Acupuncture & PMS
Hormones are vital for our health and growth, and yet they get a pretty bad rap when it comes to periods. More often than not, hearing that you’re “being hormonal” is a loaded statement, and can diminish symptoms and experiences that you’ve been told to live with, because it’s a ‘normal’ part of having a period. Acupuncture works on regulating your system, and recognises that our body’s are always changing. In fact, we’re always meant to be “hormonal”; hormones play a wonderfully vital role in all facets of our health. So why has it been reduced to a put down?
PMS is often discussed in a way that trivialises symptoms, and yet cyclic symptoms of pain, vomiting, anxiety, depression, bloating, headaches, joint pain, brain fog, acne, or sleep disruption can be completely life disrupting. PMS is the result of the dynamic between oestrogen & progesterone regulation requiring intervention, as well as inflammation’s role in aggravating symptoms. The determining factors of what requires focus for you is based specifically on the symptoms you experience. Depending on the severity & duration of your symptoms, investigating underlying causes is also crucial. Any conditions that may be contributing to your symptoms (such as Endometriosis or PCOS) need to be identified, ruled out, or factored into a treatment plan.
Conditions aside, it sounds borderline controversial to say it, but cycles aren’t meant to be filled with extreme pain or a wave of impactful symptoms as “the norm” every month. We now live in an age where research into women’s health is ever-increasing. We know PMS symptoms are a result of hormonal change and inflammation, and what’s more, there are things we can do to help.
Symptom-loaded cycles give us hints about how your body is managing your menstrual cycle. PMS may be common for many, but its wide acceptance shouldn’t be normalised, especially when in a lot of cases it’s changeable. When it comes to hormone regulation, oestrogen and progesterone are incredible & crucial keys. Depending on the dynamic of this duo, we can see all forms of symptoms arise, and that combined with inflammation are the main details we work on with you clinically, so as to restore your pre-cycle to relative smoothness. Creating longer-lasting change involves cultivating hormone resilience, & it’s important to remember that premenstrual symptoms are indicators from your luteal phase to say that some things require adjusting. The use of Acupuncture, herbal medicine, supplements, lifestyle & dietary advice is created specific to you and your needs so as to get you feeling more like yourself again.