Herbal vs Hrt

Grannyhug I'm on Evorel Conti patches,I had sweats so bad I had to change the sheet sometimes three times in one night ,my husband couldn't sleep in the same bed .My mood swings were horrible and I was very depressed maybe due to the lack of sleep.I was sent to a menopause clinic and I 've been told I can stay on HRT for life IF I want to .My sister who is 68 has just gone back on HRT after 18 months off it for those same reasons .Hope you get it sorted,its hellish.Theres absolutely no shame in taking help when you need it.

i had a total hysterectomy in 1994 because of ovarian cancer - i was 47 - and went into total menopause the day after the operation.
they gave me patches to stick on my waistline - replacing every two days in a different place .............. i ended up with a ring of rings right around my middle!!
as i didn't want to take pills every day for ever i opted then for an implant every six months which was great until they [whoever they were] decided that they weren't going to make implants again.
so it was back to the dreaded pills. as i take several pills daily for various things i was more okay with them.
so at the age of very nearly 70, i've been on hrt for years and intend being on them for ever [if i'm allowed].
i weighed up the pros and cons and am aware that i could get breast cancer if i continued with them.
i am also aware that i could get osteoporosis if i don't take them. my mother and a friend had this and struggled with broken bones [my friend broke both wrists at separate times and my mother broke her arm] so i decided that i'd rather leave my bones intact!
hrt for me all the time.

Anti depressants work for me. Minimal side effects which went after a couple of weeks. Mum died of breast cancer at 54 so I'm not willing to take the risk of hrt.

30yrs ago when I hit my 40's I suffered badly with all the usual symptoms - night sweats, heavy bleeds, etc. Definitely didn't want to go on HRT and went to a herbalist. It took a wee while for her to adjust the different herbs (valerian, black cohosh and others) but it was very effective. Menopause over I have kept in good health and have had no reason to use herbalist again but it definitely worked for me.

Perhaps I am unusual (and lucky) as I have never had , or needed, HRT. I was put off it by health risks but my symptoms were mild or non existent once Id got over the embarrassing flooding stage.

gillybob, the patches I have are just oestrogen. This is possible because I had a total hysterectomy on my forties.

Tissue salts, not herbal medicines,were my relief waiting for a hip replacement as paracetamol was giving me side effects and nsaids are not recommended long term .

Black cohosh can have some nasty side effects.

Have you considered bio-identical hormones? I take them & I'm very pleased with the results. I tried the herbal remedies first, but there was no benefit, next was hrt, but saw a recommendation for bio-identical & a year later I'm happy to say all the hot flushes, night sweats, mood swings, etc., are gone.

Do not trust herbal remedies; what you need is targeted HRT which you can choose when given all the available info. Clearly your GP did not want to come down on a specific remedy because there are so many variables in a person's symptoms. The NHS can provide specific advice from a nurse who has experience. Ask at your surgery reception.

Hi ladies, thank you all for your personal comments. I didn't know about the mares whatthehellhappened, that was an eye opener. the doctor did tell me that one of the herbal ones can cause liver/kidney failure,(carn't remember which one), which can be very frightening. think I might try the red clover 1st. what also was an eye opener was you have periods for many years, you then think ow great there over with, only to have the menopause inflicted on us for god knows how long. ( doctor lead me to believe you only suffer a few years, noooo! lol.

Could not live without HRT. Quality of life is TOO IMPORTANT!

I used to take two pills... need the progesterone as I have a womb. But recently I was changed to the estrogen gel (not a patch-too inconvenient for me) which is excellent. Just pump a small blob of the estrogen gel on my forearms at night after bath, rub arms together for a few secs, and it's disappeared into my skin in 20 secs or less. Still take the other progesterone companion pill.

Happy as Larry now...

paddyann Glad I am not the only one who has been on it and will be for a very very very long time. It makes such a difference. Insomnia gone, anxiety and fears... no more. I will take my chances with HRT vs antidepressants!

I've been using Oestogel since my hysterectomy at 49 in 2005, on the advice of my gynaecologist. I don't think it's widely prescribed but no idea why; you rub it into your inner thighs every day or every other day and, as I understand it, because it's absorbed directly into the bloodstream, you need less active ingredient that in tablet form. It's been great at keeping menopausal symptoms under control and I shall continue as long as I can. Most HRT treatment is not extracted from mares' urine but is extracted from plant sources or synthetically produced, so do check before dismissing the idea as it makes such a difference to your life.

There is nothing in this world that will ever separate me from my HRT again not even the risk of a second DVT.

I didn't want HRT as I was concerned about all the health risks associated with it and I had a 'good' menopause, not too many hot flushes, but did/do tire more easily and have a few memory lapses, but all in all not bad at all. However repeated waterworks infections and dryness/itching have driven me to use the vaginal cream Overton, which certainly helps, but is not good for the asthma I have so have to keep a look out for asthmatic symptoms worsening, if they do I ease off the cream for a bit.

Ovestin is the correct name for the cream if you want to ask your doctor for it. It was the predictive text again .

I decided not to do the HRT as I've never managed artificial hormones well (couldn't take the pill ... ) so I tried Dong Quoi - which I found to be fantastic. Sailed through the menopause with minimum disruption - no hot flushes - but I did get a bit of brain fog from time to time ... Can recommend a good quality capsule as useful.

www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-936-dong%20quai.aspx?activeingredientid=936&

I didn't want HRT and I didn't really go down the herbal route either, I just rode it out naturally with what I hoped was a reasonably healthy diet - I suffered with hot flushes but they weren't as debilitating as they could have been.
My friend and sister both eat rubbish diets and insisted that they didn't get hot flushes at all. Well, they would, wouldn't they? There was me flushing away and they got off Scott free - or at least that's what they said. I'm still not sure whether to believe them or not. However, remember it's temporary, or should be.

sadly for many women its not temporary,it can last for decades and disrupt their lives.I was vegetarian for many years up menopause hit me ,so poor diet wasn't the cause.I dont think blaming women for how their bodies perform is helpful.Some ..like you.. sail through it and thers have ahorrible time .As I said before there is no shame in asking for help when you need it.The risks with HRT are miniscule and sppecialist menopause clinics(not GP's) will say you can stay on it for ever IF it suits you

I used black coshosh and evening primrose. Took them morning and night time and they sorted me out in terms of hot flushes. But on reflection i wonder if i should have used HRT. I have terrible problems with pain and disfigurement in my toes and also in my finger joints on my right hand. I have heard that HRT can prevent the early on set of arthritic conditions. Not sure if it is too late for me now as i am nearly 65.

Flash fighters are a marvellous alternative to HRT, available from Holland and Barrett. Think they started working after about 6 weeks, but you do have to be consistent with them. Good luck.

Herbal never worked for me. So I went on to HRT, after 2 months of trying different ones I found one that worked for me and it was great, no more hot flushes night sweats, sleepless nights or mood swings. Stayed on it for 10 years only came off it last year.

Gillybob,
Pills have to go through the liver, the dosage has to be high because the liver removes so much. Any transdermal form of HRT (implants, patches, gels etc.) avoids the first pass through the liver so are far superior. Pills are cheap but I would never consider using them.