Symptoms related to menstruation are commonly experienced by women, but because they are common, they are often left untreated. Menstruation may be treated like an inconvenient “illness,” and people may try to avoid menstruation itself out of concern that severe dysmenorrhea could affect an exam or interfere with an important project or trip. Some also say that the uterus is an unnecessary organ for them, and we sometimes meet married women who say that after having children, their uterus has fulfilled its purpose.
Why should dysmenorrhea, irregular periods, and premenstrual syndrome be treated?
Dysmenorrhea/irregular periods/premenstrual syndrome: warning signs for women’s health In Korean medicine, the uterus and ovaries are important organs, and we closely examine menstrual patterns as an indicator of women’s health. Menstruation is an important and clear indicator of women’s health. These issues are not only hormonal problems, but also issues involving interactions among various organs and organ systems of the body. (1) Dysmenorrhea: pain is not normal. Please do not endure it any longer.
About 50% of all women experience dysmenorrhea, and 80% of dysmenorrhea cases are primary dysmenorrhea without an identifiable cause, for which there is no clearly established treatment. Pain may be felt not only in the abdomen, but also in the lower back, legs, or head, and it may be accompanied by depressed mood and insomnia. In Korean medicine, we view the pattern of pain as varying according to the cause. When a lot of blood stasis has accumulated and uterine blood circulation is poor, the abdomen may feel painfully cramped or distended. On the other hand, when the uterus is cold and weak and the lining sheds, there may be low energy and a hollow, empty-feeling pain inside. If you have been diagnosed with uterine fibroids, adenomyosis, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, or an ovarian cyst, this is secondary menstrual pain, and focused treatment for the underlying condition should be provided as well.
(2) Premenstrual syndrome is a warning sign for women’s health.
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) can also appear in many forms, including abdominal pain, bloating, headaches, dizziness, swelling, indigestion, weight changes, and increased appetite, interfering with a healthy daily life. In most cases, qi stagnation and blood stasis due to poor circulation are considered the main causes. In contrast, women who menstruate healthily have little dysmenorrhea and can generally maintain a condition similar to when they are not menstruating, from before the period through the menstrual period itself.
(3) Irregular periods, amenorrhea, and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Irregular periods can appear in many forms, including amenorrhea, in which there is no period at all, delayed, early, or irregular menstrual cycles, changes in menstrual flow, and abnormal bleeding.
Various patterns of irregular periods can appear when both qi and blood are deficient, when the blood is too cold or too hot, when there is nutritional imbalance due to excessive dieting, or when qi and blood circulation is severely blocked by stress, obesity, damp-phlegm, or blood stasis.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, one of the representative conditions that causes irregular periods, requires active treatment because it can lead to anovulation, hyperandrogenemia, insulin resistance, obesity, and difficulty conceiving. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is a condition in which multiple follicles grow at once, but the follicles do not mature properly, so ovulation does not occur. The exact cause has not been identified, but recently it has been understood that insulin resistance or endocrine system problems involving the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis may affect the ovaries. In Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, ovulation does not occur properly, increasing the possibility of difficulty conceiving and also increasing the risk of miscarriage.
In Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, patients often do not notice any clear symptoms. In most cases, they become concerned about an irregular menstrual cycle, undergo an examination, and only then receive a diagnosis of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome requires fundamental treatment to normalize uterine immune function and ovarian function and support healthy ovulation.
Are you taking pain relievers for dysmenorrhea or birth control pills for irregular periods? People who suffer from severe dysmenorrhea say that even taking a full pack of pain relievers during their period is not enough. Rather than causing tolerance, pain relievers temporarily hide pain by blocking prostaglandins, which are needed for the uterine lining to shed. In the long term, they may interfere with Waste Product Elimination and lead to a buildup of blood stasis, which can make dysmenorrhea worse. As a result, the uterus has to contract even more strongly during the next period, making you feel that you need stronger pain relievers.
In addition, birth control pills prescribed for irregular periods can have side effects such as breast cancer and endometrial cancer, and they can weaken ovarian function, reducing the body's own ability to regulate hormones. As chemical hormone medications, birth control pills make it look as though menstruation is occurring, but they do not fundamentally improve the underlying ovulatory dysfunction. Rather, as the name suggests, they suppress ovulation, so they are not appropriate for irregular periods caused by reduced ovulatory function. Also, because they tend to promote blood clot formation, they can make the blood thicker and may affect blood circulation. In particular, those preparing for pregnancy should be cautious, as long-term use of birth control pills may reduce ovarian reserve and fertility.
Therefore, at Kyunghee Ryu Korean Medicine Clinic, our goal is the opposite: to warm the uterus so menstrual blood can be eliminated cleanly and smoothly, help maintain a healthy uterine lining, support normalization of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, and restore the function of the uterus and ovaries.