Alternatives to HRT
 Many women are interested in alternatives to HRT because of concerns about the side-effects and longer-term effects of HRT. Complementary therapies, along with dietary changes, can help with menopausal symptoms. It is important to tell your doctor if you are using any complementary therapies and to tell your therapist about any prescription drug use.
The women’s clinic at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital reports that 70% of patients feel a definite improvement in menopausal symptoms whilst using homeopathic remedies, about 25% get some benefit and 5% notice no change in their symptoms.
Breast Cancer
Homeopathic remedies are widely available now from health-food stores and chemists but there are about 100 remedies which are used to treat menopausal symptoms so it is best to consult a qualified homeopath to find the best individual choice. |
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Some women find that herbal remedies are helpful. Again it is best to seek the advice of a qualified medical herbalist. Herbs need to be taken for at least three months to see if they help.
Nutritional approaches to relieving menopausal symptoms include oestrogen-like substances in plants known as phyto-oestrogens. Soya foods, linseed, alfalfa and mung beans all contain phyto-oestrogens. There are studies which show a reduction in hot flushes in women whose diets are high in phyto-oestrogens.
Some people advocate the use of natural progesterone cream for the relief of menopausal symptoms. There are few proper studies of natural progesterone cream — in fact it is not a natural product — but some women find it helpful. Proponents of the cream believe that menopausal symptoms are due not to oestrogen deficiency but to an imbalance between oestrogen and progesterone. The theory known as 'oestrogen dominance' is that too much oestrogen is produced: women aged over 35 may not ovulate every month and because progesterone is not produced in non-ovulatory cycles there is relatively more oestrogen in the body; similarly, after the menopause virtually no progesterone is produced but the body still produces some oestrogen. However there are some concerns about the cream, one of which is that it could increase the risks of breast cancer. For more details about the cream see details of the Natural Progesterone Information Service in the Resources section.
Is HRT right for me?
Some questions to ask:
- How troublesome are my menopausal symptoms?
- Can I make dietary or life-style changes that will help reduce the effects of the menopause?
- Should I be getting more support from my family to help me through the menopause?
- Are any of the cautions about the use of HRT mentioned in this booklet particularly relevant to me?
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