Menopause

Menopause is a stage of life rather than an illness, but that framing can be unhelpful when you are living through it — particularly if you have spent a couple of years feeling unlike yourself and not quite knowing why. Women going through it are among those who come to see us.

The stages, and what they actually mean

The words get used loosely, and it helps to know what they mean:

• Perimenopause — the transition leading up to it, when hormone levels fluctuate. It can last several years, and it is when many women notice the most change. Periods are often still happening, which is why it is so frequently missed.
• Menopause — dated, in retrospect, from twelve consecutive months without a period.
• Postmenopause — everything after that point.

What the first consultation covers

Allow about an hour. Expect a conversation that goes wider than the symptom that brought you in:

• Where you are — your cycle now and how it has changed, when things started shifting, and what your pattern used to be.
• What you are experiencing — in your own words, in as much or as little detail as you like. Nothing here is embarrassing and nothing is too trivial.
• Sleep — how you sleep, when you wake, and whether you get back off. It usually comes up early.
• The rest of you — energy through the day, appetite, digestion, temperature, mood, concentration, work and what your life currently demands of you.
• Your medical care — what your GP has said, what you are taking, what you have tried, and anything you have decided against and why.
• Pulse and tongue — the traditional assessment (see how Chinese medicine works).

What a session is like

Quiet, and practical about the obvious. The full description is on the acupuncture page; a few things specific to this stage:

• Room temperature is yours to set. Say if you are too warm and we will open a window, turn things down, or lose a blanket. There is no prize for lying there quietly overheating.
• Wear layers you can shed easily, and loose sleeves and trouser legs.
• A flush during a session is completely fine and happens often. You can sit up, have water, take your time. Nobody is timing you.
• Needles stay in for around twenty minutes while you rest, lights low.

Most women describe it as deeply restful, and a good number say it is the one hour in the week when nothing at all is being asked of them. Some fall asleep, which — if your nights have been broken for months — is sometimes the point.

If you are taking HRT or other medication

Tell us, and keep taking it. Nothing here is a reason to come off anything.

This matters particularly if Chinese herbal medicine is being considered, because herbal preparations can interact with prescribed medicines. If you are taking HRT, tamoxifen or another hormone treatment, blood thinners, thyroid medication, antidepressants or anything for a long-term condition, we need the full list — and please also tell your GP or consultant that you are taking Chinese herbs. Please read the safety section on the herbal medicine page before you start.

What we can and cannot tell you

We are not able to tell you that acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine will reduce hot flushes, improve your sleep, lift your mood or ease any other menopausal symptom. The evidence needed to say that is not something we hold, and we would rather tell you that plainly than let you spend money on a hope we put there.

What we can describe is the treatment itself, the unhurried hour, and how women generally find the experience of coming here. If what you want is treatment with good evidence behind it, your GP is genuinely the right person to see — and we would rather say so than talk you into a course of appointments.

Once you have started, we review at every visit. If you are not getting anything out of it, we will tell you.