soy...anyway you can get it...tofu, soymilk etc. Also I have tried an over the counter cream called meno-cream made from wild Yam... irregardless what the instructions say, use it only until you ovulate...if you still do.
Motherwort is supposed to help...and chaste tree, but I haven't used those.

Once EZ board gets it's problems fixed, you should be able to find something on a message board that I run - it hasn't had a lot of posting in the last couple of years, but it still contains a lot of good info.

Here is a link that might be useful: Women's Hormonal Healing

opps sorry about that. I didn't realize I had actually submitted the first post.

diva kris, what sort of menopause symptoms are you experiencing? The herb needed would depend on which symptom you are having.

While black cohosh continues to be validated as an effective treatment for menopausal symptoms, soy and clover extracts did not fare as well in a recent study.

regular high-intensity "exercise" in bed works wonders for the symptoms :)

some of them... not the sweating though. :oD

The best soy is the way the asians take it--fermented.
Not milk or flour. Miso is one of the best for flashes.
It binds with estrogenic receptors about the best of any.
It is also good for removing alcohol and other toxins
from your system. I have not used anything else or had
to.

Stop eating red meats.

i had to do a bit of research on this ver subject recently (for my mum). i can't remember what was recomended exactly (sorry, i'll find out again) but i remember hearing someone saying that soy interferes with womens fertility (thus linked to menopause), that sounds like BS, what country eats the most soya? is it china? why yes it is. what countries are having a devastating population explosion? is china one of them? i do believe it is. just giving some info on how some of the info regarding the menopause is misleading and that soya is good.

i know ladyies mantle (Anchemillia sp.) is good for female complaints as it contains lots of plant oestrogen. (dunno if its any good for the menopause though)

hope i can be of any help when i remember more.

p.s. sorry for the micro rant.

Some women use motherwort to help regulate the hormonal changes..
Motherwort is flowering here right now, the best time to make the tincture:
Chop the fresh leaves, stems, and flowers into a sterile jar, cover with 100 proof vodka and strain liquid into a tinted bottle six weeks later.

I don't ever eat red meat, and usually I try to stay away from salt.... so miso...well, it is salty... I got some soy protein.... now what? :o)

Exactly what does motherwort do? Has anyone in this thread actually tried it?

I'm sort of interested, because I purchased *one* plant from Sturbridge Village (which has a neat herb garden) and now I have patches of it in several places in my back yard. It is sort of awkward to pull up because it is a bit thorny! In my clay soil it easily gets about 3 ft. tall, and when it goes to seed it must produce thousands, because a little whorl of flowers appears at just about every upper leaf node.

In other words, it is a prolific plant, and if it would work for you, you would have no trouble with keeping an adequate supply on hand!

Re: soy, does that mean soy sauce is the best source? And miso is the best?

Also, I noticed in a Vietnamese grocer store near here, they do sell a reduced salt soy sauce from time to time....

I bought Menocream, but am afraid to use it because I've heard that it increases your appetite. I don't need to gain any weight, but I want to get rid of the mood swings. Any suggestions?

Hi to everyone,
I'm a new member and would like some advice.
It's a long story but when I had my first hot flush in Sept '99, my husband had just had a cerebral haemorrghage, so I felt I couldn't cope with all that too! So I took HRT until Oct '02. Afterwhich, of course, the hot flushes, sleepless nights, moods etc were just awful!! It's now almost 4 years on, I am sweating less and sleeping better now.
Recently I purchased some Progest E, hoping to control the remaining hot flushes, I've been using about 4 drops per day for 10 days but find I'm bleeding a little. I'm unsure what this means...is it just a side effect of this product or am I using too much/too little??
I really would appreciate some help.

progesterone is a follicle stimulator. It shouldn't make you bleed, it should actually increase your ovulation if anything. You need to see your gyno about the bleeding though, it could be serious... or not... but best to find out.
Cheerful, the menocream is adjustable... just find the level that helps you without turning you into an eating machine. that's what I do.

Heathen!! how come you call yourself by that name??
Anyway, just thought I'd let you know that after speaking to my NP, he told me to stop the Progest E and take much less of it. So at least I know it's nothing more than that to worry about!! Thanks for your help.

I call myself that because I am a heathen! :o) I wanted Dirty Heathen, which appeals to my strange funny bone, but it was already taken. hope your symptoms are okay.

Thanks for the explanation - here's something I saw in a newspaper- G.K.Chesterton is often credited with observing:
"When a man ceases to believe in God, he doesn't believe in nothing, he belives in anything". And I think that is true because people 'worship' many things eg. football players, pop stars, their car etc.

Well, my symptons are not too bad, it's mostly the hot flushes that bother me. Hope you're well, are you menopausal too??

