Marianne - Client

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I have actually been suffering from hot flashes since menopause. And it just doesn't go away. Last summer, I had so much trouble with it that I thought: something needs to be done. I had already been to a gynecologist and he couldn't help me at all, except to tell me to walk in the sun. I thought, that needs to change. I googled a bit to find something that could help and then acupuncture was mentioned. So I thought, I'll just give it a try. If it doesn't help, it doesn't hurt.

Twelve years of complaints
I think I've had complaints for about twelve years. I'm 65 now. I think it started when I was 52 with mild complaints. At first, you think, "it will pass", but after a few years you think, "It's not going away and it's just getting in my way."
I didn't really suffer from menopause, in terms of depression or mood swings. I actually went through it easily. "If this is it, then it's not so bad." But then the hot flashes got worse and worse. You start reading about it and you read that for some people it never goes away. That's when I thought, "But I don't want that, I can't just accept it blindly."

Always being mindful
I had those severe hot flashes for a few years. It was a bit inconsistent. Sometimes they were gone for half a year and then suddenly I had them daily again. And then four to ten times a day I would break out in a sweat, to the point where it was dripping off me onto the floor. I thought, "I can live with feeling warm, but this is just very embarrassing. Talking to someone and sweat is dripping off you." It was like this for about five years.
I never let it stop me. I just worked, did my hobbies, and so on, and so on. But it's something I always had to consider, for example, when going to a party, I wouldn't drink wine because it would immediately have a bad effect from the first sip. Or the fact that I had to remember to bring extra clothing. You're constantly thinking about it.
I had a lot of meetings at work. I would get very warm and sweat a lot. That was of course very annoying and would hinder a constructive discussion.

A significant hindrance
What I found particularly annoying was when we were hiking in the mountains last summer, and sometimes I just couldn't take another step because of the heat. It would last the whole day and wouldn't go away. It would only disappear once I sat down again. But as soon as I started moving, it would come back. I also enjoy cycling, and that became more difficult. It really hinders your daily life.
I haven't had a full night's sleep in years. I don't know if it was because of the hot flashes. Often I would wake up, and nine out of ten times I would have a hot flash.

A lot less complaints
Around August, I started acupuncture; at first every week, later every two weeks. Gradually, I noticed that the hot flashes were less frequent. For example, when cycling, if there was a sudden situation, I would immediately break out in a sweat. That doesn't happen anymore. I can now enjoy a glass of wine without any issues. It has improved a lot. I only have some trouble now when I exert myself.
When I arrive at the acupuncturist, we always have a chat about how things are going. Sometimes I need a moment to recover if I've just cycled for an hour, and then we talk about this and that to settle down. Then I lie down on the treatment table and get needled, and I must say: it's really relaxing. I don't even know how long, I think 45 minutes, but time flies by. Sometimes a needle hurts, but usually not. Then we have a wrap-up conversation and I go back home.

At a good level
I've had about eight treatments now. The first four or five times were weekly, then every other week. Now it's at a good level for me, so there's six weeks between sessions to see what happens then.
One thing that stands out is that I've been able to sleep through the night for three weeks now. It's really wonderful. Sometimes I sleep for five or six hours straight, which I haven't done in ages. My fitness has improved, and overall, I feel better. I'm very happy about that.

It was very valuable for me to hear that hot flashes can be very burdensome. The recognition that it's a difficult problem and that something can be done about it was a huge relief for me. I found that very comforting.

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