Unfortunately, 4 in 5 patients experience hot flashes and other side effects associated with hormone deficiencies, researchers said. This causes some patients to drop hormone therapy, increasing their risk of
“By managing side effects, our approach makes it easier for patients to continue their prescribed medication, which has the potential to reduce the risk ofreported improvement in the number and severity of their hot flashes, compared to 18% of women not receiving acupuncture, results show. They also reported greater improvements in quality of life.
After 10 weeks, the women not initially chosen also were given acupuncture, and they also had significant improvements in their hormone therapy symptoms, researchers said.“In practice, patients interested in using acupuncture for this purpose might begin with a short trial period to assess their response to the treatment, particularly in terms of reduction in hot flashes and other symptoms,” Lu said.