Case Study: Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding

Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding is abnormal uterine bleeding not associated with tumor, inflammation, or pregnancy.  It is a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning after your doctor has excluded any other cause for your excessive menstruation this is the diagnosis that remains.   Whether your menses is excessive in amount and duration (menorrhagia sometime called hypermenorrhea), or frequency (polymenorrhea) or you have mid-cycle, “break through”  bleeding (metrorrhagia) you will fall into this broad category. 

If you are having any of these problems after you have a proper check up with a Gynecologist you should know that correcting menstrual cycle abnormalities is easy work for those who are well trained in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine.  

TCM (Traditional Chinese medicine) uses herbs, and acupuncture to correct long term irregularities in a woman’s menses and we have a simple procedure that can stop or significantly slow-down acute bleeding or menorrhagia in a matter of minutes.  The protocol calls for moxibustion on a particular point bilaterally for 15 minutes and is given in conjunction with a full acupuncture treatment to address any other imbalances present. 

TCM considers any loss of blood or change in your menstrual cycle significant and has been successfully treating abnormal and dysfunctional bleeding for thousands of years.   I have successfully treated all of the types of bleeding listed above as well as painful menses and menopausal syndrome.   In fact all my female patients whatever issue brings them through the door will have improvement in PMS, cramping, clotting and any pain associated with their menses. 

Western bio-medicine has brilliant technology to scan for tumors, cysts and fibroids and can eliminate major medical risks.  However dysfunctional uterine bleeding has very limited western treatments and I have been referred patients from forward thinking gynecologists that want their patients to try herbs and acupuncture before using a surgical or hormonal solution.   

Recently a patient came to me after she found herself in the ER gushing blood for hours in a very frightening way.  She told me, like others have,  that she was sent home after being hydrated and told there wasn’t anything to be done beyond taking an iron supplement.  Her regular doctor followed up by putting her on a high dose of birth control, which is a standard approach, however this then caused an unusual and life-threatening blood clot.  The estrogen was halted and she began a course of blood thinners for three months.  

The potential for the blood thinners to cause additional uterine bleeding was a concern but clearly a blood clot was the greater threat.  I gave the patient a series of acupuncture treatments to stop the acute bleeding and reduce the threat of additional bleeding.  The treatments worked as expected and she was able to finish her course of blood thinners, while having several more cycles without further incident. 

If you have an acute (sudden/severe) case of uterine bleeding you will need to find a local practitioner of chinese medicine for acupuncture and moxibustion treatments.  If I am not local to you, and there is no practitioner in your area you can contact me via the form on this website or phone to discuss whether a customized herbal formula would be an appropriate approach for you. 

 

For more information  use the links below:

Treating Gynecological Disorders with Traditional Chinese Medicine: A review - PubMed

Chinese Herbal Treatment for Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding

Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding Topic Overview - WebbMD

Western Medical Treatments for Menorrhagia - MedScape