Dr Maggie Ju Acupuncture London Chelsea, Kensington and Richmond

We all know women have period cycles, which are normally a month (28 days) with ovulation. Women have two ovaries containing about 1 millions eggs at birth. These are the eggs they ever have and there are no more eggs produced after birth. The existing eggs are lost constantly. By the time at puberty, there are only about 400,000 eggs left. Only 400 to 500 eggs are ovulated in life time. Each month, 15-20 eggs develop and normally only one of them becomes mature (the size of a mature egg is ready to ovulate is about 18-28 mm in diameter) and is released. About 14 days after ovulation the woman would get a period if she is not pregnant. If the eggs in ovaries don’t develop and mature properly, there is no ovulation. This will cause problems in women. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is such a condition with ovulation problem. The ovaries in women with PCOS contain many small cysts which are fluid-filled sacs. This is because eggs stop growing and form many cysts; they don’t mature and a

I am very tired. It is not a rare complaint. Everyone must ever feel tired sometimes, but the tiredness would go away after rest or sleep. If it does not go away, it is a problem. Constant fatigue is the main symptom of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). CFS refers to severe exhaustion during and after daily activities or to a lack of energy which is prolonged for 6 or more months and resting and sleeping cannot make fatigue go. CFS affects about 1 in 300 people in the UK. It is about three times as common in women as in men. Most common age group developing CFS is 20-45 and it occurs more in women than in men. Apart from constant fatigue feeling, there are also other symptoms associated with severe fatigue, such as muscle and joint pain, headache, insomnia and poor short term memory etc. The cause is not clear but there are a few theories including: a viral infection, immune system problems, neuroendocrine dysfunction causing hormones imbalance and psychiatric problems, such as stress