Real comments from clients with perimenopause symptoms:
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- “Gail”: Don’t mind me: I’m having my own private summer over here. Rapid disrobing in a seat near you soon.
- “Ann”: Why is my waist size growing but my diet has not changed?
- “Lynn”: My body has decided there is apparently no sleeping between the wee hours of 1:30AM and 4AM.
- “Stephanie”: It’s safe to say I can never sneak up on anyone anymore, because my joints click so much it’s like I have a jingle bell around my neck.
- “Julie”: I think I need to park a broom outside my front door because I am being such a witch to my poor family!
‘Sound familiar? In my acupuncture clinic, I address both perimenopause symptoms every day. Many problems occur due to hormone shifts, but the other key issue is inflammation. Inflammation is the silent menopausal change you want to consider. The good news is that there are many things you can do to address it.
What does inflammation have to do with perimenopause symptoms and feeling better?
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During peri-menopause, hormone levels bump up and down. At menopause, estrogen remains reduced and other organs, such as the adrenals, kick in to make estrogen-like substances. This is a normal process.
While estrogen naturally drops, inflammation naturally increases during peri-menopause. Estrogen is protective for the female body. When it changes: inflammation can and does frequently occur. It might show up as joint pains like frozen shoulder or arthritis or circulation issues like plantar fasciitis or numbness and tingling of the feet. These too are common complaints that respond well to acupuncture.
Inflammation in one respect can be like a scraped knee. There is redness, swelling, pain and heat, right? There are obvious, visual changes. However inflammation in another respect can exist inside your body. Though it’s not visible, it still has an impact. It shows up with things like changes in metabolism, cardiovascular issues, and joint or skeletal problems.
All of this being said: don’t be alarmed. Just be informed. Inflammation serves a valuable purpose of fixing tissue damage; so it’s not all bad. In fact our bodies require it in manageable amounts. For example: exercise creates tiny muscle tears (small inflammations) which actually stimulate growth and health. Tissue repair is important and necessary. However ongoing or raging inflammation, which does not resolve, is problematic. Remember you always have options and action to guide your body from being more inflamed to less inflamed. That is what this blog post will help you to do.
Take this quick quiz below to see if you may have any internal inflammation.
Do you have any of the following?
- Allergies which may be getting worse?
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- Popping or clicking joints?
- Redness or broken blood vessels in your face or neck?
- Increasing sensitivities to foods or things in your environment?
- High blood pressure?
- Elevations in your cholesterol?
- High blood sugar?
- Cravings for sugar?
- Drowsiness after meals?
- Extra weight around your mid section?
Yes to any of the above, indicates inflammation.
Part II of this blog will post tomorrow. Stay tuned for steps you can take feel better!
Thank you for reading!
- Please leave any questions you may have here and I am happy to answer them.
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For scheduling information and appointment availability, do please visit my website at: KReynoldsAcupuncture.com.
Be well!
Karen Reynolds, RN, MS, LAc
