The luteal phase of women’s cycle is the time from ovulation until your period starts. A normal luteal phase should be 14 days which gives a fertilized egg enough time to implant and start to signal to your body that it’s there. A luteal phase lasting less than 12 days is too short for this to happen and the uterine lining begins to slough off before a fertilized egg has had a chance to implant and initiate the hormonal changes necessary to sustain a pregnancy.
Most luteal phase defects include a diagnosis of low progesterone. This causes up to 1/3 of the pregnancy loss in the early stage. If women always have short period cycle or spotting between periods, we most likely would suggest the following test:
- Testing progesterone at day 7/9/11 after ovulation
- Testing prolactin levels
- Testing thyroid function
- Checking for PCOS
In Chinese medicine, we interpret the luteal phase defect as an imbalance of the whole cycle, not just the luteal phase. The 2 major types of Chinese medicine diagnosis of luteal phase defect is kidney yang deficiency and spleen qi deficiency.
1) Spleen Qi Deficiency
Symptoms: low energy during ovulation and period, excessive sweating during the luteal phase, loose stools closer to period, heavy bleeding.
Suggestion: avoid having too many raw foods (cold salads) and cold drink ; avoid eating too many sweets or refined carbohydrates.
Treatment: acupuncture + herbs such as Ginseng, Atractylodes, Dioscoreae, and Astragalus
2) Kidney Yang Deficiency
Symptoms: cold hands and feet, less sexual desire, back pain, spotting a few days before period period pain with back pain.
Suggestion: reduce the amount of caffeine, avoid over-exercise or overwork, get enough sleep, eat nourishing foods that tonify the kidney system like black beans, legumes, kelp, parsley, tofu, raspberries, walnuts, wild rice, spirulina, and wheat germ and wheat grass, vitamin B6, string beans, mulberry, millet, chestnuts, black sesame seeds, lycium fruit, aduki beans, gelatin, corn.
Treatment: acupuncture + herbs like Eucommia, Epimedii, Radix Dipsaci, Semen Cuscutae, Radix Morinda, and Fructus Psoraleae
Based on these different diagnoses, Chinese medicine doctors at B&Q Acupuncture adapt acupuncture treatments and create a specially tailored herbal formula for each patient, which along with any treatment suggested by the patient’s doctor can significantly improve or correct a luteal phase defect. If you are interested in having acupuncture, please contact our clinic (08)6111 5027 or email info@bqacupuncture.com.au. We are looking forward to supporting you.