Your period shouldn’t run your life. Period.
You've built a mental map of your own cycle: the days you don't schedule anything, the meeting you'll be watching the clock through, the painkillers that used to work and don't anymore. Maybe it's the clotting, or bleeding that soaks through more than it should. Maybe it's pain that arrives days before your period and lingers after. Maybe your ultrasound or labs came back "normal" and you were sent home with nothing that explained why you feel like this. You are not exaggerating, and you are not difficult. Your body is telling you something real.
You know the difference between a bad period, and this.
Painful periods, endometriosis, and fibroids are what I focus on, and they're personal. My own experience inside the women's healthcare system showed me how routinely women are rushed, dismissed, and handed a prescription instead of an explanation. I built my practice to work the other way: long appointments, careful history-taking, and a plan that treats the cycle underneath the pain rather than just quieting it for a day.
If you would like a closer look at one of our most common cases, read our guide to managing PCOS/PMOS with acupuncture here.
This is the center of my practice, not a corner of it.
In Chinese medicine, painful, heavy, or irregular periods are rarely seen as isolated events. They're read as signs of how blood and energy are moving (or not moving) through the pelvis across your whole cycle. Much of the work centers on circulation and regulation: encouraging steady blood flow where it has become stagnant, easing the tension and inflammation that drive cramping, and smoothing the hormonal shifts that make some days so much worse than others. Acupuncture does part of this in the treatment room; custom herbal formulas continue the work between visits, adjusted as your cycle changes month to month. The goal isn't to mask one painful day. It's to change how the whole month feels.
Treating the cycle, not just the cramp.
Endometriosis. If you're living with diagnosed endo, or years of pain that finally has a name, the work focuses on easing pelvic pain, calming inflammation, and supporting circulation in the areas that hurt most, alongside the rest of your care team rather than in place of them.
Fibroids. For fibroids, the emphasis is on managing the heavy bleeding, pressure, and pain that so often come with them, and on supporting your body through whatever medical monitoring or treatment you're also pursuing.
Painful, heavy, or irregular periods. You don't need a diagnosis to be taken seriously here. If your cycle is unpredictable, unusually heavy, or simply too painful, that's reason enough. Often this is where we uncover patterns no one had connected before.
Where you might fit
1. Let's find out if we're a fit. Start with a few questions and a free consultation call, so we can make sure this is the right match before you ever book a visit.
2. A thorough first exam. Your initial visit is unhurried. I take a detailed history of your cycle, your symptoms, and everything you've already tried, then map out a plan built around your body rather than a one-size protocol. Most patients end up with acupuncture, custom herbs, or both.
3. A focused course of care. We work in a series, because changing how your cycle feels comes from consistent care over a few cycles, not a single visit. I'll be clear with you about what a realistic timeline looks like once I understand what's going on.
How we begin
Cycles that are lighter, steadier, and far less painful. Days handed back to you. Less dread in the week before, less recovery in the days after, less of your life quietly organized around your body. This is the direction we work toward together, cycle by cycle.
Imagine a month you’re not bracing for
The same conditions that make periods unbearable, endometriosis and fibroids, are often exactly what stands between a woman and pregnancy. So the work flows naturally from calming your cycle into supporting fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum recovery. It isn't two separate specialties. It's one continuous arc of care. See how I support perinatal care →
When you’re ready to grow your family
Every plan is personal, so neither of us will know the full cost of your care until after your initial exam, once I understand what your body actually needs. Here’s how getting started works:
It begins with a free 15-minute phone consultation. This is our chance to talk through what's going on and make sure Auro is the right fit for you. My focus is women's health, and if what you need would be better served elsewhere, I'll gladly help point you in the right direction, because what matters is you getting the right care, not just any care.
If we're a good match, the next step is an initial consultation and exam ($65, 30 minutes): your health history, tongue and pulse diagnosis, and a closer look at your goals. If we decide to move forward together, that $65 is credited toward your treatment plan, whether your care is herbal medicine, acupuncture, or both. From there, I'll walk you through a plan made just for you and review everything, including cost, together.
Because lasting change comes from a course of care rather than a single visit, I treat in a thoughtful series rather than one-off appointments.
Getting started and pricing
Can acupuncture/Chinese medicine really help with period pain?
Menstrual pain is one of the most common reasons patients come to us. Treatment works over a series of visits to address the pattern behind the pain, which is why we plan in cycles rather than one-off sessions. Treatment plans vary based on your specific presentation, but you should expect to continue treatment for at least 3 full cycles or longer.
Do I need a diagnosis before I come in?
No. Many patients arrive with unexplained symptoms and no clear label. A thorough history intake is part of the first visit.
My labs came back normal, but I still don’t feel like myself. Can you help?
Often, yes and this is one of the most common reasons women come to me. Chinese medicine looks at patterns and how you actually feel, not lab values alone, so we can frequently work with symptoms that have been brushed aside elsewhere. You deserve to be taken seriously.
Can I do this alongside my gynecologist’s care?
Yes. This works well alongside your medical care and any monitoring or treatment you're already receiving, not as a replacement for it.
FAQ’s
You don’t have to keep planning your life around your period.
