Can Acupuncture Help Relieve Hot Flashes?

According to a presentation at the 6^th European Breast Cancer Conference, acupuncture proves effective relief from hot flashes in patients treated with tamoxifen. In a Norwegian study, 59 women with breast cancer were allocated to take either 10 weeks of traditional Chinese acupuncture or ‘sham’ acupuncture; they were all taking tamoxifen following surgery, and were postmenopausal.

The women recorded the number of hot flashes they experienced during the 4 weeks preceding the treatment period, as well as during the treatment and for 12 weeks afterwards. Another measure was the Kupperman quality-of-life index, estimated at the same periods. The treatments – acupuncture or sham needling – were given twice weekly for 5 weeks and then weekly for 5 weeks.

During treatment, the numbers of hot flashes were reduced by 50%, both day and night, in the acupuncture group. Further reductions were seen during the 12-week post-treatment period. There were no reductions with the sham treatment during the day, but a slight reduction at night; when sham treatment stopped, however, the numbers increased again. Findings with the Kupperman Index paralleled the numbers of hot flashes quite closely.

These findings are quite impressive. Acupuncture offers a relevant degree of help, and is obviously free from the side-effects associated with hormone therapy, or other medications; however, it is not risk-free. It may be worth a try, if an experienced licensed acupuncturist is available.

Comments

[Manuela]

This looks really interesting. A friend of mine manged to give up smoking after several acupuncure sessions and she is feeling great.