any therapy, 43.1% for stress management, 37.0% for over-the-counter alternative remedies, 31.6% for chiropractic, 29.5% for massage therapy, 22.9% for dietary soy, 10.4% for acupuncture, 9.4% for naturopath or homeopath, and 4.6% for herbalists. The proportion of women who used it to manage menopause symptoms was 22.1% for any therapy, 9.1% for stress management, 13.1% for over-the-counter alternative remedies, 0.9% for chiropractic, 2.6% for massage therapy, 7.4% for dietary soy, 0.6% for acupuncture, 2.0% for naturopath or homeopath, and 1.2% for herbalists. Among women who used these therapies, 89-100% found them to be somewhat or very helpful. A history of breast cancer was associated with a six-fold increase in use of dietary soy for menopause symptoms (odds ratio 6.23, 95% confidence limits 2.54, 15.28). Current users of hormone replacement therapy were half as likely to use alternative remedies or providers (odds ratio 0.48, 95% confidence limits 0.29, 0.77) as were never users. Sleep disturbances were associated with a four-fold increase in the use of body work, a three-fold increase in the use of stress management, and more than doubled the use of dietary soy products to manage menopause symptoms.

CONCLUSION: The use of alternative therapies for menopause symptoms is common, and women who use them generally find them to be beneficial. Physicians should routinely ascertain perimenopausal women's use of alternative therapies.

PMID: 12100799 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 
An exploratory pilot study of acupuncture on the quality of life and reproductive hormone secretion in menopausal women.

J Altern Complement Med. 2001 Dec;7(6):651-8. Dong H, Ludicke F, Comte I, Campana A, Graff P, Bischof P. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital of Geneva, Switzerland. hong.g.dong@hcuge.ch

The majority of menopausal women suffer from climacteric symptoms. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of acupuncture on the quality of life and reproductive hormones secretion in menopausal women. Eleven (11) menopausal women with climacteric symptoms entered this prospective study. The Menopause Specific Quality of life Questionnaire was filled out by the patients before the first acupuncture session, after the last one (5 weeks later), and 3 months after the last acupuncture session. Reproductive hormones including follicular-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol, progesterone, and prolactin were measured before and after treatment. Acupuncture significantly improved menopausal vasomotor symptoms (p = 0.001 and p = 0.003 for the end of treatment and 3 months later, respectively) and physical symptoms (p = 0.014 at the end of treatment and p = 0.046 3 months later). It did not change psychosocial or sexual symptoms, nor did it change the measured reproductive hormones. In conclusion, acupuncture is shown to be effective in relieving vasomotor and physical disturbances of menopausal women with effects lasting at least up to 3 months after termination of the treatment. Acupuncture may be a useful treatment alternative for women who are unable or do not want to receive hormone replacement therapy. A prospective study with larger sample sizes will be needed to define the role of acupuncture in the management of menopausal symptoms.
PMID: 11822613 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Acupuncture against climacteric disorders? Lower number of symptoms after menopause.

Lakartidningen. 1994 Jun 8;91(23):2318-22. [Article in Swedish] Wyon Y, Lindgren R, Hammar M, Lundeberg T. Halsouniversitetet, Linkoping.

Vasomotor symptoms are very common among perimenopausal women, but also among orchidectomized men. The cause of the symptoms is not the low steroid concentrations per se, but probably changes in central neuropeptide activity. Twenty-four healthy women with natural menopause, suffering from hot flushes, were included in the study and randomly assigned to either of two groups, one group received treatment with electrostimulated acupuncture (EA), the other with superficial needle position (SNP) acupuncture. Treatment was given for totally of eight weeks, twice a week during the first two weeks, and then once a week for the remaining six weeks. As recorded in logbooks kept by the participants, the frequency of flushes decreased significantly by more than 50 percent in both groups, and remained decreased in the EA group, whereas in the SNP group it increased slightly again over the three months after treatment. Values for the Kupperman Index decreased in both groups during treatment, changes still evident at three-month follow-up, whereas the self-rated general climacteric symptoms (VAS) decreased significantly in the EA group only. The PGWB (Psychological General Well-Being) index did not change significantly in either group during treatment.
PMID: 8057708 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Acupuncture and Menopause

Many conditions related to Menopause respond very well to Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture treatments. Traditional Chinese Medicine includes Acupuncture and other methods of stimulating acupuncture points and regulating the flow of qi in the body. The main other modality of Traditional Chinese Medicine used in the treatment  of Menopause is moxibustion. Moxibustion is the warming of acupuncture points mainly by burning dried, aged Oriental mugwort on, near, or over acupuncture points. The purposes of this warming treatment are to treat Menopause by: 1) stimulating the flow of qi and blood, 2) adding warmth to areas of body which are too cold, and 3) adding yang qi to the body to supplement a yang qi deficiency.