Well, my boyfriend is a Japanese Buddhist... and Buddhism has been around a lot longer than Christianity. I never stopped being Christian, I never was Christian. I can't be a part of a religion that seems to preach hate, intolerance and that women are second class citizens... though if it fits other's way of life, I think that's great, just don't proselytize...religion is a personal thing not to be forced on others, which seems to be a Christian habit, forcing their opinion on others. If this doesn't fit you, great, I am generalizing... and this isn't a forum to discuss religion.

top 3 things:

1. Soy
2. Soy
3. SOY!!

:)

When I was 24 I went into menopause due to a large tumor. After that I was chemically induced into menopause twice to control horrible endometriosis. i wasn't allowed to take anything. And it was badd. Good luck to you.
My advice take estrogen.

Hi...My name is Jamie & I'm 37 yrs. old.

Saturday morning, I woke up with the world's most splitting headache & when I sat up all of my muscles were hurting, especially lower back...took aspirin, didn't help much...kept popping aspirin all day. I drank so much water all day(really cold)...felt like I couldn't eat. Then around the afternoon I was having cold chills really bad with goosebumps, but at the same time I felt very hot. Then I would sweat really bad with actual beads of sweat dripping down my back & chest(I am not a sweat-er, so this was so odd to me). My husband & 2 children have had to fend for themselves because I go through spells of freezing to feeling absolutely miserable with being hot & sweating. It's now Monday & muscles still ache & the headache is back with a vengeance....my body feels very warm but I am not sweating now. Also my sleep has been overly disrupted which is unusual also...I might wake up 2 or 3 times a night....now it seems I'm burning up at night & wake up like 20 times.

I'm needing some advice. I know 51 - 52 is the average age to start menopause, but I have read it can start much earlier than that. Thanks for the help.

Hello,
I have started on progesterone cream and I am having brownish stringy with some red discharge. It started out very slight - only saw it when I wiped now I am having to use a pad. I am very much hypothyroid and I am on synthroid. Should I be concerned about this discharge? should I continue with the progesterone cream?
thank you

The best menopausal relief is prayer. I refuse to take any drugs. I take a cold shower (or cold water to the wrists) if I am feeling hot, a nap for the tired feeling, and only natural solutions. Drugs are stupid and make you sick/dead. HRT is foolish.

Unfortunately Dr. Bruce, even though he bills himself as a board-certified gynecologist, is not telling us the whole story about "bioidentical hormones", which if effective carry the same risks as standard hormone replacement therapy, plus exposing users to fluctuating and inconsistent dosages. According to the American College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians:

"There is no scientific evidence to support claims of increased efficacy or safety for individualized ("bioidentical") estrogen or progesterone regimens prepared by compounding pharmacies.
Hormone therapy does not belong to a class of drugs with an indication for individualized dosing. Salivary hormone level testing used by proponents to "tailor" this therapy isn't meaningful because (a) salivary levels are not as accurate as blood levels and (b) they can vary within each woman depending on her diet, the time of day, the specific hormone being tested, and other variables.
Most compounded products have not undergone rigorous clinical testing for either safety or efficacy. There are also concerns regarding their purity, potency, and quality.
The FDA requires manufacturers of FDA-approved products that contain estrogen and progestins to include a black box warning that reflects the findings of the Women's Health Initiative. However, compounded products (including "bioidentical" hormones) are not approved by the FDA and have been exempt from having to provide patient package inserts that contain warnings and contraindications for estrogens and progestins.
Given the lack of well-designed and well-conducted clinical trials of these compounded hormones, all of them should be considered to have the same safety issues as those hormone products that are approved by the FDA and may also have additional risks unique to the compounding process."

More views on "bioidentical" hormones here.

I have been on femhrt for about 4 months and today got my period back (haven't had one for almost 2 years) I am considering going off femhrt. I know I can go off slowly, any comments? I didn't realize the addictive nature of this drug until reading other comments. I would be interested in what others have found or have to say.
Thanks

Hello, I am new to this forum and found it be "googling" I want to run away and I'm 48 years old. I'm not quite sure what is going on with me. Per my physician I am not going through menopause, however, after reading various posts I'm convinced I am.

I am currently a high school teacher, live with my husband 18 year old son and 24 year old niece, and all I can think about is running away. I love them all, however, I feel like I not living. My plan is to move, rent out my friend's apartment and have a commuter marriage. Everyone (except 1 friend) thinks this is bizarre. Husband has agreed thinking "you just need to get it out of your system".

In my younger years, I was not afraid to make a mistake, but lately, I feel paralyzed. It is my age, am I wiser, will a bad decision cripple me for life. So I plan this escape, however, have not made a move to make it happened.

What is going on with me.

Per my physician I am not going through menopause, however, after reading various posts I'm convinced I am.
It sounds to me like you either need to find a new physician or you need to get a second opinion.

