Listen up, ladies. Your period does NOT have to be miserable. I’m not saying it’s going to be a blast, but having serious PMS symptoms that impact your quality of life, or needing to stay in bed while Aunt Flo visits is NOT OKAY.

It might be common, but these symptoms are not “normal” and are typically a sign of underlying imbalance. Up to 80% of women report pain during their period- so you’re definitely not alone if this is you- but we’re on a mission to change that! And yes, we know you might not ever be thrilled at that time of the month, but your monthly flow is actually chock-full of information about your overall health and wellness, and leaning in to getting to know your cycle is really informative for many women. Knowledge is power, ladies. (Grandi 2012)

Sure, Midol and heating pad might help you power through, or going on the birth control pill might help keep your symptoms at bay,  but do we want a bandaid fix, or do we want to get to the root cause of these symptoms and get you feeling better once and for all?

Wait, what? The pill doesn’t FIX your problems? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but NO- what the birth control pill does is hijack your cycle by surpressing your hormone surges, making you FEEL like you have a “normal” cycle. Helpful for symptom management? Maybe. A cure? Defintiely not, and often when women come of the pill, the symptoms that have been surpressed come back.

And just a side note- at Indigo, we are HUGE fans of what the birth control pill has done for women’s rights and family planning, so hooray for that, but we aren’t down with is the confusion it has caused for so many women, especially the belief that the pill is fixing those pesky hormone issues.

So, what’s a girl with cramps to do? Well, if you’re in camp fix-the-problem, you might find that tapping into the power of Chinese Medicine is the magic wand you’ve been waiting for. At Indigo Wellness Group, we combine acupuncture and Chinese herbs according to your specific pattern of imbalance along with some more western supplements to help our patients learn to love (or at least like) Aunt Flo.

Before we get into common period problems, let’s talk about what a healthy period should look like.

Ideally, your period should come every 26-30 days, be red in color without clots, come without intense pain or moodiness, start “strong” without spotting, and last about 3-5 days. Of course there can be slight variations here that aren’t too much of a concern. But anything outside of these ranges, or any period issues that affect your quality of life shuld absoutley be treated, from the root cause.

In Chinese medicine, we believe a normal, healthy period is the result of all your systems being in balance. This means your Yin (which drives the first half of your cycle aka the follicular phase) and your Yang (which drives the second half of your cycle aka the luteal phase) need to be balanced and your Qi and Blood need to be circulating smoothly to have a healthy flow. 

What causes imbalances? Well, there can be many factors, and it really depends on the individual, but common causes include: stress, poor diet, slow digestion, improper sleep, and general constitution. By looking for patterns in your symptoms, we can start to figure out what areas need some work to help you resolve your symptoms once and for all.

Now I know we’re all looking for a quick fix, but the feedback-loop nature of our body’s hormone signaling means that lasting change takes time and patience. We typically recommend that our patients commit to 3-6 months of period-problem work before expecting major changes. We do expect at least a 20% improvement in cycle discomfort every month, barring any major life changes, to help us know we are on the right treatment track.

So, without further ado, let’s meet some of our most common period symptoms and our general plans for helping you love aunt Flo. (Please note: these are just the basics, and once we get to know you and your period story, we will make specific recommendations based on your needs.)

HEADACHES:

Period headaches are a common sign of estrogen imbalances- PMS headaches often signify Estrogen Dominance and menstrual headaches can be related to a too-sharp drop in Estrogen. In Chinese Medicine, hormonal headaches are often a sign of Qi stagnations or an imbalance in yin/yang. Your acupuncturist will ask lots of questions about where and when you experience headaches to determining your specific pattern. 

In general, the following tips might help:

• If you have PMS headaches and aren’t pooping regularly, try 400mg Magnesium Citrate before bed. You might find that this helps daily, regular bowel movements which in turn help your body clear excess estrogen. If pooping isn’t a problem, try Magnesium Glycinate instead. (Mauskop 2012)

• Get acupuncture, ideally weekly during your cycle for 3 months to get ahead of headaches, but focus on the week before headaches typically come to try to get ahead of it.

• Work with a Chinese herbalist to find the right formula for you, there are many different ones that treat headaches.

• Keep a food diary. Food is a big trigger of headaches, and since women often experience more food cravings before and during their periods, its important to rule out any potential food triggers. There are several food diary apps available, but using the note program in your phone is a great method, too.

MOODINESS / BREAST TENDERNESS/ CRAMPING BEFORE BLEEDING

In TCM, irritability, anxiety and soreness are a common sign of “Liver Qi Stagnation”. No, this doesn’t mean anything is up with your liver, but it does mean you’re a little energetically ‘stuck.’ You might also experience headaches, cold hands and feet, and digestive upset when your stress is high.

If you find yourself feeling snappy or anxious the week before your period, this is probably you. The internal traffic jam is causing pressure to build up, and it typically releases right in the face of your partner or children. Take a deep breath, apologize, and know that this isn’t your fault, but rather a sign of stagnation in your body. (Don’t you feel better already?)

Our “stuck” type patients benefit from:

• weekly acupuncture

• an herbal formula commonly known as Free & Easy Wanderer (Hao 2019)

• stress reduction techniques like mediation, yoga and deep breathing

• 400+mg of Magnesium Glycinate daily

• warming food like soups and stews to help keep energy flowing properly

• Gentle exercise can help when you are feeling stuck and crabby

   

CRAMPING DURING BLEEDING

IN TCM, this pattern is called Blood Stagnation, and is often caused by “coldness” in the abdomen. This can be due to antibiotic use, surgeries, too much raw food, or just constitution, and our Blood Stuck patients often notice large clots in their period blood, very localized pain that is better with warmth. These patients might also have a fibroid or endometriosis history.

To help stay ahead of cramps try this:

• Add ginger tea to your routine- this herb has been studied for its help in alleviating dysmenorrhea aka painful periods and is an easy kitchen hack to help you relieve pain (Rahnama 2012)

• Get regular acupuncture, especially focusing on the week before your period

• Try Chinese herbs- Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan (Cinnamon and Poria) is a great one for moving blood and treating pain, and it’s been studies effectively for fibroids.

• Not sure if you have clots? Using a menstural cup or pad can be helpful to see exactly what’s going down.

While this is not an exhaustive list of period problems or solutions, these are a few of the most common period problem tricks that acupuncturists have up our sleeves. (We have a lot of tricks!)

 Come visit us at Indigo Wellness Group for acupuncture if you’re in lower Connecticut, or contact us to schedule a virtual herb and supplement consult. To find a board certified acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist near you, visit www.nccaom.org/find-a-practitioner-directory/.

REFERENCES: 

Grandi, G., Ferrari, S., Xholli, A., Cannoletta, M., Palma, F., Romani, C., … Cagnacci, A. (2012). Prevalence of menstrual pain in young women: what is dysmenorrhea? Journal of pain research. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3392715/. 

Mauskop A, Varughese J. Why all migraine patients should be treated with magnesium. J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2012 May;119(5):575-9. doi: 10.1007/s00702-012-0790-2. Epub 2012 Mar 18. PMID: 22426836.

Hao, W., Gong, L., & Xue, F. (2019, March 6). The Efficacy and Safety of Modified Xiaoyao San for Perimenopausal Syndrome (PMS): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Biosciences and Medicines. https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=91833. 

Rahnama, P., Montazeri, A., Huseini, H. F., Kianbakht, S., & Naseri, M. (2012, July 10). Effect of Zingiber officinale R. rhizomes (ginger) on pain relief in primary dysmenorrhea: a placebo randomized trial. BMC complementary and alternative medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3518208/.