Chinese Medicine Treatments for PCOS

In the United States about 18.5 million to 37 million women of childbearing age suffer from a condition known as polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, for short. In some cases, girls around the age of 11 can also develop this condition.

Doctors diagnose PCOS in about 75% of women who have menstruation issues as a result of late puberty. Variations of PCOS signs include heavy menstrual bleeding accompanied by unbearable pain, absence of menstruation, and scanty or irregular menses. Occasionally, the condition can develop later in late in a time when a woman of childbearing age ceases taking contraceptive pills and begins to experience no cycles at all or very long cycles, and has difficulty conceiving.

PCOS Symptoms

PCOS is a condition that can be complex. It causes problems with the menstrual cycle of a woman (affecting its intensity and duration), in her appearance (baldness, weight gain, acne, hair growth on the cheeks and chin), her hormone levels, and her ability to have children.

PCOS sufferers usually possess ovaries that are riddled with small cysts, usually more than half a centimeter in size.

Each woman may have different symptoms of PCOS; some may have more symptoms than others. These symptoms may include:

– Physical changes (usually developing at a later stage but not all the time): thinning hair, dandruff, acne, difficulty in losing weight even when doing physical exercises, weight gain around the waist, more hair growth on the toes, thumbs, back, stomach, chest, or face
– Stabbing pain, heaviness, distention in the pelvic region
– Bleeding in the middle of a cycle, pain during ovulation, painful menses
– Multiple ovarian cysts that can be detected by ultrasound.
– Absent or irregular menses
– Depression, anxiety, Infertility due to lack of ovulation
– Heavy menstrual bleeding more so for late periods

What Causes PCOS?

No one knows what exactly causes PCOS although scientists suspect that genetics and certain other factors may contribute to its development. Hormonal imbalance is a big underlying problem. PCOS sufferers have ovaries that produce more than enough amounts of androgens. During ovulation a huge amount of these hormones can impact the production and release of eggs. Scientists also suspect that insulin can be a factor for PCOS. Insulin is responsible for the transformation of foods such as starches and sugar into energy for the body to store or use.

A physician diagnoses PCOS after an intensive examination of the patient’s medical history, a pelvic examination and physical examination. An ultrasound of the thickness of the patient’s endometrial lining as well as her pelvic region and blood tests are done to determine her hormonal levels. The cysts in the ovaries are differentiated from functional cysts, which require no treatment as they tend to resolve on their own.

PCOS sufferers don’t have enough hormones needed to make the eggs mature fully. Ovulation does not occur even if the follicles mature and build up fluid. This causes the follicles to remain as cysts. Hormone is not produced because ovulation does not occur and if a woman has no progesterone, she will have no menses, or at the most, may have an irregular menstrual cycle.

Western Modes of Treatment for PCOS

1. Fertility drugs – (Gonadotropins injections, seophene, clomid, clomifene). They are taken by women who want to get pregnant. Infertility among PCOS sufferers stems from a lack of ovulation.

2. Medications for diabetes – although it isn’t approved for this purpose, a type 2 diabetes drug called Glucophage (metformin) has found to be effective in treating some of the symptoms of PCOS.

3. Birth control pills – these are sometimes used by women who aren’t interested in getting pregnant. Birth control pills cannot treat PCOS, they just mask the symptoms.

PCOS Treatment with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

For thousands of years, Chinese medicine has been studying polycystic ovaries. TCM theory believes that the Liver, Kidney, and Spleen are the organs involved with PCOS along with a pattern of disharmony in the Ren and Chong meridians.

Chinese medicine considers PCOS as consisting of different patterns with complex combinations. The cysts in the ovaries are identified and treated as damp phlegm accumulating in the uterus, which swells the ovaries. Blood stagnation usually accompanies the damp phlegm pattern and is the cause of thick scanty dark blood and stabbing painful menstruation.

Hormonal deficiency manifesting as kidney deficiency is the underlying cause of the disease. Digestive problems manifesting as spleen qi deficiency is the result of dampness accumulation. Stagnation of liver qi also occurs and is almost always aggravated by long term frustration or stress.

Chinese medicine uses acupuncture and herbs to boost the chances of conception, better the quality of the ovum, promote ovulation, eliminate the cysts, enhance digestion, and normalize the menstrual cycle to bring about complete recovery from PCOS.

