My favorite things to treat are those that
Make a big difference to someone's quality of life and healthcare
Have limited treatment options in conventional medicine
Leave no doubt about whether or not treatment has been successful
Uterine bleeding checks all those boxes. I have had people come into my office who have been bleeding non stop for months. This is serious cause for concern and can lead to the need for blood transfusions. Even without meeting that criteria, that much blood loss leads to such a deficiency that it can be difficult to work and go about one’s life. The deficiency in turn exacerbates the bleeding.
Sometimes the excessive uterine bleeding is within the menstrual period. Some people bleed so heavily that they cannot leave the house during certain parts of their cycle. This, too, can lead to anemia, as well as worsening symptoms after the cycle, such as headache, nausea, anxiety, etc.
Sometimes it is heavy bleeding interchanged with incessant spotting.
Sometimes it is bleeding, light or heavy, during pregnancy, also called a threatened-miscarriage. (I had this kind of bleeding at week 14 with our daughter, and it was treated quickly and successfully by my gynecology professor with herbs.)
All of these patterns require treatment.
According to Traditional East Asian medicine, inappropriate bleeding comes from heat, stagnation, deficiency, or blood that is not moving well (blood stasis). In practice, these patterns are combined. The beauty of our herbal medicine is that there are many many plants and minerals that stop bleeding, and we distinguish between how they stop bleeding. Some herbs stop bleeding by cooling the blood, others by shoring up the body and making it more absorptive so that blood and fluids can’t leak out. Some herbs even stop bleeding by moving stagnant blood, because quite commonly blood will push it’s way around blockages, causing wreckless bleeding where there should be none.
Nothing is more satisfying than seeing a patient who has been suffering respond to treatment. Once the bleeding has stopped, our task is to replenish their blood. As color comes back their faces, symptoms of blood deficiency improve.
If you or a loved one has been suffering from this issue, send them to their nearest acupuncturist and herbalist for treatment.