Homoeopathy for ‘Hot’ Women
‘Hot’ Women is a term I use referring to Peri-menopausal and Menopausal symptoms in women, not necessarily hot flushes and night sweats as not all women suffer with these symptoms. Apparently, there are approximately 40 menopause related symptoms women may experience either naturally, surgically or medically induced. The menopause is a natural event for many women and is classified as the first anniversary of the last menstrual cycle. It generally occurs between the ages of 45-55 years but can start before or after this.
www.pausitivity.co.uk have produced a wonderful poster outlining the main symptoms of menopause and began a campaign #KnowYourMenopause so no more women would start menopause without knowing the symptoms. Their poster campaign is underway to get posters in every GP office in the UK. Why not click on this link and download a poster to help spread the word. They are currently available in English, Welsh, Gaelic and Urdu.
What is Homoeopathy?
Homoeopathy is a holistic therapeutic system based on the principle that ‘like treats like’, that is a substance that causes symptoms in a healthy person can be used to treat a person suffering with similar symptoms.”
Society of Homeopaths
This concept is often used in conventional medicine, e.g. peanut allergy sufferers may be given small amounts of peanut to reduce or cure their sensitivity to peanuts.
Hippocrates, the Ancient Greek physician, wrote about this principle “By similar things a disease is produced and through the application of the like is cured.”
In homoeopathy we use the term “Climacteric” – referring to the gradual changes of ovarian function at peri-menopause, menopause and post-menopause. This comes from the Greek word ‘Klmater’ meaning critical point, or literally “rung of a ladder”. The Menopause is commonly known as “the change” and I can certainly confirm this is the case for myself and many other women I know. It feels like a transition, transformation, a rite of passage.
In Dr Christiane Northrup’s book ‘Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom – Dr Joan Borysenko referred to the years between the ages of 42 and 49 as the ‘midlife metamorphosis’, “when a woman begins in earnest to create her life in such a way that her innermost values are lived out in here everyday activities. During this stage, she is more apt to tell the truth than ever before in her life and less apt to make excuses for others. Many women quest for peace of mind against a background of turmoil and change as they end twenty-year marriages, have affairs, get left by their partners, face the empty nest and explore new facets of their identity”.
I remember when I began my professional training to be a homoeopath in my mid-forties, not feeling particularly confident in my abilities to succeed, lacking confidence and noticing ‘changes’ emotionally and physically as my natural hormone balance altered significantly. In the reproductive years of a woman’s life the natural hormone balance is a finely-tuned rhythm of ovulation, menstruation or pregnancy. During peri-menopause Oestrogen and Progesterone, plus several other hormones decline and this can occur up to 10 years prior to menopause.
Many women enjoy a symptom-free time, whilst others experience symptoms for months and even years. I decided there and then that even if I didn’t successfully complete the homoeopathy qualification, I would learn enough to help support myself through peri-menopause, menopause and beyond. I had been conditioned, or brain-washed, to the many negative stereotypes in the media, adverts and countless magazine articles for anti-ageing creams, botox, fillers, cosmetic surgery, elixir potions and incontinence pads, to believe that Menopause was a deficiency disease, with osteoporosis, wrinkles, weight-gain, loss of function and vitality, an inevitable source of struggle, marking the end of life as I knew it, a battle I had to face and endure. In fact I observed quite the opposite in many women during my clinical training thanks to homoeopathic treatment.
One Sunday morning 2 years ago I spontaneously decided to attend a local Menopause Café when I saw a post on Facebook. It was a revelation as there were so many inspirational women in attendance. Just talking with others, sharing our experiences and feelings, acquiring knowledge about how our bodies are changing, learning from each other, in a respectful, informative, non-judgemental setting over a cuppa was so liberating for me. I later began hosting Menopause Café Blackwood in South Wales and highly recommend it as it has certainly helped to counteract my fears and uncertainties, thanks to the many wise women I have met to date. Menopause Café HQ have and continue to run a Menopause Cafe twice weekly on ‘Zoom’. I have attended a few and always feel better for the experience. www.menopausecafe.net Why not attend a Menopause Café online or near you, or perhaps host one?
According to Dr Christiane Northrup “In Celtic cultures, the young maiden was seen as the flower, the mother, the fruit; the elder woman, the seed. The seed is the part that contains the knowledge and potential of all the other parts within it. The role of the post-menopausal woman is to go forth and reseed the community with her concentrated kernel of truth and wisdom.”
