Menstrual Symptoms
By Dr. Renae Haldeman · New to some of these words? See the glossary.
It seems like the “norm” for women today is to have terrible period symptoms. How many times has a father or mother heard their daughter cry about bleeding through her pants at school because of her period? How many sick days has a woman had to take because of terrible cramps at the start of her period? How many women get migraine headaches as a normal part of their cycle?
- Cramps
- Heavy bleeding
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Headaches
- Breast tenderness
- Weepy mood
- Angry mood
- Diarrhea
- Irritation
The list goes on. NONE OF THIS should be happening. The beauty of having a menstrual cycle is that it shows the body is strong. In Chinese medicine, a woman’s cycle, and semen in men, are called Tian Gui, or Jing. These are signs of health, youth, and strength.
A middle-aged woman came to me at the clinic with 14 years of severe menstrual cramps. They were so bad that she had to plan her work schedule around her cycle. After just two months of acupuncture, she was amazed that she had no cramps to speak of.
Several years ago, a young girl began having her periods. At first, she had few problems for a year. In the second year, her body became very irritated at the start of each cycle. She had little appetite and became moody and angry. She even felt the urge to pick at and pull her hair to “kill” the pain in her body from being so agitated. Acupuncture helped her get back to a balanced state in two months. One key thing she needed was to be sure she was eating enough food to make yin and blood (the body’s cooling, nourishing fluids), so her body could keep having periods with little agitation.
A young adult woman came to the clinic with a very weepy mood and little appetite the week before her period. She also had frequent heat surges and a craving for iced drinks. This woman had struggled with a weepy mood as a young girl, even before her first period. In a very short time, she had a steady mood and a normal appetite as she moved through her cycle.
One thing that is key to such amazing healing is creating a stable lifestyle. In these cases, the patients exercised regularly, ate healthy foods, kept regular sleep habits, and avoided harmful substances. So let the “norm” of the period for young girls and women be FREE from painful discomfort, and full of balance and peace.
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This article is educational and is not medical advice. Individual results vary. Please talk with a licensed healthcare provider about your own health.