One Woman Shares What Happened When She Tried Acupuncture for PMS

When you’re suffering from a bad bout of PMS, you’re bound to try just about anything to find relief.

But instead of turning towards anti-inflammatories and painkillers, and curling up on the couch with a heating pad, why not try acupuncture? The noninvasive therapy can help to combat the unpleasant exhaustion, headaches, mood swings, cramps and just about every other side effect of your monthly “gift.”

In a recent Bustle Article, writer Emma McGowan shared her experience when she turned to acupuncture for some holistic relief.

Struggling with suffering from nearly two weeks of both the physical and emotional ramifications of PMS (due to irregular periods) she opted not to go on hormonal birth control, and instead followed her aunts suggestion that she try acupuncture. (Her aunt is an acupuncturist, after all.)

With confliction options around the efficacy of acupuncture for PMS (though we’re firm believers in it’s power!) she decided to go for it, and her experience was met with big results.

After six months of treatments she shared, “First of all, I can tell you that my physical symptoms pretty much disappeared within the first couple months of doing weekly treatments. No or minimal boob swelling and nipple soreness and I only feel like I want to crawl out of my skin for a day or two, as opposed to two solid weeks.”

As far as her emotional issues, she said they did seem to amplify as her physical ones passed, though she acknowledges, “But there was also a lot going on in my life during that time, so it can be a little hard to gauge.”

Overall, would she recommend acupuncture to anyone considering it? She says, “Sure! If it’s affordable for you, give it a shot. The risks are low. And it might just make you feel 10 times better.”

More Evidence Points to Acupuncture Helping Menstrual Cramps

If you’re a woman, you know the feeling. That time of month rolls around, and the cramps start to flare up. Unfortunately, cramps are never convenient, and our lives don’t stop for them. Work, errands, and family still need to be taken care of, causing many women to deal with pain from menstrual cramps by taking pain medication.

Whether your menstrual cramps are minor or severe, they can take a toll on a woman’s quality of life. Acupuncture is thankfully there as a remedy, and now more evidence is pointing to acu’s viability as a long-term solution for menstrual cramps, not just a temporary fix. One of the reasons acupuncture works as a long-term solution to menstrual cramps is because of its ability to treat the root source of the problem, not just the symptoms, and its versatility in treating other side effects that severe menstrual pain can contribute to.

 “After having my menstrual cycle for twelve years, and feeling like it was an enemy and not a beautiful time for my body, I was really up for trying anything,” Kenslee, a 25 year old told Bustle.com. “My menstrual pain and fatigue decreased immensely, and it also helped with my hormonal acne. I began sleeping better, and my mood swings around my cycle became less severe.”

"[Acupuncture] promotes optimal blood flow to and through the reproductive organs, reduces chronic inflammation, improves hormone balance, and reduces stress,” Merritt Jones, an acupuncturist and founder of Natural Harmony Reproductive Health and Jones Family Acupuncture told Bustle.

Over the past few years, numerous studies have been done that show acupuncture’s effectiveness in treating menstrual cramps and other issues in the reproductive system. Hopefully more and more women come to experience acupuncture as the safe, natural, reliable, and long-lasting treatment option for pain from menstrual cramps that it is.