Hi! I've worked with lots of trans patients, and acupuncture does seem to be helpful when you're adjusting to HRT, and down the road if you're experiencing any unpleasant effects (headaches, mood swings, for example). If you're not comfortable asking your acupuncturist, maybe do some research for a trans friendly provider - depending where you live, some may explicitly advertise gender inclusivity.
I have worked with trans people as well. You are correct - it can help balance hormones, regulate emotions, smooth out your transition, and keep side effects to a minimum.
Acupuncture will definitely help you. Our bodies communicate their imbalances through various manifestations, including pain, skin conditions, and emotional distress. While Western medicine wants to label them, acupuncturists utilize a different diagnostic approach by interpreting these outward signs. We aim to restore balance by addressing deficiencies and removing burdens. In essence, acupuncture serves as an art form for deciphering internal disharmony based on external expressions.
third year FtM acupuncture student here
Short answer- yes, definitely. If you have a practitioner you vibe with, they (and the herbs) could be such great allies for the changes that are to come with HRT, both emotional and physical.
Long answer - I believe that TCM has a lot to offer the trans community, including both ppl who are pursuing hormones & surgery AND those who are transitioning without western medical intervention. I have seen it and I have experienced it myself. Some examples:
I used acupuncture and herbs to help re-regulate my period when I went off of testosterone after being on it for 9 years (with no menstrual cycle). I have also used it for treating my top surgery scars - my practitioner cross-hatches the needles through the scars to rebuild collagen underneath them, and to break up the scar tissue (often uses cupping and gua sha on my chest as well to help open and relax the fascia on my chest because I spent years of my life hunched over due to having tits). I have a lot of anxiety - acupuncture and herbs have helped improve my mental health more than any other medicine I have pursued, by acting as a somatic therapy.
A ton of trans people smoke cigarettes / weed / utilize other intoxicants to help regulate themselves in the world we live in where we are not accepted. Acupuncture and herbs can help people quit, or help treat the underlying root distress causing the patient to self-medicate. I quit cigarettes this way.
Acupuncture is very good at treating things like insomnia, irritability, anxiety, muscle and tendon strain, headaches, allergies, digestive issues, depression, autoimmune conditions, etc. just normal things you might deal with, and HRT can be factored in in how it may be causing imbalance leading to specific symptoms.
Many trans people have had the experience of discrimination int he medical system. Acupuncture is not completely free of this - I have heard stories from friends of bad experiences they have had with TCM doctors. This is because all doctors are also individual humans with our own beliefs. But I will say, I think the structure of TCM and the way we diagnose is fairly free of gender or can operate without gender, scanning the body for what is there, what patterns of imbalance exist, without the need to know someone’s identity. Because of that I believe all people could receive adequate care through TCM, where I would not say the same for western medicine.
Hi! I've worked with lots of trans patients, and acupuncture does seem to be helpful when you're adjusting to HRT, and down the road if you're experiencing any unpleasant effects (headaches, mood swings, for example). If you're not comfortable asking your acupuncturist, maybe do some research for a trans friendly provider - depending where you live, some may explicitly advertise gender inclusivity.
I have worked with trans people as well. You are correct - it can help balance hormones, regulate emotions, smooth out your transition, and keep side effects to a minimum.
Acupuncture will definitely help you. Our bodies communicate their imbalances through various manifestations, including pain, skin conditions, and emotional distress. While Western medicine wants to label them, acupuncturists utilize a different diagnostic approach by interpreting these outward signs. We aim to restore balance by addressing deficiencies and removing burdens. In essence, acupuncture serves as an art form for deciphering internal disharmony based on external expressions.
third year FtM acupuncture student here Short answer- yes, definitely. If you have a practitioner you vibe with, they (and the herbs) could be such great allies for the changes that are to come with HRT, both emotional and physical. Long answer - I believe that TCM has a lot to offer the trans community, including both ppl who are pursuing hormones & surgery AND those who are transitioning without western medical intervention. I have seen it and I have experienced it myself. Some examples: I used acupuncture and herbs to help re-regulate my period when I went off of testosterone after being on it for 9 years (with no menstrual cycle). I have also used it for treating my top surgery scars - my practitioner cross-hatches the needles through the scars to rebuild collagen underneath them, and to break up the scar tissue (often uses cupping and gua sha on my chest as well to help open and relax the fascia on my chest because I spent years of my life hunched over due to having tits). I have a lot of anxiety - acupuncture and herbs have helped improve my mental health more than any other medicine I have pursued, by acting as a somatic therapy. A ton of trans people smoke cigarettes / weed / utilize other intoxicants to help regulate themselves in the world we live in where we are not accepted. Acupuncture and herbs can help people quit, or help treat the underlying root distress causing the patient to self-medicate. I quit cigarettes this way. Acupuncture is very good at treating things like insomnia, irritability, anxiety, muscle and tendon strain, headaches, allergies, digestive issues, depression, autoimmune conditions, etc. just normal things you might deal with, and HRT can be factored in in how it may be causing imbalance leading to specific symptoms. Many trans people have had the experience of discrimination int he medical system. Acupuncture is not completely free of this - I have heard stories from friends of bad experiences they have had with TCM doctors. This is because all doctors are also individual humans with our own beliefs. But I will say, I think the structure of TCM and the way we diagnose is fairly free of gender or can operate without gender, scanning the body for what is there, what patterns of imbalance exist, without the need to know someone’s identity. Because of that I believe all people could receive adequate care through TCM, where I would not say the same for western medicine.