Menopause

Menopause is not in itself a disease. It is a normal physiological change, the natural way to slow the aging process in women of childbearing age. Unfortunately, many women do not cross the dawn quickly and seamlessly. When this happens, they can experience something of a series of signs and symptoms.
These include:
- Hot Flashes
-Night sweating
- Menstrual Irregularity
- Uterine Spotting and Flooding
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Fatigue
- Palpitations
- Migraines
- Insomnia
- Vaginal Dryness & Atrophy
- Vaginal Itching
- Osteoporosis


Traditional Chinese medicine is over 2000 years, professional medical system and gynecology are his specialties. In gynecology, Chinese, menopausal syndrome is a condition recognized and treated. In fact it is a condition most easily and successfully treated by Chinese medicine (as menopause is natural and non-surgical).

Chinese doctors may use acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine, or both to treat symptoms of menopause. Both methods, doctors are trying to nourish and supplement the liver and kidneys, increase and strengthen the spleen qi, nourish the heart and peace of mind, a clear pathogenic heat and lowering of yang energy.

According to Chinese medical theory, menopause occurs when, due to the natural process of aging, without loss of blood is draining from your body and in particular the kidneys, Chinese medicine believes that the root organ of life and longevity. Therefore, the body in its wisdom to reverse the flow of a canal in the center of the body to send blood to the uterus through the heart. Instead, blood and kidney essence is sent to the heart to nourish the spirit of women. Therefore, in traditional cultures, menopausal women are considered to be midwives, because the spirit of the heart is nourished and enlightened in a way that did not exist before.

West not only Chinese doctors use acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine to treat menopausal complaints but also typically advise patients on diet, exercise and lifestyle, and therefore to treat the whole person and to the balance in all aspects of the patient's life. These therapies are without side effects when administered correctly by a qualified and professional Chinese medicine.

Alternative Medicine

In the 1970s, Dannon ran an ad that featured ancient yet appealing Russian villagers—robust men with full white beards, strong and sturdy women who had aged with grace and dignity. Their secret, of course, was eating lots of yogurt. (Here's a follow-up ad.) While I don’t think my daily yogurt will have me doing Russian dances on tables, a new study suggests that it may prevent the development of a real problem for many people—diarrhea caused by taking antibiotics.

In addition to killing bacteria that cause disease, antibiotics also kill bacteria in our intestines that help keep our guts healthy. These beneficial bacteria crowd out the less friendly strains that can cause problems like diarrhea. One of the worst of these is Clostridium difficile, a major scourge in hospitals, where it’s estimated that between 5 and 25 percent of people who receive antibiotics develop diarrhea. About 20 percent of those cases are caused by C. difficile, and the cost of treating one case of C. difficile diarrhea is estimated to be about $3,700.
Many dietitians—and, recently, some doctors—think that one way to fix this problem is by eating probiotics, or good bacteria, which helps to reset the natural balance in the intestines and thereby prevent a run on toilet paper. Yogurt contains active cultures that are thought to be probiotics, but we still have only a basic understanding of which bacteria actually are probiotics and exactly what they do.
In a recent study in the British Medical Journal, investigators divided up patients receiving antibiotics into two groups. One group received a commercially available probiotic yogurt drink called Actimel. The other group got a similar-tasting but sterile placebo. Only 12 percent of the patients who received Actimel developed diarrhea compared with 34 percent of the patients who got the placebo. None of the Actimel patients developed the more dangerous C. difficile diarrhea, compared with 17 percent of the placebo group. When you consider that the cost of treating a patient with Actimel was about $100, this seems like a pretty good deal.
As studies go, this one was well done. The investigators corrected for many factors that might have skewed their data, such as what antibiotics patients received, how long they took them, and what kind of infections they had. The researchers also did their statistical analysis using a rigorous standard called intention to treat, in which the results from all subjects involved in the study are counted, even if they fail to follow directions. The number of patients in the trial was relatively small (135), and we have no way of knowing which of the three bacteria in Actimel was responsible for the benefit, but these are small quibbles with a potentially important study.
Now, claims of the remarkable healing powers of dietary supplements generally among evidence-based, textbook-toting physicians who are all about the raise an eyebrow or twoscience of medicine. (I might even be labeled as one of those stodgy eyebrow raisers.) But when there is evidence to back up the claim, medicine does tend to embrace unusual treatments, and antibiotic-related diarrhea is a big problem just waiting for an effective remedy. There’s obviously still a lot we don’t know about probiotics, but this study provides us with the kind of credible information that could inspire doctors to prescribe little white tubs instead of little white pills.

Communication With The Doctor Better

Communication is the foundation of all good relationships. Sometimes I get a sweet note in my lunch, other times I find a sticky note, “viola lesson at 6”, and sometimes when I pass the chair of internal medicine in the hospital he says, “Let’s talk this afternoon in my office.” Clearly some forms of communication are more direct than others, and others are more desirable.

Likewise, the doctor/patient relationship is also built on the cornerstone of communication. I love it when patients bring a list of questions to their office visit. Those questions give us a chance to talk about issues important to the patient, keep the extraneous chatter about weather to a minimum, and I can send them on their way with peace of mind. The list of questions makes us a team and allows us to work together. If you’ve read an article related to your health, and you’re wondering what I think about it, by all means, bring it with you. Warning: Not all doctors like this, so proceed with caution.

Yesterday I was reminded that listening is a really important component of great communications. I had an adult patient come to her appointment with her mom, which I have to say is fairly atypical. During the actual exam, the mom left the exam room and I asked the patient if there was a reason why she brought her mom along. She said, “We have a rule in our family that no one ever goes to the doctor alone, that way there’s two sets of ears listening to what the doctor says.” Simple and Smart.

Now, there are some patients who skip the list of questions and like to get right to it. Last month I had a patient who started our office visit with, “Hey doc, look at this!” and dropped his pants to show me a festering imperfection which needed some antibiotics. Medical school teaches us a lot of things, but covering our surprise when patients suddenly flash their privates is not one of them—that’s why we always knock on the door before entering the exam room. Doctors are people too; a little warm-up goes a long way.