Overcome PCOS with the help of Chinese herbs and acupuncture

Combined with exercise and a healthy diet, Chinese herbs and acupuncture treatments are giving women the power to overcome PCOS, helping them to lead more satisfying and healthier lives.

Treating PCOS with Chinese herbs and acupuncture in women who are trying to become pregnant, through IVF/ IUI therapies or naturally, enables them to achieve overall balance and fertility, as it regulates their menstrual cycle and balances their hormones.

As it stands today, PCOS has still no cure; fortunately, Chinese medicine offers various helpful ways to manage this condition.

Acupuncturists are well-trained and highly skilled in assisting PCOS patients to regain their regular menstrual periods and several of these patients attain pregnancy naturally via natural therapies that include acupuncture, dietary changes, and Chinese herbs.

An Overview of Ovarian Physiology
The two organs on each side of a woman’s uterus are called the ovaries and they contain tiny sacs that hold the eggs and with fluid known as cysts. Around thirty days, twenty or so eggs begin to ripen but only one egg usually fully matures; when an egg fully ripens or matures, the follicle opens up and releases that egg. The completely ripened egg then enters the fallopian tube and goes to the uterus for potential fertilization and implantation.

PCOS Condition in Women – An Overview
When a woman suffers from PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), her eggs have problems fully maturing because the hormones needed for them to fully mature are inadequate. Follicles can commence growth and accumulate fluid; however, not a single follicle can grow large enough and so the follicles remain as cysts/ sacs. Ovulation cannot take place since the follicles are not large enough and no egg can mature nor can one be released.

PCOS can appear as white, shiny, thick coating on the surface of the ovary superimposed on several rows of cysts. This condition affects about six million women in the United States and is considered to be the number one hormonal disorder seen in women of reproductive age today.

What Causes PCOS?
Although no one knows what exactly causes PCOS, studies indicate that a lot of sufferers tend to show lowered sensitivity to insulin. Insulin’s effect on sugar and other processes is not efficient enough when cells become resistant to insulin. Therefore, to make certain enough sugar is absorbed by the body, more insulin than normal needs to be produced by the body. This results in high levels of insulin in the blood that causes the ovaries to produce more than enough androgens (male hormones) resulting in hormonal imbalances that, in turn cause the PCOS symptoms.

PCOS Symptoms and Signs
Because PCOS has multiple symptoms that may seem unrelated, it is deemed a syndrome. This is one reason why it usually is misdiagnosed or undiagnosed.

Symptoms include:
__Zero or infrequent ovulation
__Irregular menstruation (irregular menses and/or zero menstrual periods, irregular menstrual periods)
__Obesity or weight gain
__Inefficient use of insulin in the body, too much production of insulin, and history of diabetes
__High amounts of male hormones, known as androgens in the body that can result in excessive growth of body and facial hair
__Patches of black or brown thickened skin on the armpits, groins, folds of the skin, or neck
__Dandruff, oily skin, or acne

How Can PCOS Contribute to Infertility?
Obviously, the likelihood of a women’s egg being fertilized is significantly lessened if she’s not able to regularly ovulate every month. If the egg cannot be released, it cannot be fertilized and eventually implanted into the uterus. The menstrual cycle of a woman with PCOS becomes less predictable and more erratic because her condition affects the state of her endometrium and the quality of her follicle. Women suffering from PCOS usually will manifest very heavy bleeding and have very long cycles. They may also experience zero ovulation (amenorrhea) with sparse bleeding or missed periods (amenorrhea). Chinese herbs and acupuncture can help restore harmony to the hormonal cycles and normalize menstrual cycle of the body.

How Do Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture Treat PCOS?
Chinese herbs and acupuncture provide people with a natural, drug-free, effective, and safe holistic body approach to PCOS. These two natural modalities help restore balance and beef up the body’s hormonal systems, curing PCOS and promoting conception as well as a problem-free pregnancy.

Chinese Medicine Etiology of PCOS

The treatment of PCOS, in traditional Chinese medicine, starts with an exact diagnosis of the underlying cause of the condition. PCOS can either be caused by a deficiency, an excess, or a combination of both.

For PCOS caused by a deficiency, excess, or a combination of both, Chinese herbs and acupuncture are very good effective treatments.

Deficient conditions:
__Spleen qi deficiency
__Kidney yin deficiency
__Kidney yang deficiency

Excess conditions:
__Blood stasis
__Liver qi stasis
__Phlegm dampness

Note: In most cases of PCOS, sufferers are often diagnosed with both deficient and excess conditions as the underlying causes of their problem.

Self-Care Tips to Prevent, Manage, or Cure Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
1. Refrain from eating foods that bring about insulin resistance. They include refined carbohydrates, fruit juice, soda, artificial sweeteners, and sugar. Only consume brown rice, oatmeal, or whole wheat or grains

2. Eat organic foods as much as possible. Stay away from GMOs and processed foods. People suffering from PCOS already have a chemical and/or hormonal imbalance, and these can only worsen when they eat processed foods that contain artificial colorings, additives, and chemicals

3. Eat EFAs (Essential Fatty Acids). These foods can help normalize hormonal balance, which is extremely important when trying to conceive. Eat lots of fresh vegetables that are rich with EFA. They include dark green veggies, carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli

4. Stop drinking ice cold drinks and eating cold food. Cold drinks and food slow down metabolism and take the food longer to digest as they slow down peristalsis. People suffering from PCOS also typically manifest a low metabolism

5. Stop smoking or don’t smoke cigarettes. Smoking can cause early menopause, pelvic infection, cervical cancer, and may negatively impact the fertility in tubal pregnancies

6. Stop drinking too much alcohol. Alcohol is one of the most common causes of irregular hormonal balance in women