Other acupuncture modalities in treatment of Menopause include application of suction cups over acupuncture points, application of Chinese medicinals and magnets to the points and stimulation of the points by either electricity or laser.

One of the best things about the Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture treatment of Menopausal complaints is that the results are often immediate. Since many of the mechanisms of Menopausal syndrome have to do with stuck qi, as soon as the qi is made to flow, the symptoms disappear. Therefore, many patients begin to feel better after the very first Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture treatment.

Menopause patients with irritability and nervous tension will feel immediate relief of these symptoms while still in the treatment room. Typically, a patient feels a pronounced tranquillity and relaxation within five to ten minutes of the insertion of the needles. Many patients drop off to sleep for a few minutes while the treatment is still in progress.

In China, when Menopause is treated, traditional acupuncture treatments are given every day of every other day, three to five times a week depending on the nature and severity of the condition. In the West however, the fast pace lifestyle of most Menopause patients limits the number of treatments per week.  Western patients suffering from menopausal complaints typically respond very well to acupuncture treatment performed twice a week for at least several weeks. After that, a maintenance course of monthly sessions is highly recommended. Based on my clinical experience, if acupuncture is combined with diet and life-style changes, Chinese herbs, and a selection of the self-care treatments recommended above, the results will be even quicker and the relief of symptoms even more complete.

Chinese Herbal Medicine for Menopause

Chinese herbal medicine is one of the most effective natural methods of treating Menopause conditions. Studies on the effectiveness of herbal medicine for treating menopausal women for a variety of symptoms are written about in Traditional Chinese Medical journals on a regular basis. Typical amelioration rates reported in these studies are in the 80-95% range. In professionally practiced Chinese medicine, herbs are rarely used singly. Most formulas, whether prepared as a powder, pill, tincture, or tea are a combination of from six to twenty herbs.

Herbs are effective in cases of vacuity because they can actually add qi, blood, yin, and/or yang to the body. Since most menopausal health issues relate to the blood and yin and to insufficiency or vacuity, herbs are often an appropriate choice. Herbs have the added advantage of being whole and biochemically complex substances made up of a balance of various synergistic chemical parts and hormone precursors. This means that they are easier for the body to utilize than single, synthesized drugs, and that in turn means they are less likely to cause side effects.

However, such freedom from side effects is based on correct administration in turn based on a correct professional diagnosis.

This is why it is usually a good idea not to self-medicate. Do not make the mistake of thinking that since herbal medicines are natural substances, herbs are completely benign. The wrong herbs or the wrong dosage can make a person sick or worsen their health.

So if you are seriously interested in taking herbs for preventive of remedial menopausal care, it is wise to seek professional assistance in choosing the appropriate formulas.

One of the best things about the acupuncture treatment of menopausal complains is that its effects are often immediate. Since many of the mechanisms of menopausal syndrome have to do with stuck qi, as soon as the qi is made to flow, the symptoms begin to feel better after the very first treatment.

Patients with irritability and nervous tension will feel an immediate relief while still on the table. Typically, one will feel a pronounced tranquillity and relaxation within five to ten minutes of the insertion of the needles. Many patients do drop off to sleep for a few minutes while the needles are in place.

ACUPUNCTURE v. HORMONE REPLACMENT THERAPY

Chicago Tribune published this article on July 10, 2002:

Doubts cast on hormone therapy.

The article cites that researchers have halted a large, nationwide study of hormone replacement therapy after discovering that the pills now happily being taken by millions of postmenopausal women cause breast cancer, heart attacks and other serious side effects.

The absolute risk is small: Only about 1 percent of the women who took estrogen plus progesterone during the five years of the study had a problem. Nevertheless, the study authors concluded, if you're thinking of taking HRT in hopes of preventing heart disease--don't.

HRT is usually prescribed to treat hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause and to prevent osteoporosis, and doctors said it's still appropriate for those purposes. But the study shows it would not be justified for long-term use in a woman with mild or no symptoms whose rationale for taking it was to improve her overall health.

The chances of this study being contradicted in a few months by another piece of research are slim: This was a huge, well-designed, well-controlled clinical trial in which 16,000 healthy postmenopausal women from all over the country were randomly assigned to take HRT or a placebo.

The results were so clear that the directors of the Women's Health Initiative of the National Institutes of Health halted their study because of the risk to participants.

