Why Long and Heavy Periods might be one of the most important Perimenopause Symptoms (and how we can support you!)
The uterus essentially functions as one big muscle, and one of its most important roles is to have small uterine contractions during a period to shed the endometrial lining that builds each cycle, in the form of our period. As we age, our muscle strength often declines. The uterine muscle is no exception. One of the most common symptoms of perimenopause is that women experience long and heavy periods. There can often be complexity in why this happens, but one of the reasons for the heavy bleeding is that the uterine muscle is no longer having efficient contractions.
When this occurs, there is often endometrial lining that the uterus is trying to get rid of. Instead of having efficient contractions and shedding the lining well, the uterus isn’t quite strong enough to contract to push out the lining that may be a bit stuck. As a result the bleeding gets heavier from increased contractions, in an effort to shed this lining.
One of my favourite things about acupuncture is that we can improve the functionality of the body. There may not be an anatomical issue, but that doesn’t mean things aren’t functioning at their best. We can improve this with some very targeted treatment, with acupuncture points on the arms and legs.
Other key menopause symptoms of course include fatigue, brain fog, hot flashes and night sweats. If one of my patients is experiencing these alongside heavy menstrual bleeding, I generally explain it is key we have sustained improvement in the menstrual cycle in order to also manage the other symptoms successfully. Heavy bleeding can be a pre-cursor to fatigue and brain fog, potentially from iron deficiency. Treating heavy bleeding will be the pathway to working with fatigue as well.
Trying acupuncture during perimenopause doesn’t mean you can’t also use HRT. We can meet you at any stage of the process and with any other type of medical support.
If you’re interested, please get in touch today.
LET’S CONNECT
Naomi Jankowski is a Chinese Medicine practitioner working in Melbourne, with special interest in the use of Tung acupuncture for pelvic pain management.