In my younger years, I was not afraid to make a mistake, but lately, I feel paralyzed. It is my age, am I wiser, will a bad decision cripple me for life.
In my opinion, running away will not help you with your health problem. In my opinion, it could have bad results for your marriage, and I would not advise moving out, even temporarily.

Talk to female friends and see if someone can 'highly' recommend a gynecologist. someone they know and trust.

I wish you well.

Sue

I rarely have symptoms, and that is only when I am drinking alcohol (and lots of it, like a pint of straight vodka). This is because I take B vitamins (at least 25 mg of the main ones with magnesium and other minerals) 3 days a week. I also eat miso, a tablespoon in soup 2 to 3 times a week. I also don't eat sugars/corn syrup/sugar substitutes if I can avoid it. Do these things, and you will have very few symptoms. Those will be mild.

Hi, hope this helps. Was in peri, came on really fast at 47 with severe cramping, prolonged periods, breast tenderness, mood swings, tired, weight gain...and so on. First I found this web site started by women doctors called Woman to Woman - I think you can just go to womentowomen.com. They offer very highh quality vitamins and suppliments that are quite helpful. I had been taking estrovan that helped but it was not keeping up with the progression of my syptoms. I now take a suppliment they offer called Herbal Equilibrium - lots of good stuff, take twice a day, all of my syptoms have gone away. If you have stopped having your period, it most likely will come back, thought its much milder than when I was in my 30's so I welcome it as it tells me that my hormones have normalized. Mood is great, sleeping well, etc and boy I notice if I skip it. I also take their daily vitamins and fish oil, very high quality stuff. worth every penny and the folks who run the place have outstanding customer service. I love them and don't know what I would have done with out them.

Hi, hope this helps. Was in peri, came on really fast at 47 with severe cramping, prolonged periods, breast tenderness, mood swings, tired, weight gain...and so on. First I found this web site started by women doctors called Woman to Woman - I think you can just go to womentowomen.com. They offer very highh quality vitamins and suppliments that are quite helpful. I had been taking estrovan that helped but it was not keeping up with the progression of my syptoms. I now take a suppliment they offer called Herbal Equilibrium - lots of good stuff, take twice a day, all of my syptoms have gone away. If you have stopped having your period, it most likely will come back, thought its much milder than when I was in my 30's so I welcome it as it tells me that my hormones have normalized. Mood is great, sleeping well, etc and boy I notice if I skip it. I also take their daily vitamins and fish oil, very high quality stuff. worth every penny and the folks who run the place have outstanding customer service. I love them and don't know what I would have done with out them.

Has anyone tried Femestra? I have read really good things about it.

Here are some alternatives and the research that supports their use. Cool site

Here is a link that might be useful: Vapinggoat.cokm

I am 51 years old and started my menopausal symptoms with anxiety and sleepiness nights. This would make me feel yucky during the day. Thank goodness, eight months later I am feeling normal again.

What did I do! Acupunture is fantastic. Also, regular massages. Go for long walks. Magnesium spray to help reduce muscle tenseness due to sleepness nights. Take plenty of soy products. Also, taking Amway Primrose Plus supplement which cured my anxiety and moodiness.

It's not the end of the world. Just tell yourself this menopause thing is not going to take over my life. There are many ways to get over it! Just be patient and persistent. It will go away!

Hi ladies, it does feel really good to know that I am not the only one that is going through this. I had 14 tests done by my Dr. 2 weeks ago, and the results show nothing is wrong with me, SO MENOPAUSE IT IS.....lol I wanted to tell those that have the foot pain(Plantar Fasciitis).....You do need to stretch it out. I stand up and bring my heals up, that helped a lot. Every morning before I got out of the bed I would stretch my feet. Push the toes forward and pull back as well. You can also stand and lean on something and lift up your heal, it will hurt, but this is what helped me....hope it works for you, no meds for this.

I work for a company that makes a natural herbal based menopause relief formula. It's got ashwagandha (sensoril), HMRlignan, vitamins, and minerals. I'm around a 30 year old male so I haven't tried it, but what I'm reading makes it seem pretty good because it's non-hormone based and ashwagandha seems like a pretty good adaptogen to use overall.

My personal feeling, again as a man, is that menopause should not be painful and difficult and my mother said that she didn't have a bad time other than night sweats but she doesn't really associate that with menopause. She was a very healthy eater though and always had a rich garden of greens she'd eat from and was active and not overweight.

As a nutritionist, I believe that most problems people are facing are from general lifestyle mis-steps such as not eating enough fruits and vegetables, not sleeping enough, not exercising enough, and being stressed. I would look at those areas before self-diagnosing myself as suffering from any malady because those are much more impactful than anything else.

I hope that helps,
David

Try eating foods that are rich in isoflavones and phytoestrongens, which include wild yams, soy products, cereals, flaxseed and a variety of nuts and legumes