Menopause is not a disease any more than menarche is; therefore, is not a reason to have physical or emotional symptoms and many women pass through this period of life with no noticeable changes except the disappearance of the menses. Although it should be a normal change, common symptoms that women complain of during menopause such as hot flashes, sweating (day or night), vaginal dryness, anxiety/depression, insomnia, and tiredness are influenced by lifestyle habits throughout the entire life, these symptoms are not something that happens because menopause occurs. These life style habits include improper diet that includes excessive amounts of dairy, greasy fried foods and alcohol, working long hours, smoking which not only injures the lung but also dries up blood and injures the kidneys, and not getting enough rest. So even men can suffer from hot flashes and women that are not even close to the change.
Some literature states that estrogen production stops when menopause occurs, but that is not exactly true, because the adrenal glands continue to produce a small amount of estrogen and some is also produced in adipose tissue which is why women with some adipose tissue tend to have less hot flashes than thin women.
Hot flashes are the most common symptom with 85% of women having them, and the flashes can continue for 5,10 or even more years after menses stops especially if the improper lifestyle habits do not change and you don’t treat the deficiencies caused by the lifestyle habits. Vaginal dryness is another frequent condition that may be triggered during menopause, again, not the cause of the symptom. In Eastern thinking, women’s body changes every seven years, so forty-nine would signal another change bringing on these symptoms that occur about the same time as menopause.
Acupuncture is helpful to balance your body and bring it back to a healthy state, and there are numerous herbal formulas that may help during the next phase of a women’s life, easing hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, vaginal dryness and many of the emotional concerns like irritability and depression. Consider consulting an acupuncturist/herbalist to help make the correct choice.