Acupuncture for stress relieve, premenstrual tension and insomnia

Patient: 

43 year old female banker working in the city, high job intensity, frequent international travel for work.

Presenting symptoms:

Acupuncture for stress, image source

Premenstrual tension (PMT), manifestations include headache, breast distension, ovulation pain, blood clots passing during period. Often felt tearful and irritable at period time. Other symptoms include pain across the chest and constipation. Patient found it difficult to fall asleep and woke up easily. Energy level was very low.

Outcome: 

After 4 sessions of acupuncture, patient reported a reduction on stress level from 5/10(10 being the worst) to 2/10. Quality of  sleep also improved from 5/10 to 2/10. Overall wellbeing scored from 4/10 to 2/10. Patient no longer felt bloated after meal. After following 2 period cycles (8 sessions), her PMT subsided and no longer regard it as a monthly event. Patient was pleased with the results and came back for maintenance treatments as when required. 

Dietary & lifestyle change:

Warm, home cooked meals were suggested to improve her diet. 

Ivy's thoughts:

Working in a high pressure male dominated environment increased her stress levels. Overtime it transformed into physical symptoms affecting her menstruation and quality of sleep. Acupuncture is a very effective way of treatment to treat these stress induced symptoms. It is advisable for women to seek treatment early on as long term chronic stress caused issues will take longer to treat and can lead to fertility issues.

There is an excellent article on insomnia and things you can try to improve sleep by SnoozyMonk:

Everything You Need To Know About Insomnia

If you would like further information on this blog or to discuss any conditions you would like to be treated, please do not hesitate to contact me via email ivyxxu@xuclinic.co.uk.