How
to Diagnose Menopause in Traditional
Chinese
medicine
diagnose
Traditional
Chinese medicine approaches Menopause as a variety of syndromes. All of
them have been successfully treated by acupuncture and herbal medicine.
The most typical cause for the symptoms associated with menopause is the
slowing of the flow of "yin." When applied to the health of
the physical body, this is the Chinese concept of the hydration or the
cooling system within the body. Typical symptoms of yin deficiency
includes:
hot
flashes; night sweats; mood swings; insomnia; heart palpitations
Sometimes,
instead of the yin level dropping down, it is the yang that becomes
deficient. The yang in the body represents the warming function of the
cells, their metabolism and other active processes. When the yang is
deficient, symptoms include: water retention, edema, weight gain,
indigestion, hypertension, and a raised cholesterol level.
Left
untreated, yin or yang deficiency can lead to qi deficiency. Qi is
pronounced "chee." It's the Chinese word for internal energy.
Symptoms of a qi deficiency can include: feeling "run-down",
fatigue, decreased sex drive, dry vagina, cold extremities, lower back
pain, weakened knees and incontinence.
In
China, maturity is highly revered, perhaps that is why they call the
time after menopause to be a women's "second spring." It is
this reverence for the elder years that Oriental herbal therapies have
evolved to their current beneficial status. Menopause can be made much
smoother through Chinese herbal therapy.
Prognosis
Very
good. Although the symptoms associated with "the change" are
obviously transitory. Oriental medicine has helped women for thousands
of years to enjoy their second spring without any of the growing pains.
It
is interesting to note that many women, after menopause, because of the
slowing of the flow of "yin," discover their yang principle
and go on to achieve, for the first time in their lives, success in
business and other areas which have been traditionally dominated by men
and their prominent "yang" principle. In the same way, men,
after the age of fifty or so, often find the time to discover their
"yin" or feminine principle and develop a more refined sense
of compassion and nurturing in life.
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