Acupuncture for Perimenopause and Menopause Symptoms Middlesbrough & Teesside

The honest answer is that the evidence is mixed and the clinic does not claim it will work for you. Trials comparing acupuncture with no treatment have generally found differences in favour of acupuncture, but trials comparing real acupuncture with sham acupuncture have generally found much smaller differences or none at all. What the clinic offers is a structured 80 minute assessment, a Chinese medicine diagnosis and a treatment plan you can decide whether to follow, reviewed after six sessions so you can judge it for yourself.

It depends what you are hoping for, and it would be misleading to give you a straight yes. The research on acupuncture for menopausal symptoms is genuinely uncertain, particularly once sham-controlled trials are taken into account. What many women say they value is having every symptom looked at together rather than one at a time, an hour of being properly listened to, and a plan with a review point built into it. Whether that is worth £90 to you is a fair question to weigh up before booking.

Chinese medicine describes menopausal symptoms in terms of patterns rather than single causes, most commonly a gradual decline in Kidney Yin and Kidney Essence, which is associated with heat, restlessness and disturbed sleep. Treatment aims to nourish Yin, anchor the Heart and smooth Liver Qi, depending on your individual pattern. This is a diagnostic framework rather than a description of biology, and it is why two women with identical hot flushes can end up with different treatment plans. The clinic does not claim a specific physiological effect.

Your first appointment is The Full Picture Assessment: 80 minutes with Deanna at the clinic in Acklam, Middlesbrough. About 40 minutes is a detailed conversation covering your symptoms, menstrual history, sleep, stress, pain, digestion, energy, medications and medical history. Deanna then takes a Chinese medicine assessment including pulse and tongue, records an AcuGraph baseline, and builds a written pattern diagnosis. Your first acupuncture treatment is included in the same appointment, and you leave with a written treatment plan.

The Full Picture Assessment is £90 for 80 minutes and includes your first treatment. After that, you can pay per session at £75, or take the 6-Session Treatment Plan at £330, which works out at £55 a session and is valid for six months. A typical first course is the assessment plus the six session plan, so £420 in total. There is also a shorter ear acupuncture option at £40 for 40 minutes.

A course usually starts with weekly sessions and is formally reviewed after six. Practitioners generally consider six sessions the point at which you can sensibly judge whether to continue, and courses of eight to ten are common in the research literature. After the review, sessions typically space out to fortnightly or monthly if you and Deanna agree that makes sense. You are never committed beyond the appointment you have already booked.

Yes. Acupuncture can be used alongside HRT and you do not have to choose between them. Please bring details of your HRT to your assessment so it can be taken into account. Deanna does not prescribe, advise on or adjust HRT, and would never suggest you change or stop it. Any decision about your HRT belongs with your GP or menopause specialist.

You are welcome at the clinic, and you will not be asked to justify the decision. Some women are advised against HRT because of their medical history, and others simply choose not to take it. Acupuncture is not a replacement for HRT and is not presented as one. What the assessment offers is a structured look at what is going on and a plan you can decide whether to follow.

Yes, the clinic sees women in treatment-induced menopause, including after surgery, chemotherapy, tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors, and the assessment is adapted for it. Please tell your oncology or specialist team that you are considering acupuncture, and let Deanna know what treatment you have had or are having. If your medical team advises against acupuncture, that advice is followed.

Acupuncture is not a weight loss treatment and the clinic would never present it as one. Body shape and weight often change during perimenopause even when nothing else has, and that change is real rather than a failure of willpower. What the assessment does is look at the things that usually sit underneath it: sleep, stress, digestion and energy. If weight is one of the things bothering you, bring it, and it will be taken seriously without being oversold.

No. You do not need a menopause diagnosis, a blood test result or a GP referral to book. Many women book because something has changed and nobody has been able to tell them what. If anything in your history suggests you should see your GP, Deanna will say so.

Most people describe it as a brief sensation rather than pain. Acupuncture needles are very fine, nothing like an injection needle, and what people usually notice is a short-lived heaviness, warmth or tingling as each one is placed. Needle nervousness is one of the most common things women mention beforehand. Deanna works slowly, explains each point, and stops whenever you want to.

It can genuinely be both, and they overlap heavily, which is why the assessment covers stress and sleep as thoroughly as it covers flushes and cycles. Perimenopause can begin in your early to mid forties, periods may still be regular, and blood tests may still read normal. A structured assessment is one way to get the whole picture looked at in one sitting rather than symptom by symptom.

Acupuncture is not appropriate for everyone, and there are situations where Deanna will decline to treat or ask you to speak to your GP first. Certain bleeding disorders, some medications, and some acute or undiagnosed symptoms all need medical assessment rather than acupuncture. Any unexplained bleeding, particularly bleeding after twelve months without a period, should be discussed with your GP promptly. Acupuncture complements medical care and does not replace it.

The clinic is at The House, 283 Acklam Road, Middlesbrough, TS5 7BP, with parking on site. It is a short drive from Thornaby, Ingleby Barwick and most of Stockton, and women also travel from Yarm, Marton, Guisborough, Redcar and Darlington.

Yes. Deanna is a registered member of the British Acupuncture Council, which sets standards for training, practice and hygiene, and is registered with the CNHC. The clinic carries full professional insurance. Single-use, sterile needles are used and disposed of after every treatment.