Serving New Haven East Haven West Haven Branford North Branford Guilford Madison Connecticut (CT) Acupuncture CT                           Traditional Chinese Acupuncture   Richard A. Covello, L.Ac.   Acupuncture Connecticut                     





             
         
 
    
 



   

  







   



 




      















































 

 

After scheduling your appointment, please print and complete the first visit form found on this web sites home page. Thank you for visiting acupuncture Connecticut (CT). Acupuncture is probably the safest treatment for menopause. It took me about three years to figure out how the ancient acupuncture treatment actually reduced the number of hot flashes and night sweats. At a certain point in a woman's life cycle she will enter menopause. Her follicles start to change. A shorter menstrual cycle is a most common change. A dramatic decrease in circulating estrogen levels will occur. When a woman has hot flashes and night sweats we in Chinese medicine define this as a deficiency heat pattern, the symptom is heat and the condition is caused by a deficiency or lack of estrogen. Medical doctors measure clinical menopause as an elevated FSH level. The FSH level rises more than the LH levels. Because of the reduced renal clearance of FSH compared to LH an imbalance occurs. In Chinese medicine this imbalance is defined as Kidney Yin or Yang deficiency. For more western information... Menopausal patterns in Chinese Medicine are divided into either Kidney Yin or Kidney Yang vacuity although the liver, heart, and spleen are also often involved. I will use traditional terms for educational purposes. Please note that patients usually only have a few of the symptoms listed under each pattern and frequently have symptoms from multiple patterns. The heart’s involvement in menopausal symptoms is fascinating. Why do we treat the heart? The heart is the pump that pushes estrogen around the body. When the body needs to move estrogen around quicker, to compensate for a deficiency, the body increases the heart rate and body temperature. This increased activity causes insomnia and night sweats. I've also listed the most commonly seen symptoms for menopausal woman in Connecticut. Woman with thyroid disorders and those undergoing chemotherapy require additional treatment. I believe the elevated heart rate is slightly higher then normal, the difference in the heart rate would be equivalent to the difference in someone attempting to sleep sitting up and that same person sleeping laying down. KIDNEY YANG VACUITY Dull complexion, listlessness, physical cold, cold extremities, cold and aching lower back and knees, loss of appetite, abdominal discharge that is sometimes dark in color and contains blood clots, edema of the face and limbs, increased nighttime urination and, in some cases, urinary incontinence or thin clear vaginal discharge. Tongue: Pale, sometimes tender, flaccid wit tooth impressions along the edges; thin white coast Yang Deficiency: Edema of the face and limbs, Weight Gain, Decreased Libido, Lower Back Pain, Fatigue, Memory Loss Yin Deficiency: Hot flashes, Irritability, Fatigued, Itchy Hands and Feet, Night Sweating CONNECTICUT WOMAN COMMON SYMPTOMS Tongue: Red with little coat - Pulse: Rapid, Thready Dizziness and vertigo, tinnitus, periodic hot flashes over the head and face, perspiration, hot hand, hot feet, insomnia, aching lower back and knees, shortened or irregular menstrual cycle, menstrual discharge that is sometimes heavy, sometimes light and bright red in color; dry itchy skin, dry mouth, dry hard stools and scanty yellow urine. KIDNEY YIN VACUITY