"This is as close as we're ever going to get to a definitive study," said Dr. Linda Hughey Holt of the Northwestern University School of Medicine, a gynecological consultant to the Women's Health Initiative.

The study, published in the July 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, was planned to run three more years. It was halted early when it became clear the risks of long-term combined HRT outweighed the benefits.

According to the study, if 10,000 women took the drugs for one year, the group would have a total of seven more heart attacks, eight more strokes, eight more blood clots and eight more cases of breast cancer than a comparable group who were not taking the pills.

The group of women would also have six fewer cases of colon cancer and five fewer hip fractures.

Risks increase

Although the numbers might seem small, the relative risk of getting ill increases significantly with the drugs.

A woman taking the drugs increases her risk of heart disease 29 percent; of stroke, 41 percent; and of breast cancer, 26 percent.

As word of the study got out Tuesday morning, doctors were besieged by calls from concerned patients. Dr. Lauren Streicher, a gynecologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, said her practice received about 100 calls.

Streicher said she prepared a written response, which she e-mailed or faxed to her patients, "because I couldn't call 100 women back in one day."

In principal, Streicher said, women who are taking hormones just for cardiac protection should stop. But she said they should see how they feel and then make a decision about long-term use.

"If you go off your medication and find you can't have sex, you can't sleep and you're miserable--then, clearly, you're better off on it," she said.

Like many other Chicago-area women Tuesday, Maryann Clark said she was in "quite a dilemma."

Clark, 63, a former nurse who now manages a downtown medical practice, has been on combination HRT for 13 years, since she began suffering the night sweats and mood changes of menopause.

"I had no family history of breast cancer," said Clark, "so I was eager to go on it. And I've been extremely comfortable ever since."

Clark said she plans to talk to her gynecologist as well as to the physicians she works with before deciding what to do. But right now she's leaning toward going off her pills and seeing what happens.

"If all those symptoms come back," she added, "I'm probably going to take the risk, because quality of life at my age is more important."

Holt said she has treated "a string of desperate women who were taken off their hormones by well-meaning doctors and told it was dangerous to continue. They're miserable. Their quality of life isn't as good."

She said she advises long-term users that they don't have to quit cold turkey -- "we could pull their dose down or taper them off."

`Real progress'

As unpleasant as Tuesday's news was for many women, Holt called it "an example of real progress in medical knowledge."

"Initially, this drug came out for hot flashes," she said. "Then it emerged, from observation, that the women who were taking it were having fewer bone fractures and fewer heart attacks. But we didn't know if that was because of the drug or something else."

Research in the 1970s and '80s established that estrogen really does help prevent bone loss and osteoporosis. But it wasn't until the 1990s that hormones were subjected to truly rigorous scientific review to find out whether they were heart-protective.

The Women's Health Initiative started enrolling women in 1993 to answer that question, among others. On Tuesday, it announced it had the answer.

Not only do hormones not prevent heart disease, as the earlier observational studies had suggested; they actually increase the risk, albeit only slightly.

"This is the study we've been waiting for," said Dr. Matthew Sorrentino, a cardiologist at the University of Chicago.

The study that was halted was testing Prempro, the most common combination hormone pill in the U.S., with 6 million women currently taking it. A separate study, still under way, is testing Premarin (estrogen alone) in women who have undergone hysterectomy, or surgical removal of their uterus.

Premarin has been helping women over the symptoms of menopause -- and making many of them feel younger and happier -- for 60 years. Some 20 years ago, it was shown to increase the risk of tumors in the endometrial lining of the uterus. Since then, women who still have an intact uterus are usually given Prempro, or some other combination of estrogen and progesterone, which neutralizes the excess risk of uterine cancer.

In the Premarin study, there is no evidence so far that the risks outweigh the benefits. There is also no indication that estrogen alone causes an increased risk of breast cancer, according to Dr. Leslie Ford of the National Cancer Institute, one of the collaborators in the study.

One limitation of the newly released Prempro study was that it evaluated only one form of progesterone. Some doctors said newer types of the hormone, at lower doses, may not be as harmful.

But Ford said: "The onus is on [the manufacturers of the newer drugs] to prove they're safe. It's likely these results will extend to other preparations. The hormones are basically the same."

Sorrentino, the cardiologist, said there was some reason to believe the new drugs might be better, "but we shouldn't just guess. A formal study should be put together to prove it."

In an editorial accompanying the results of the Prempro study in JAMA, Dr. Suzanne Fletcher of Harvard noted that approximately 38 percent of postmenopausal women in the U.S. use hormone replacement therapy.