Differentiating Patterns and Treatment

1. Blood Stasis and Liver Qi Stagnation– Liver qi stagnation can be caused by long term anxiety, depression or stress. Over time, these factors can disrupt blood and qi circulation which causes blood to flow in the liver and in the chong and ren meridians that pass through and link with the uterus. Cold invasion can also be a common cause of blood stagnation in the uterus. Cold makes the blood vessels contract which makes blood flow slowly throughout the body. The meridian of the liver starts at the big toe and goes up the leg, and then circles around the genitals. The body can easily be infiltrated by Cold through the feet and via the liver meridians entering the uterus. For this reason, TCM practitioners advice that during menses when their uterus is especially vulnerable and open, women should not swim. They also should keep their lower back, stomach, legs, and feet warm. Heat can develop from chronic stagnation of liver qi resulting in severe symptoms of PMS: irregular periods, distended stomach or breast, headaches, irritability, restlessness, heat sensations and clotty menses (this happens when heat has been transformed into blood stasis).

Treatment: herbs that improve blood and qi circulation in the uterus are used. They help remove heat, soothe emotions, relieve distention and pain, and eliminate clotting.

Herbal Remedies – Dan shi hsiao yao san or chai hu zhu gan san properly modified can be used along with Ge hsia shu yu tang, and additional herbs, if blood stasis is especially severe.

A blood stasis and liver qi stagnation pattern can manifest in a reddish tongue that has more reddish sides and an oftentimes wiry pulse (that may feel like a wire striking the finger). There are times where the tongue develops some purplish spots on the sides. This indicates blood stasis.

2. Damp and Phlegm Accumulation and Deficiency of Kidney Yang and Spleen Qi – This pattern causes sufferers to have scanty bleeding that may alternate with excessive bleeding periods that may come with stringy watery blood, mucus or tissue or unusually long menstrual cycles (35 days or more between periods that arise just four or five times a year). Sometimes sufferers may have no menses at all, and if ever, may be due to fertility treatments instead. They get tired easily, are averse to cold weather, feel bloated, and are likely to easily gain weight. They may have an after meal craving for carbs and sweets even though their appetite is not particularly strong. They may suffer from other symptoms such as chronic vaginal discharge and/or chronic yeast infections. There is an enlargement or swelling of their tongue that may be enveloped with a white thick coat along with teeth marks on the sides.

Despite cold winters, young people in the United States eat a lot of ice cream that are high in fat and high in sugar as well as, cream cheese milk shakes and various dairy products that can negatively affect their young digestive system. These products have toxins that accumulate in the stomach which transform into damp phlegm that can obstruct the circulation of qi and blood in the stomach. This is one cause of belly fat.

Treatment is aimed at clearing phlegm (removing the cysts), eliminating dampness, and boosting the strength of the digestive system with herbal remedies such as Cang shu, fu ling, du shong, tu hsi si, and cinnamon (gui shi), among others.

Cang shu and fu ling aid the digestive system by promoting urination and removing excess dampness. Du shong and tu hsi si tonify the kidneys. Cinnamon or gui shi excels in warming the uterus and invigorating the circulation of blood in the uterus. This is especially helpful for women with severe painful menses that are alleviated with the use of hot pads or hot compresses. In a lot of instances, we can include hse lan and lu lu tong herbs Lu that can help improve qi and blood flow to the stomach. Lu lu Tong is known to help dissolve phlegm and unblock obstructed tubes.

Possible yin and blood deficiency, blood stasis (with cold and heat symptoms), liver qi stagnation, deficiency of spleen qi, kidney yang deficiency and phlegm, can all combine as symptoms.

PCOS treatment Using Acupuncture in Saratoga Springs

PCOS acupuncture therapies are usually administered once each week, sometimes more, particularly when pain is felt before mid-cycle or menstruation. Acupuncture is almost always combined with Chinese herbal medicine. The length of the treatment is based on the Chinese medicine diagnosis, the severity of the symptoms, and the length of the condition. The practitioner usually recommends a minimum of three months of continuous treatment.

Modifications in Lifestyle

• If you begin to experience menstrual pain or delayed periods, you need to rectify this as early as possible by having yourself examined by a doctor or gynecologist in order to prevent the development of PCOS. You need to record day one of your menstrual cycle including the color, amount, and quality of the menses, and its duration.

• Avoid refined carbohydrates and refined sugar including low-fiber foods, starchy foods, most breakfast cereals, rice cakes, white rice, pasta, and white bread.

• Stay away from fruit juice, soda, sweeteners, and any drinks that tend to elevate your blood sugar level, as type 2 diabetes is associated with PCOS.

• Avoid beverages and foods such as milkshakes, ice creams, cheese, and other dairy products as well as cold environments. If you are menstruating during a cold day, apply a hot compress or a hot water bottle on your stomach. If you are in menses, do not swim.

• Avoid strong emotions. Relax more so during menstruation.

• Exercise should be lessened during your period. Young women need to do regular moderate exercises under the sun.

Conclusion

A licensed TCM practitioner, preferably a licensed acupuncturist or herbalist can make a proper evaluation and diagnosing of your condition and properly address your symptoms and its underlying cause. More often than not, young women are not aware of their menstrual cycle and so they need to start keeping tabs of it.