Support for a natural life transition

Following her passion for treating menopausal women, Jo Darling runs through the steps that took her from flash of inspiration to marketable magnets.

Jo Darling (Hull)

Member: East Sussex

I’ve never been one to put up with injustice and I’ve always put my neck on the line to support women. Years after my first experience of a male orientated working environment as a money broker in the city, I find myself, now an acupuncturist, again appalled at the treatment of women, this time in the world of medicine.

‘What do you mean doctors aren’t taught in any detail about the menopause during their extensive training at university?’ I say naively, as

my patient explains her menopausal issues have been dismissed by her GP again. And then I take a deeper look and find that although 50 per cent of the world’s population go through menopause, the lack of understanding about it and support for it is shocking.

The number of women experiencing menopause at any one time in the UK is around five million, and around sixty-seven per cent of them, that’s over three million, feel there is a general lack of support or advice (Nuffield Research, 2014).

Not only are doctors poorly trained in supporting women – only now is menopause being added to the school curriculum sex education for the first time in 2021. And workplaces are only just beginning to realise they’re losing their top talent, not just to child bearing and rearing but also to menopause – one in ten women are thinking of leaving work due to menopause pressure and one in four actually do.

I’m passionate about women and have found myself drawn to helping them balance hormones, whether for their periods, fertility or during menopause. Medical intervention isn’t for everyone, whether by choice or because of existing health conditions such as cancer. But there is real lack of choice for natural solutions, and I really wanted to help those who didn’t wish to replace hormones their body no longer produced

Working with menopausal women

As acupuncturists we’re so lucky we have a natural medicine that does no harm, that can really make a difference to women’s lives. All we need is our Chinese medicine diagnosis and we can treat the root to relieve the issues.

I’m the consultant acupuncturist at a private hospital in Hove, where I work closely with the oncology team. I work with patients to lessen the side effects of their cancer treatment, during and after their time at the hospital. I’m completely humbled by my work with breast cancer patients. It reinforces my fierce belief in the power of acupuncture.

Most of my patients are troubled by the hormonal changes associated with the menopause. Their menopause is caused by an immediate, rather than gradual, shift in hormones which can be debilitating.

Back in 2016 I learnt a new adjunct technique to support my cancer patients with hot flushes. It involved placing a magnet on the back of the neck at DU 14 da zhui. I’d been using the technique successfully ever since when, in a light-bulb moment, I realised I could help many more women if I brought the product to market.

From clinical restraints to worldwide support

I’d read a book, You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth by Jen Sincero, which is absolutely brilliant. The title is deliberately crass, but the essence of the book is very Daoist and helped me believe that my life had been leading me to this point.

But first things first, I decided to undertake what I called a ‘proof of principle’ trial to corroborate what I knew from my clinical work. To reduce hot