Calling the results of the study "unexpected and disquieting," Fletcher said doctors should explain to their patients that the absolute risk posed to an individual patient by HRT is small. Nevertheless, "risks from the drug add up over time."

"The whole purpose of healthy women taking long-term [combined HRT] is to preserve health and prevent disease," she concluded. "The results of this study provide strong evidence that the opposite is happening for important aspects of women's health, even if the absolute risk is low. Given these results, we recommend that clinicians stop prescribing this combination for long-term use."

Healthy Menopause: A Second Spring

Menopause is a naturally occurring transition. As a physiological event, Menopause is not a disease and it need not be accompanied by any discomfort. Indeed, statistics show that in 20% of all American women, there are no symptoms at all, and in cultures where age brings power and status to women, close to 100% of menopausal women have reported no symptoms of Menopause. (Lyttleton, Jane, op.cit., p. 5)

However, in Western societies where older women are less valued and respected than their younger sisters, approximately 80% of women do have symptoms of Menopause, ranging from mild and quite transient to severe and debilitating.

Going through menopause does not automatically mean that symptoms will arise. Just on the Physical level, if a woman’s diet is good, if she exercises moderately but regularly, if she limits stress in her life where possible and has an effective way of dealing with stress when it does arise, that woman is less likely to experience symptoms when she reaches menopause or at any other time for that matter! There are women who sail through Menopause with little or no discomfort whatsoever.

Menopausal women need not believe that they are doomed to years of hormonal nightmare. Pre-menopausal women need not anticipate with dread the menopausal years. All women, however, need to act with intelligence to bring their being into a state of health where menopausal discomforts may be reduced or eliminated. On the one hand, it I important for all of us to recognize and accept the facts of aging and decline. These are part of the human condition and used to be accepted as such. On the other hand, we need not believe that either menopause of the post-menopausal years doom us to several decades of excessive and continual suffering. It is up to us to determine how these years will be experienced, and it is up to us to act upon that determination.

Acupuncture and PMS

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, PMS is most definitely classified as a valid gynecological complaint or disease. The good news is that Acupuncturists have been curing women’s PMS for centuries.

Now the Western Medicine has also recognized the benefits of ACUPUNCTURE.

Using acupuncture to treat premenstrual syndrome.
Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2002 Nov;267(1):23-6 Habek D, Habek JC, Barbir A.

Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Health Centre, Bjelovar, Croatia. dubravko.habek@bj.hinet.hr

More than 60% of the women in both groups suffered from premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms, such as anxiety, mastalgia, insomnia, nausea and gastrointestinal disorders, whereas a smaller number of women suffered from phobic disorders, premenstrual headaches and migraines. There were three women from the first group and seven women from the second group who continued the medication treatment with progestins, whereas one woman from the first group and nine women from the second group continued to take fluoxetine. In the first group, nine women stopped having PMS symptoms after two AP treatments, eight women stopped having them after three treatments and one woman stopped having them after four treatments. In four women from the first group and 16 women from the second group, PMS symptoms appeared during the following period (cycle) or continued even after four treatments, so the medication was continued. In the first group, one woman had a smaller subcutaneous hematoma after the AP acupoint Ren 6. There was a statistical and relevant reduction in PMS symptoms with the AP treatments in the first group (P<0.001), whereas their reduction was irrelevant in the placebo AP group (P>0.05).

The success rate of ACUPUNCTURE in treating PMS symptoms was 77.8%, whereas it was 5.9%. in the placebo group.

The positive influence of AP in treating PMS symptoms can be ascribed to its effects on the serotoninergic and opioidergic neurotransmission that modulates various psychosomatic functions. The initial positive results of PMS symptoms with a holistic approach are encouraging and AP should be suggested to the patients as a method of treatment.
 PMID: 12410369 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Incidence of premenstrual syndrome and remedy usage: a national probability sample study.

Altern Ther Health Med. 1998 May;4(3):75-9 Singh BB, Berman BM, Simpson RL, Annechild A. Complementary Medicine Program, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA.

