Hot flushes

[catpurple7]

Last year i started getting hot flushes, someone from work said to take evening primrose oil which i did and the hot flushes stopped, i carried on taking it but about 5 or 6 weeks ago the hot flushes started again and i wondered if anyone has any advice on anything else that can help? I use the capsules from boots 1000mg and take 1 a day.

[Jazzw]

If it’s the start of the menopause, then this is unfortunately how it goes. Lots of things (as in more “natural” remedies like red clover, black cohosh etc) seem to help but different things suit different women.

Would you consider HRT?

[catpurple7 in reply to Jazzw]

I've not really thought much about going on HRT, a friend who's on it said when you stop taking it then you get all the menopause symptoms again. i don't know if thats true 🤷 I would like to try a more natural approach 1st if i can 😊

[TiggerMe in reply to catpurple7]

The symptoms return if you stop HRT as your hormones drop which brings on all of the symptoms, the idea is you keep using HRT to maintain the levels which also protects your heart, brain, bones etc rather than having to live with the deficiencies and decline that comes with

[catpurple7 in reply to TiggerMe]

Interesting 🤔 maybe i should seriously look into it, i do remember someone on here saying to go for bioidentical hrt. might be stupid question but can you only get it through a gp?

[TiggerMe in reply to catpurple7]

I think bio identical is the unregulated stuff so probably able to buy it... I'd recommend the body identical which is regulated but GP's hand it out now and no charge 😅

[FallingInReverse in reply to TiggerMe]

Here in the US, my gynecologist said “bioidentical” is just marketing. That is means nothing.

Asked her three time over and she kept saying, it’s just marketing.

I have no idea but that’s what I was told.

[TiggerMe in reply to FallingInReverse]

Over here it covers the more botanical unlicensed ones

[TiggerMe in reply to catpurple7]

You can use a menopause clinic if you prefer and then they tell your GP what to prescribe and it rolls on from there

[catpurple7 in reply to TiggerMe]

i think i need to google 😂

[TiggerMe in reply to catpurple7]

balance-menopause.com/subje...

[catpurple7 in reply to TiggerMe]

Thank you 😁

[TiggerMe in reply to catpurple7]

I found the podcast discussions she does are rather good at getting your head around it all as there is only so far reading gets you when you're menopausal and brain foggy 😵 I've had a few lightbulb moments whilst wandering dogs across the fields listening to them

[Blissful in reply to catpurple7]

I used Wild Yam tincture (Dioscorea villosa). I also used Agnus Castus (Chasteberry) - they were both very helpful. I'd also tried a black cohosh product (Remifen I think) but it didn't suit me as far as I recall (it was last century :))

(I had read that sex steroid hormone metabolism begins with the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone and then to progesterone - I had also read that wild yam increased pregnenolone).

[catpurple7 in reply to Blissful]

I'll look into them, I've got black cohosh root and red clover and I was going to make them into tea but my taste buds aren't a fan 🤮

[posthinking01 in reply to Blissful]

Yes agree - cholesterol is used by the adrenal glands to produce the sex hormones needed by them. Yet the medical profession think it is a good idea to prescribe statins to reduce cholesterol.

[Blissful in reply to posthinking01]

The first "nutrient" for the whole "adrenal cascade" is LDL Cholesterol. The ratio of HDL to LDL is important but way more important is particle size.

As far as I am concerned the whole cholesterol/statin was a glaring SCAM from the outset (like so many other current scams) and possibly "got going" as a result of Codex Alimentarius (that included firstly demonising healthy natural practices and supplements, and then on to banning x.y.z.)

Stains interfere with the malevolate pathway...that pathway is intrinsic to our production of co enzyme Q10. My ancient Ma virtually lost the use of her arms when she was "ordered" to take statins - she hated them and at age 90 took things into her own hands and stopped them and her muscles recovered quite a lot. Unfortunately she was "outed" to her doctor by my sister and was pretty much forced to take them again. She didn't live in the UK and all health care etc. was (and is) a very lucrative business.

[posthinking01 in reply to Blissful]

Hi - there was a book in the late 90's - the Big Cholesterol Con which I read and realised what a pharma Con it all was - my Mother in Law also was put on statins and was a thyroid patient which I feel is relevant - I warned her not to take them but she said like that generation would - but he's a Dr dear and knows what he is doing - I couldn't convince her - well they ruined her muscles and she ended up in pain and bedridden as the muscle enzymes were destroyed - when will Endocrinologists share their information about hormones and the disease states of deficiency when in particular thyroid hormones start to fall - it is scandalous - I wonder if heart specialists are aware that heart failure is often the heart muscle getting weak due to lack of thyroid hormone - my Mother's heart which was enlarged went back to normal when she was finally diagnosed at 80 after suffering for years and years with breathlessness etc. - I know my renal specialist was amazed when I went on thyroid hormone how my kidney function improved as the blood supply to the kidneys increased with my metabolic rate increasing. It's common sense to me ! Rant over !

[posthinking01]

Apparently EPO will help with hot flushes but this may taper off - see below:-

Evening primrose oil has been found to be not very effective for alleviating hot flashes. However, some women have reported small benefit from evening primrose oil, but only in the severity of hot flashes and not their duration or quantity. In contrast, another clinical trial found that evening primrose oil can help relieve hot flashes in menopausal women, including their severity, frequency, and duration. A small study published in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics in 2013 also found an improvement in the severity of hot flashes, but not hot flash frequency or duration. Evening primrose oil is a source of phytoestrogens, or compounds that mimic the effects of estrogen in the body, and may be helpful for reducing menopause symptoms related to low estrogen.

On refreshing my knowledge of EPO - as I said something I took or tried over 50 years ago - apparently it raises oestrogen levels and helps with the conversion of thyroid hormone T4 to T3 - no wonder it helped me so much - I had cyclical breast pain which looking back was a low thyroid issues on its way.

I wonder if it might help just taking the tablets perhaps not every day - it might be that your body is reaching a tolerance level - perhaps taking your tablet every other day might help. There is no problem taking EPO with thyroid hormone - no side effects due to that combination. Hope this helps !

[catpurple7 in reply to posthinking01]

Thanks that's really helpful, I'll try every other day and see what happens 😊

[Ellie-Louise]

I wanted to go the natural way, in the health food shop I was told to try Sage. I bought some and it helped so much to calm things down. Research it, it’s is recommended.

[catpurple7 in reply to Ellie-Louise]

Thanks I'll look I to it 😊

[catpurple7 in reply to Ellie-Louise]

How did you take the sage?

[Ellie-Louise in reply to catpurple7]

Too long ago to remember properly, but I think it was capsules or similar.

[posthinking01]

Hi I wrote a lengthy reply this morning on my phone and it isn't showing so will try again - forgive me if it suddenly appears and there ends up being two. It was just a historical bit of information - back in the 1970's Primrose Oil was prescribed by GP's for PMS or breast pain - it made me itch unfortunately and also made my breasts swell - on talking with the chemist he said I probably had a problem with flowers ie. pollen - and he asked me if I could eat honey - I said I used to but couldn't any longer because same again made my skin itch. He recommended Blackcurrant Seed oil capsules instead of the EPO and it was amazing - the breast pain was - in my opinion - the beginning of the low thyroid problem I had coming i.e. cyclical breast pain - which all went away and the numerous cysts in the breasts when I went on HRT then thyroid hormone - it's amazing to think that the NHS prescribed an alternative medicine in those days - but they did !!!