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Acupuncture Treatment for Uterine Fibroids
The development of hard muscle tissue in the uterus is known as uterine fibroids. They may be known by other names like leiomyomas, myomas or fibroid tumors. Fibroids usually develop in women who are over 40 years of age. In fact, about half of the women 40 years old and over suffer from this condition. The fibroid can become huge that it has been known to grow about a hundred pounds (albeit very rarely)! Most sufferers though have significantly smaller fibroids, usually the size of a walnut.
In the United States, the number one reason for hysterectomies is the development of fibroids.
Uterine fibroids have no known causes although estrogens particularly estradiol, often makes it conducive for their development. Because the levels of estrogen may increase during the early years of menopause, previously asymptomatic fibroids can grow during the years just prior to the complete stoppage of the menstrual cycle leading to symptoms like severe menstrual flooding and pain, bowel problems, urinary incontinence or frequency, pain during coitus, low back pain or a sensation of heaviness in the stomach.
White women are less prone to fibroids than colored women. The latter are 3 times to 9 times more likely to develop this condition and develop it more quickly than the former.
Although not usually cancerous, fibroid tumors can still become malignant. Still the there is only less than 0.1% chance of that from ever occurring.
Small fibroids usually vanish spontaneously. More hard to resolve are large fibroids although they can be treated using natural remedies.
In Eastern medicine, the lowermost energy center in the body is known as the “root chakra” and this area includes the uterus. This chakra is the part believed to store anger that is unexpressed. Eastern medical practitioners believe unwanted growths in the uterus can be neutralized by allowing the anger to discharge in a safe way.
Menstrual cramps and uterine fibroids can vanish within or after three months following a vigorous exercise program. Irregular ovulation often accompanies the presence of the fibroids and it can even exacerbate the condition. Exercise can help because it promotes regular ovulation.
Daily eating of three or more serving of beans or whole grains helps to decrease the size of the fibroid as well as afford protection to the endometrium and breasts from development of endometrial and breast cancers.
Trifolium pratense or red clover flowers should not be used during menopause as it can complicate your condition if you have fibroids.
Using yellow dock root, milk thistle seed and other herbs can help tonify the liver helping it metabolize estrogen out of the body helping decrease fibroids in the process.
Chasteberry tincture or Vitex can decrease the size of the fibroids after two months of use although results can take longer perhaps up to a couple of years. Use twice to four times daily at 25-30 drops per use.
Burning moxa over the part of the body where the fibroid is located can help shrink the size of the fibroid.
Poke root utilized as a tincture for internal use can help relieve symptoms of fibroids. Use from one to 10 drops daily. When used externally for rubbing the stomac, poke root can greatly alleviate distress and pain related to the fibroids. A WARNING: Poke is known to be poisonous and so is not usually for sale.
Lupron is a medication that can induce menopause by stopping the body from producing estradiol. This usually helps shrink the size of the fibroid size within two to three months. The problem with this treatment is that the fibroids tend to grow back when the drug’s use has been stopped.
Warm ginger compresses (hot ginger water in a towel) or castor oil packs on the stomach can decrease the size of the fibroids and alleviate pain.
Consuming beans and whole grains can improve the ratio of estrogen and progesterone in the body as well decrease the size of the fibroids.
Fibroids can be lessened by avoiding exposure to estrogen. This means not eating foods that have been exposed to pesticides and herbicides (that have residues that mimic estrogen), eating organic foods, not using birth control pills and not avoiding ERT/HRT.
Chlorine-bleached tampons should not be used as they can also mimic estrogen.
Women with fibroids can also consider surgery. There are now several options aside from the extraction of the uterus (hysterectomy). They include suprecrvical hysterectomy, myomectomy, uterine embolization and hysteroscopic resection. It is highly recommended to seek a surgeon who specializes in these procedures since they are relatively new procedures.
Hysterectomy is a very important procedure as it can be a life-saving one. However, a third of American women who have reached 60 have had their wombs already surgically removed. Fibroids that do not manifest any symptoms are not enough reasons to undergo a hysterectomy. A woman is healthier with her ovaries intact, although there can be rare exceptions to this. Therefore, even if you need to undergo hysterectomy, it’s best to keep your ovaries.
Galina Semyonova is a licensed acupuncturist and massage therapist in New York City. She has studied extensively in the fields of biofeedback therapy, SCENAR therapy, Chinese herbal treatments and Chinese and Western nutrition.
Acupuncture for Ulcerative Colitis
A chronic form of inflammatory bowel condition, ulcerative colitis is an inflammation of the rectum and the lining of the colon (large intestine). Typically, ulcerative colitis starts on the lower area of the colon and in the rectal area. The inflammation can affect the entire colon over the course over time. Initially, the attack is gradual and starts with a heightened urgency to pass stool, pus and blood on the feces, and mild lower stomach cramps. In degrees of severity, this disease may differ from patient to patient.
