Your Period Isn’t Just a Monthly Event, It’s a Monthly Report Card - Why Chinese medicine might be the missing piece in your hormonal health

“Your cycle is a vital sign, not an inconvenience.”
That’s one of many refreshing insights Dr Suzi Craig shared in our conversation about fertility, hormonal health, and the value of integrative care.

Dr Suzi is a registered Chinese medicine practitioner, acupuncturist, and herbalist who blends thousands of years of Eastern wisdom with the latest evidence-based research in reproductive medicine. Her focus? Helping women better understand their cycles, navigate hormonal shifts, and take back agency in a system that often overlooks them.

🩸 What Your Cycle Is Trying to Tell You

Suzi sees menstrual health as a monthly check-in, not just something to “deal with.”
Pain, mood changes, irregularity, these are messages, not random annoyances.

“We’d never ignore chest pain or chronic headaches. But when it comes to period symptoms, people are told to just push through.”

Instead of suppressing symptoms, Chinese medicine looks at how everything, diet, stress, sleep, emotions, feeds into your hormonal landscape.

🤝 East Meets West: A Smarter Way Forward

Suzi is all about integration, not opposition.

She works closely with GPs, IVF specialists, and reproductive endocrinologists, bringing Chinese medicine into the conversation, not against it.

“The goal isn’t to choose one system over another, it’s to create a better map for each person.”

This approach leads to tailored plans, deeper conversations, and improved outcomes, especially for complex issues like:

• PCOS

• Endometriosis

• Menopausal symptoms

• Assisted fertility (IVF, IUI, etc.)

🧠 Hormones, Emotions & Energy

One of the most fascinating takeaways?
How deeply your emotional state impacts your reproductive health.

In Chinese medicine, the liver is associated with emotional flow and menstrual regulation. If your stress is stuck, so is your cycle.

“You can’t separate the emotional from the physical. Reproductive health is always a whole-body conversation.”

💡 Key Takeaways

• Your period is a feedback loop. Pay attention to what it’s telling you

• There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Hormonal health needs to be individualised

• Acupuncture and herbs can complement IVF or conventional treatment

• Stress, sleep, and diet all impact your fertility and cycle quality

• If something feels off, don’t settle. Find a practitioner who listens

🧘 A Practice Worth Trying

Track your next cycle, but go beyond just the dates.

Each day, ask:

• How’s my energy?

• How’s my mood?

• What’s my sleep like?

• Am I feeling inflamed, bloated, flat, or strong?

You’ll start noticing patterns. And patterns = power.

🎧 Listen to the Full Conversation

Search The True Form Podcast wherever you get your podcasts

Watch me on YouTube

https://youtu.be/E3WoaPJfIWA 

Listen to the True From Podcast

https://trueform.buzzsprout.com