Herbal Remedies For The Menopause

Herbal remedies for Menopause?

A work colleague is going through 'the change' or at least she thinks she is. She doesn't want to visit the GP and start HRT but has seen some bad press about herbal remedies recently. Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions please? Thanks
Thanks The Mom. We both work within a PCT so have access to the 'professionals' thoughts and views i.e. nurses and GP's so I was hoping for some responses from women who have already gone through this but many thanks indeed for your detailed reply.

The trouble with HRT is that you only want to take it if you have to, and then most doctors only want to do it for no more than six months. While it can help with a real nightmare menopause, most ladies can adapt to the changes in other ways. Hot Flashes can be dealt with during the day by dressing in layers, and keeping a fashionable oriental folding fan at hand. At night you just keep a spare dry nightie on the end of the bed. If she wants to try some of the herbal remedies, that's fine. Just tell her to be sure she chooses one from an old reliable company and not some off the wall place out of China. Some research has suggested the isoflavinoides in soy products can help, since they can act in place of the estrogen she is decreasing production of. Oriental women don't tend to have a hard time with menopause, and they believe that is part of the explanation. Tofu isn't a miracle, though, because those chemicals are about 1000 times less potent than the estrogen you make naturally. And honestly, a lot of the trouble with menopause is related to how we feel about the process and ourselves. If she is dreading the changes to come, she will tend to have more trouble as well. She should certainly consider visiting the gynecologist and at least doing a blood test to see how far along in the process she is, if that is what is going on, and see what options she has to choose from. It's not all HRT, you know. They have lots of other suggestions that can help as well. She may be helped as well if she hears from you and other ladies "of age" that menopause can actually be a positive in life. Yeah, it means you won't be getting pregnant anymore. But then again, it does mean you are free of that worry. You don't have to worry about going swimming, wearing white pants, cramps or any of that period related inconvenience. For some ladies, that is actually pretty liberating. And it definitely isn't the end of the old sex life either. Without the worry of pregnancy, a lot of ladies find things actually improve in that arena. All they need is a willing partner, and that is not usually a problem. Help her find the positives, and she may find the process isn't so bad after all.

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