Looking for an alternative solution to menopausal hot flushes, can you help?

I don’t think there is a real alternative to estrogen. If they are mild you may find something. But if they are so severe they cause you to pass out you are going to need HRT.

Oil of Olay regenerist micro sculpting cream. If you put it on your face and hands,arms, where ever you like they will diminish or in my case, go away. There are ‘propadols’ (sp) in it which have a small effect similar to hormones. When I ran out, back came the flushes and night sweats- miserable- so I make sure to slather it on and I do notice reduced wrinkles. or that could be fat

I’ve heard that soy and black cohosh help but I just sweated them out,

Soy and black cohosh are phyto-estrogens, which means that they have some effects in the body that are similar to estrogen. They actually bind to SERM receptors rather than estrogen receptors so seem pretty low risk. You have to take a LOT of soy for it to make much difference, but cohosh has been shown in some research studies to be helpful for some women.

Try reading up on John R. Lee. He was a family medical doctor who LOVED to do research, and discovered a number of fascinating things about women and hormones in the process. He started the whole idea about natural Hormone Replacement Therapy (natural progesterone cream), as opposed to prescription HRT. There is a dramatic difference, both in side effects and in results between the two. Here’s the official website. http://www.johnleemd.net/

There are a number of doctors around who are skilled in this. I am going to a gynecologist who knew him and took up his baton after he died. PM me and I’ll be happy to give you details or tell you how to find someone who can help you.

Edit: sweated the hot flashes out, never tried the supplements.

Foods made from Soy contain phyto (or plant) estrogens that supplement your declining estrogen levels.

Black Cohosh helps to reduce other symptoms of menopause.

Of course, I have no first hand experience but I have heard enough first hand reports and read enough literature to be confident of my explanations.

There is some clinical research to support benefit from an OTC progesterone cream for hot flashes. A couple of studies have also shown good results for flaxseed, 40 grams (!) a day.

I should add that I’m an OB/GYN nurse practitioner, former midwife.

50 mg. of pregnenalone (a naturally occurring hormone precursor found in the body) once a day (morning) will relieve your hot flashes.

Note: it takes a while for it to get into your body, say 30 days.

I just googled pregnenolone @marinelife. It’s a steroid. I would be scared to take it. Also one of the side effects is hair loss- ouch.

@marinelife I happen to be at work and looked up pregnenolone in a program called the Natural Medicines Database my workplace subscribes to it since I’m not familiar with it. It’s synthesized in the body from cholesterol and is the precursor for all the steroid hormones, including progesterone, aldosterone, cortisol, DHEA, testosterone, and estrogens. It looks like it hasn’t been studied since the 1940s when the first synthetic hormones became available. There’s a theoretical possibility for it to interact with DHEA if a person is taking it or increase levels of testosterone or progesterone as well as estrogen.

“The booklet contains a compilation of exciting research on this little-know hormone precursor, pregnenolone. Here are some of the highlights:

Pregnenolone is made from cholesterol in the body. In turn, it can be synthesized into a number of hormones – estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, aldosterone, cortisol, etc. It is, in fact, the master hormone from which all the steroid hormones are derived.

But why have most people not heard about pregnenolone and its amazing benefits? One reason has to do with drug companies and profits. Pregnenolone research in the early 1940s was very promising and showed that pregnenolone is effective in relieving arthritis pain, reducing PMS and menopausal symptoms, fighting stress and fatigue, improving memory, and lifting mood. ” Source

@marinelife I’m very interested in the sources you mentioned, wiki only said steroid. If it can help me with my arthritis I would be happy to take it. I’m certainly going to do some reading.

Interesting, @marinelife. I’m wondering how the body decides what steroid hormone to convert it into. What if it isn’t the one you are trying to treat?

Many thanks for all your suggestions, keep them coming, and thank you to those who have included website links, I will certainly be investigating further :)

I am not menopausal, but I have experienced a great deal of complex hormone metabolism problems that are just recently getting under control. Reading and acting on the recommendations in “The Mood Cure” by Julia Ross was a critical, breakthrough moment for me after lots of recommendations and prescriptions by my Western medicine doctors weren’t working. For the long-term, I’ve needed ongoing consults with a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor and a nutritionist. Some people might have equal success with an endocrinologist and a nutritionist, if they prefer to work entirely within the Western system of medicine.

Julia Ross operates a clinic here in California, and her book synthesizes the results of a lot of her work with addicts, depressed/manic people, people with chronic fatigue, people with metabolic/digestive problems and, interestingly enough, menopausal women. It’s a very worthwhile read for anyone with hormone imbalances or hormone metabolism problems:

http://www.moodcure.com/

I’ve heard that chinese medicine is good at a lot of things, but hormone issues are not one of them.

I am 18 mos. post menopausal and have tried everything it seems with no recognizable changes for the hot flashes. They come and go, mostly night sweats. Other wise I feel great and have no plans of taking HRT.

I just returned from Taiwan last week and my friend came down with a urinary tract infection while we were in Taipei city.

Went to a corner herbalist and they gave her some sort of juice to drink, she was completely well within two days, felt much improved within the first day!

Getting even older.

@janbb Probably the only thing that works!!

http://www.johnleemd.com/store/main_drlee.html This guy was, until his death, THE authority on hormone replacement therapy, and how progesterone is better because it’s bio-identical. His books are delightful to read, and make a difficult subject easy to understand.

I have to take progesterone, and one interesting thing I have noticed is that many medical doctors will routinely tell you that prescription progesterone (that must be swallowed) is bio-identical. It’s not, because real progesterone can only be absorbed through the skin or mucous membranes. It CANNOT be absorbed through the digestive tract. Also, every prescription HRT can have negative side effects.

Try acquiring the ebook entitled ”Surviving Menopause The Natural Way”. Hot flashes are symptoms of menopausal period and you might notice that even you are gaining weight. You can read the book and it is going to be very useful as it was to me. :) I hope this will help you. In addition to that, it is also recommended to take herbal products too. Have a great day!