ABSENT MENSES: AN OUTER EXPRESSION OF INNER DISTURBANCE

In the recent past there have been an increasing number of females coming with complaint of absent menses or missed menstrual cycles for months. Since this is not a life threatening disease, most of the general population takes treatment from a local doctor and feels better as long as medicines are going on. Once the medicines are stopped, the complaint more often than not relapses. Then the patients undergo a variety of investigations and consult another physician for the same. This kind of running from one doctor to other doctor goes on; however the problems still persists in majority of the cases. A woman who misses three periods in a row is labeled to have amenorrhea. Amenorrhea in simple terms means absence of menses for three consecutive months.

Causes:
Pregnancy, breast feeding and menopause are the natural causes of amenorrhea.

There are many other reasons which can cause of missing the menses.

• Hormonal disturbance - production of female sex hormones can be affected by range of factors emotional stress being the most common source. PCOS, which is rampantly prevalent these days, is related to hormonal disturbance and is the most common cause of amenorrhea which is stress induced in today’s fast and busy world. Drug induced - e.g. woman taking birth control pills may miss her periods for at least 4-6 months after stopping the pills.
• Certain medications like antipsychotics, antidepressants and cancer chemotherapy could also lead to amenorrhea.
• Structural problems in the female reproductive system can also result in amenorrhea.                

One way to look at this disease is to treat is by using hormonal pills through which menses are rendered regular, but only till the medicines are on. The other is a holistic way of looking at this condition; is that amenorrhea is a mere symptom of a larger disturbance ailing the body. This symptom is a signal that the inner harmony of the individual is disturbed. Holistic medical treatments believe in treating this inner disturbance rather than in prescribing medicines to simply bring on the menses. What is holistic treatment? In simple terms it means treating the mind and body both together. Homoeopathy is one of the best forms of holistic treatment and is arguably the only therapy with no negative side-effects or after-effects. It addresses the symptom, the disease, the cause thereof and the whole totality of the patient. It not only treats the body and its functions, but also the mind and touches the aura of the spirit which animates the entire individuality and ensures a complete well-being.

I wish to share a case of a 20-year-old college girl with irregular menses. This case demonstrates the holistic feature of true classical homoeopathy. She had been trying various forms of treatment for her irregular menses, but without much success. She like all other patients was skeptical of Homoeopathy, but agreed to resort to it due to lack of any other options. She used to get menses every 3-4 months. We can very well imagine the stress that the patient and her parents were going through as she was a college-going-girl, yet was extremely irregular in her menses. 

She had many fears namely of ghosts, insects, dogs and of the dark. At the mere sight of cockroach, she would shriek so loudly that the neighbors used to rush over anticipating some emergency. Based on the physical problem and studying her mind state, a suitable homoeopathic remedy was prescribed. To the surprise of the patient, she got her menses within 2 weeks of starting the treatment. This developed some faith and belief in her that Homoeopathy works. She has been regular in her follow-ups and her menses have been regular i.e. every 40 days compared to every 3-4 months before homoeopathic treatment. Her fears have reduced to a large extent. 

What was interesting was that she had a patch of alopecia (a patch of baldness) which she had never mentioned earlier and this patch also became normal. The tension in family reduced and harmony in the family was restored. She still comes for treatment for occasional cough and colds and has become a staunch follower of Homoeopathy since then.

Homoeopathy has a great potential to treat many if not all diseases in this busy stressful world of ours.

• Continue to ignore your symptoms and experience a slow increase in discomfort, which will correspond to a decrease in your overall health.
•  Treat your symptoms with the latest drugs or painkillers and create a short-term relief and a long- term damage to the rest of your body or,
• Listen to your body and adopt a holistic approach to wellness. Treat the whole being, not just the symptoms.

So, the choice is yours………


Dr. Devang Shah, M.D. (Hom)

Senior Resident Doctor, the other song

Dr. Devang Shah graduated from D.S. Homoeopathic Medical College and has been practicing Homoeopathy for the last 5 years. He feels blessed to have studied under Dr. Rajan Sankaran, Dr. Jayesh Shah, Dr. Sunil Anand, Dr. Dinesh Chauhan, Dr. Sujit Chatterjee and Dr Mahesh Gandhi. His goal in each case is to reach to the depth of it and locate the root from where the branches of disease originate. He has been known among his colleagues and clients to have immense ability to be patient and unearth the disturbance within each suffering soul. “Silence is the opening of an infinite world within each of us. May we reach the depth so that the spirit arises.” He practices at the other song on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6.00 to 8.00 pm.