People of any age, can develop ulcerative colitis (UC) although it usually occurs at the ages of 15 to 30 and even around the ages of 50 to 70 years old. It affects both women and men and sometimes, people with this disease have a family history of it.
UC sufferers are at high risk of developing bowel cancer, particularly if the disease is extensive or severe. A lot of these sufferers have tried acupuncture that proved extremely effective in the relief of their symptoms.
What causes ulcerative colitis?
Western medical science still does not know what exactly causes ulcerative colitis although researchers have found several factors that can trigger this condition. Ulcerative colitis is considered a type of autoimmune condition. Scientists think that the immune system of the body that battles bacterial or viral infection by inflaming the wall of the large intestine. Some scientists argue that no infection actually is involved and the cause of this disease is instead a malfunction of the immune system. One popular theory is that the immune system erroneously attacks the beneficial bacteria inside the large intestine and so attacks the tissues of the colon, causing the inflammation of these tissues.
There is no clear explanation why the immune system acts this way although experts believe that environmental and genetic factors are involved.
It is widely believed that UC is not directly due to food or food product sensitivity or emotional distress, though they can trigger symptoms in certain individuals.
What are the complications and symptoms of ulcerative colitis?
Diarrhea can develop due to the inflammation that causes frequent emptying of the large intestine. The surface of the colon lining begins to develop little open ulcers that can lead to bloody stools. The inflamed lining also causes an inordinate amount of mucus in the large intestine that at times may contain pus.
Common symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis:
-Anemia
-Dehydration
-Fever
-Weight and appetite loss
-Fatigue
-Frequent urge to pass stools
-Bloody diarrhea with mucus
-Stomach pain
When the inflammation is severe and has penetrated into the deeper walls of the large intestine, extreme complications such as perforation of the colon and profuse bleeding from deep ulcers may occur. Osteoporosis, eye inflammation, arthritis, cirrhosis, primary sclerosis cholangitis and other complications can develop when the immune system causes inflammation in other areas of the body.
Ulcerative Colitis – A Traditional Chinese Medicine Viewpoint
According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory, ulcerative colitis can be the result of an unhealthy diet, external pathogen invasion or by constitutional deficiencies. A poor diet (i.e., cold or raw foods) can damage the abdomen and spleen by blocking the transporting and transforming functions of these organs with regards to nutrients and foods. Diet modification can be complemented by therapies like acupuncture. External pathogen invasion refers to damp-cold or damp-heat. Constitutional deficiencies typically talks about kidney, stomach and spleen deficiencies.
TCM theory states that each patient is a unique individual with a body and mind connected to the environment.
UC can be divided into seven major categories, based on its attributes and seriousness:
-Deficiency of kidney and spleen yang
-Spleen deficiency with accumulation of damp
-Blood and qi stagnation
-Liver overacting on the spleen
-Cold and heat alternate attacks
-Damp-cold impacting the spleen
-Damp-heat in the large intestine
TCM states that spleen deficiency is the most common diagnosis of chronic ulcerative intestinal conditions. TCM practitioners believe that the spleen is mainly responsible for the health of the intestines. Its main function is to transport and transform the essence of food in the body and this includes the removal of waste material. Dampness, a pathogenic condition can accumulate in the body when the body experiences deficiency in Yang or Qi which can then lead to symptoms of colitis like fatigue and diarrhea. The Liver and Kidney and even other organs can play a part in intestinal distress. Lifestyle recommendations, diet as well as TCM therapies such as Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture are used to treat these imbalances. When they are correctly applied, these modalities clear dampness, nourish the organs, harmonize blood and Qi and balance Yin and Yang.
Ulcerative Colitis – Treatment Options
Western Medicine considers UC as a chronic inflammation of the large intestine. No particular therapy is available for UC since it is a disease with no known origins. Its treatment therefore is a response to the manifested symptoms and the seriousness of the disease. Drugs that are commonly recommended and provide symptomatic relief include immunosuppressants, corticosteroids and aminosalicylates. The bad news is that extended use of these drugs will not cure the disease and may cause side effects as well. A patient with severe UC may require surgery to excise the problematic colon. Though it can cure UC, surgery will entail lifetime ileostomy.
Western medicine has so far been unable to cure or significantly treat ulcerative colitis and so alternative therapies become a vital option for patients with this condition. Traditional Chinese medicine is a proven complementary therapy to treat this disease.
TCM is not only about acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. It is a varied modality encompassing dietary prescriptions, and other bodywork therapies like Chinese massage or Tui Na. Traditional Chinese medicine originated in China and it is grounded on the belief that disease results from malfunctions or blockages of energy vessels known as meridians in the body.
Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture have been used for millennia to treat digestive conditions such as ulcerative colitis and often show outstanding results in the treatment of conditions. This is so because they address not only the symptoms but the root problem of the condition as well.
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