In some native cultures, menopausal women were felt to retain their wise blood, rather than shed it cyclically, and were therefore considered more powerful than menstruating women. A woman could not be a shaman until she was past menopause in these cultures.”
Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom
In the book ‘Reclaiming the Menstrual Matrix’ by Tamara Slayton states “In native cultures these older women contained great power and scrutinised all tribal decisions. They were unafraid to say a strong no to anything that did not serve life. They also initiated and educated the younger women into this knowledge and responsibility.”
I believe homoeopathy has and continues to support me during the climacteric period of my life. I did successfully become a Licensed, Professional Homoeopath and use homoeopathy to help treat and support many women in my Clinic. These women come to me experiencing a vast array of symptoms from aching joints, anxiety, brain-fog, breast tenderness, fatigue, hair loss, headaches, heavy periods, hot flushes, insomnia, irregular periods, loss of libido, mood swings, night sweats, pelvic floor weakness, prolapse, prolonged periods, vaginal dryness, vaginal itching and other urogenital issues, etc., as they transition at midlife, or sometimes before in cases of surgical or medically induced menopause.
According to Hilery Dorrian, Homoeopath, “Almost all hormones and neurotransmitters are made in our endocrine system. From our sex and growth hormones, to our mood chemicals, from our bonding chemicals to our stress hormones. The endocrine system is the interface between our Physical our Emotional and Etheric selves. The balance of our Endocrine System forms the basis of who we are as people.”
I treat many women suffering symptoms related to hormonal imbalances especially Pre-menstrual, Menses, Menopause and Post Menopause. I always take a full case history and prescribe for the individual, not on diagnosed conditions or disease names.
There are four remedies that I frequently select from in such cases, depending on the patient and presenting symptoms, however, I always recommend a consultation with a professional, licensed homoeopath rather than self-prescribing.
I have listed these remedies and a few of their keynotes to help illustrate the diverse range of symptoms.
Typical remedies
Calcarea Carbonica
(powdery middle layer of the Oyster Shell)
- Metorrhagia (abnormal bleeding from the womb)
- Leucorrhoea (vaginal discharge) in the climacteric period.
- Uterine prolapse, bearing down, as if internal organs would pass out, worse for standing.
- Frequent flushes and anxious palpitation with inclination to uncover.
- Bone health conditions, especially where structure is impacted or in decline.
- Domestic, enjoys routine and home.
- Slow, cautious temperament.
Lachesis
(Surukuku Bush Master snake poison)
According to John Wallace ‘Remedy Notes’ – “# 1 remedy for Menopause. Like a pressure cooker, boiling over. A highly charged remedy (inc. emotionally). Night sweats, burning up, sheets wet. Night terrors; angry dreams.”
- Useful in some cases of uterine displacement or congestion in connection with or in consequence of menopause.
- Great loquacity. Jealousy.
- Flushes of heat, especially with red blotches under the jaw.
- Burning in palms and soles.
Pulsatilla
(the wind flower)
- Often tearful
- Changeable moods.
- Hot sweats. Intolerable burning heat especially at night.
- Depression
- Irregular periods
- An aversion to, and worse for, pork.
Sepia
(ink of the cuttlefish)
- Hot flushes – sudden, frequent, often accompanied by anger, weakness and perspiration.
- Dry skin.
- Heavy bleeding.
- Varied cycle, early/late, maybe scanty.
- Weak dragging down in the pelvis (prolapsed)
- Dryness of vagina, penetrative sex may be painful.
- Low blood pressure, sluggishness.
- Loss of libido, aversion to sex, even nausea at the thought of it.
According to John Wallace in ‘Remedy Notes’ “Hormone imbalances, period problems. # 1 remedy for prolapses (everywhere).”
‘The Change’ doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom, together we have the power to enjoy a Menopause Revolution. I am almost mid-fifties and feel more confident, creative, full of vitality, speaking my truth, cultivating the life of my dreams, experiencing new and exciting adventures, than I ever believed possible.
In 1995 the late Lesley Kenton published ‘Passage to Power – Natural Menopause Revolution’ in which she wrote “Menopause is a time of celebration when our creativity is no longer bound to our obligation as a member of the human race to propagate the species. Often, for the first time in a woman’s life, her creativity can be set free for use in whatever way the whispers of her soul dictate.”
Why not contact me for more information, to book an appointment or to discuss whether homoeopathy is something you would like to try?