CONTEXT: Premenstrual syndrome is believed to affect 30% to 80% of women. Studies in various cultures have used a variety of methodologies to determine prevalence, symptom profile, and effectiveness of available treatments. This study was designed to provide information on incidence of PMS and therapies used based on a national probability sample of US women. METHOD: In 1996 a national probability sample (N = 1052) of women aged 21 to 64 years was surveyed by telephone using random digit dial methods. The survey included demographic information, questions concerning respondent knowledge of premenstrual syndrome, incidence rates of common premenstrual syndrome symptoms, and any remedies that were used to control the symptoms. RESULTS: Forty-one percent of the women responded "yes" to the question, "Do you suffer from premenstrual syndrome?" An additional 17% indicated that they experienced symptoms prior to their menstrual cycle that are commonly associated with premenstrual syndrome (e.g., pain, bloating, feeling more emotional, weight gain, food cravings), though without associating these symptoms with premenstrual syndrome explicity. The most frequently noted severe symptom was that of "[feeling] more emotional." Of those reporting premenstrual syndrome symptoms, approximately 42% took either prescription or over-the-counter medications to relieve them. Eighty percent of the women taking any type of medication relied on over-the-counter medications. Prescription drug use for premenstrual syndrome symptoms focused on medications to control pain; hormone supplements were the second most frequently prescribed rugs. Fewer than 3% of the respondents used prescription medications. Respondents were asked to indicate whether they had used a complementary medical therapy to control symptoms. Exercise was used most frequently (18%), and acupuncture was the least frequently used. Although only a small percentage of women used complementary therapies, for most of these therapies a near-perfect concordance was found between usage and belief in efficacy.

CONCLUSIONS: Women were aware of symptoms related to premenstrual syndrome more frequently than they recognized a formalized medical syndrome. Less than half of the women reporting symptoms had taken either over-the-counter or prescription drugs. Those who tried complementary therapies generally found them to be effective.
PMID: 9581324 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

YOUR TREATMENT

During your visit to my ChicagoAcupuncture clinic in Chicago or Northbrook, I will explain to you the diagnosis and treatment of PMS with Traditional Chinese Medicine. You will learn what causes PMS and what you can do a bout it. I will be able to share with you a number of self-help techniques which can minimize your monthly discomfort. I have been specializing in the Chinese medical treatment of gynecological complains for 10 years, and I have helped Western women cure or relive their PMS. Chinese medicine cannot cure every gynecological disease, but when it comes to PMS, Chinese medicine is the best alternative I know. If a woman follows my advice, together we can cure or at least reduce her premenstrual signs and symptoms.

What is PMS?

According to The Merck Manual, PMS is a "condition characterized by nervousness, irritability, emotional instability, depression, and possibly headaches, edema, and mastalgia; it occurs seven to ten days before menstruation and disappear a few hours after the onset of menstrual flow." When nervousness, irritability, depression and emotional instability or lability are the main symptoms, this disease is also referred to as PMT or premenstrual tension, and PMDD, premenstrual dysphoric disorder. In actual clinical fact the list of accompanying signs and symptoms is much longer than the one presented above. Some women’s PMS includes dozens of symptoms and complaints. In fact, more than 150 symptoms have been reported in the Western medical literature association with PMS. It is also true that, although the authors of The Merck Manual say PMS begins seven to ten days before each menses, in some women it may begin two weeks or more before each period. Though the symptoms of PMS vary from woman to woman, they do occur during a specific and relatively constant time of the menstrual cycle and have clear beginning and end.

The hallmark of professional Chinese medicine is what is known as "treatment based on pattern of discrimination." Modern Western medicine bases its treatment on a disease diagnosis. This means that two patients diagnosed as suffering from the same disease will get he same treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine also takes the patient’s disease diagnosis into account. However, the choice of treatment is not based on the disease so much as it is on what is called the patient’s pattern, and it is treatment based on pattern discrimination which is what makes Chinese Medicine the holistic, safe, and effective medicine it is.

In order to explain the difference between a disease and a pattern, let us take headache for example. Everyone who is diagnosed as suffering from a headache has to, by definition, have some pain in their head. In modern Western medicine and other medical systems which primarily prescribe on the basis of a disease diagnosis, one can talk about "headache medicines." However, amongst headache sufferers, one may be a man and the other a woman. One may be old and the other young. One may be fat and the other skinny. One may have pain on the right side of her head and the other may have pain on the left. In one case, the pain may be throbbing and continuous, while the other person’s pain may be very sharp but intermittent. In one case, they may also have indigestion, a tendency to loose stools, lack of warmth in their feet, red eyes, a dry mouth and desire for cold drinks, while the other person has a wet, weeping, rusty skin rash with red borders, a tendency to hay fever, ringing in their ears, and dizziness when they stand up. In Chinese medicine just as in modern Western medicine, both these patients suffer from headache. That I their disease diagnosis. However, they also suffer from a whole host of other complaints, have very different types of headaches, and very different constitutions, ages, and sex.

Thus, in Chinese medicine, the pattern describes the totality of the person as a unique individual. And in Chinese medicine, treatment is designed to rebalance that entire pattern of imbalance as well as address the major complaint or disease.

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