Amenorrhea is the term to describe not having a menstrual period. There are many reasons a woman might stop getting her period. Many birth control medications cause the menstrual cycle to stop completely. Stress and illness can also cause the natural menstrual cycle to stop. No matter the cause, acupuncture reverses amenorrhea in many instances.
Birth Control and Amenorrhea
As mentioned above, many women choose to have their cycle stopped, either with an IUD or hormone-based medications. This plan can be beneficial to circumvent painful periods. However, when the woman wants to start a family, she removes the medical intervention, but her period doesn’t come back.
In this case, her body has gotten out of balance from the device or medication and can’t jumpstart the menstrual cycle itself. Acupuncture reverses amenorrhea by boosting the woman’s natural hormone production and increasing Qi and blood circulation, particularly in the uterus. Acupuncture restores balance and allows the body to reclaim its natural monthly cycle.
Another situation is when women have been on traditional birth control pills to regulate their cycle, and then, years later, when they stop the medication, their period stops as well. This situation occurs when the body has become dependent on the hormones in the medicines and cannot function independently. Acupuncture reverses amenorrhea in this case by jumpstarting the body’s hormone production. Results are pretty compelling.
Amenorrhea Due To Stress or Trauma
Sometimes intense stress or trauma will cause a women’s period to stop. Acupuncture helps restore balance, not only to restore the cycle but to heal from the stress. Stress causes Qi stagnation while trauma causes blood stasis, both of which are damaging to one’s overall health. Examples of this type of amenorrhea include:
- Intense graduate school programs.
- Demanding jobs with a lot of travel.
- Deaths in the family.
- Divorce.
- Moving out of state.
- The loss of a job.
It is essential to preserve our health through the ups and downs of life. For example, if trauma is severe enough to stop your menstrual cycle, you know it’s impacted your body at a deep level. Acupuncture reverses amenorrhea and returns the body to homeostasis, allowing normal organ function. This action, in turn, helps prevent physical disease and emotional conditions like depression and anxiety from setting in. Acupuncture also boosts your immune system, helping protect you from pathogenic forces like the flu and other viruses.
Amenorrhea After Giving Birth
It is usual for a woman to not have her period during pregnancy, following delivery, and while breastfeeding. It typically returns several months after breastfeeding ends. However, in some instances, the period does not return even after she has stopped breastfeeding. This is due to the body’s dramatic depletion of blood from delivery and breastfeeding. In Chinese medicine, breast milk is considered blood, so breastfeeding depletes blood levels in women.
A woman in this situation needs to rest and eat well to restore her strength. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs can help replenish her blood, speeding her recovery time. Building blood is a common practice in Chinese medicine, and both acupuncture and herbs accomplish this task naturally and efficiently. It is helpful if the woman eats red meat, as this builds blood. Common acupuncture points to increase blood levels include ST36, SP6, BL17, and BL20. An excellent herbal formula for building blood is Si Wu Tang.
Next Steps
No matter the cause, acupuncture reverses amenorrhea safely and effectively. So if you are having trouble getting your period to start again, try acupuncture.
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What our Clients are Saying
I love Raleigh Acupuncture! I went for infertility. I was a mess. My period came every two weeks and was really uncomfortable. I was anemic and the iron supplements were giving me terrible constipation. I also had PCOS. I didn’t even know if I was ovulating. The treatments totally fixed my cycle. After four months I was getting my period every four weeks and my anemia was gone. They taught me how to know when I was ovulating and the “best time” to get pregnant. It worked. I’m three months pregnant right now and very happy. They totally changed my life. Thank you Raleigh Acupuncture!!
Was having alot of trouble getting pregnant. My internet research showed that having an irregular period could be at least partially responsible for my troubles. Found Raleigh Acupuncture through a friend and got treated. After that my period started coming every 30 days — and five months later I got pregnant! I’m convinced acupuncture made the difference. I’m telling everyone who’s having trouble getting pregnant to try acupuncture. What a gift.
I’ve always been irregular with my cycle and it didn’t bother me much. But I got married last year and was starting to think about having a family. I knew that it would be more difficult to get pregnant with my cycle coming at all different times. So I went to Raleigh Acupuncture. They told me it usually took three months to regulate a cycle, and that’s exactly how long it took me. I’m like clockwork now and grateful for it. At the same time my periods are less uncomfortable. I feel relieved that when we start trying to get pregnant I’ll be in a much better place.
I’ve been going to Raleigh Acupuncture for 4+ years. I first went to them because I was having problems with my monthly period lasting two weeks or more, hot flashes that were extreme, and all over pain from fibromyalgia, which is a chronic pain condition. I was in a state of depression and despair, unable to work, or do things I love to do, like working in my yard. On a good day, I could perform simple household chores, perhaps a little yoga, and that was all. My first few visits brought relief from hot flashes, terrible neck pain, and wrap-around pain in my ribs that restricted my ability to breathe comfortably. I felt this was a miracle as I had suffered for many years, and had no idea it was so easily remedied. This miraculous ride continued as I took Chinese herbs for aiding my menopausal symptoms, sinus problems, anxiety, and general pain. As time went on I began to depend on Raleigh Acupuncture for psychological strengthening as well. Nowhere else have I found anyone that really listens to what I have to say without thinking I was crazy. Today, as I sit and reflect, I am about to graduate from an intense two year program for Landscape Architecture Technology. I took a huge leap when I signed up for full-time classes when I was 50 years old. I have enjoyed great success, making one B in 64 credit hours, the rest were A’s! In February of 2011, I was in a car accident where I was sandwiched between a van and a school bus. I was able to continue school and finish the semester, I believe because of my acupuncture treatments. I contribute most of my academic success, emotional well-being, and diminished pain to Raleigh Acupuncture.
