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Author Topic: Black Cohosh  (Read 7392 times)

MabelBabel

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Black Cohosh
« on: November 08, 2016, 06:18:00 PM »

Hello Ladies,

Have any of you used Black Cohosh to help with night sweats and hot flushes etc? Did it work for you or not?

Many thanks,

Mabel
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CLKD

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Re: Black Cohosh
« Reply #1 on: November 08, 2016, 07:15:42 PM »

It is not advised for long-term use - if you put it into the 'search' button you will find previous threads
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Hurdity

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Re: Black Cohosh
« Reply #2 on: November 08, 2016, 08:43:41 PM »

You can also read the official page about alternatives to HRT on this website here, including Black Cohosh:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/otherpreps.php

I used it for a while when I was peri-menopausal. At the time I thought it worked a bit but what was really happening is my own hormone levels were waxing and waning, as did my flushes accordingly - nothing to do with the Black Cohosh, and as I got further towards menopause and my own oestrogen levels dropped - of course they stopped "working". I had a half-empty jar of the capsules on the shelf for several years after that.... I then started HRT which did the job perfectly and still does.

If HRT is not medically possible, personally I would go for a prescribable alternative to HRT such as an SSRI, make sure my diet and lifestyle were as good as they could be, and perhaps also enrich my diet with phyto-oestrogens in case there is a small benefit. If I reached menopause aged under 50 - I would make sure my bone health was also regularly monitored too.

There is also a fact-sheet on a herbal and other alternatives here - from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists:
https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/patients/patient-information-leaflets/gynaecology/pi-alternatives-to-hormone-replacement-therapy-for-symptoms-of-the-menopause.pdf

The scientific ins and outs of them all is discussed in more detail here:
https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/scientific-impact-papers/sip_6.pdf

Hope this helps :)

Hurdity x
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Cookie17

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Re: Black Cohosh
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2017, 07:19:26 PM »

Hi there! Am new to this forum. Wondering if anyone tried "Red Ginseng" and if it helped at all? Was reading about it, but it also gave some "side effects".

A little recommendations from myself: get yourself a (tiny) spray bottle (one that will fit in your purse), fill it up with
tap water and add some peppermint essential oil drops. When I get a hot flash I just spray on my chest and my back neck. Hot flash will go fast away. Also I tried the "Clary Calm" from DoTerra. Great success, but for whatever reason the hot flashes are back now. Can't sleep very good. Wake up at least three times during the night and throw my blankets just to grap them back in five minutes again. lol
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CLKD

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Re: Black Cohosh
« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2017, 07:22:36 PM »

 :welcomemm:  as the hormones over-take the alternatives less benefit may be felt?
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Dana

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Re: Black Cohosh
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2017, 09:56:30 PM »

I think what everyone needs to keep in mind is that if all these alternative remedies were so good they wouldn't be considered "alternative". They would be considered "medications".
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matildamouse

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Re: Black Cohosh
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2017, 02:37:54 AM »

I also thought it worked initially for the flushes but in the end I actually felt worse and the flushes just increased. I also tried sage, red clover and some stuff from the naturopath. All a waste of money. The only meds for me was HRT from my Dr which stopped the flushes.
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breeze

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Re: Black Cohosh
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2017, 08:14:59 AM »

I used it off and on during peri.  I certainly felt it helped but it should not be used continuously.

Worth a try.
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CLKD

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Re: Black Cohosh
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2017, 07:11:51 PM »

If they were peer reviewed with double blind tests then many of these 'alternatives' would be on the NHS.  However, as I said, if hormones take over then a lady may lose any feeling of benefit.
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breeze

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Re: Black Cohosh
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2017, 08:14:17 PM »

The trouble is they won't get proper peer reviews because the 'big pharma' can't make any money from them.

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Dana

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Re: Black Cohosh
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2017, 09:26:37 PM »

The alternative industry is a multi-billion dollar business. Why aren't they doing large scale testing and then putting them up for peer review? It's also a myth that pharma companies can't make money out of them. That's the kind of argument that the compounded hormone industry uses to con people into believing that the only way to get "bioidentical" HRT is to buy their expensive and unregulated products, yet we all know we can very easily get estradiol and progesterone on a regular GP prescription.

Pharma companies are already making money out of alternative remedies anyway because most of them are manufactured in labs owned by the pharma companies. There is really nothing "natural" with alternative remedies because they all have additives, and most of those additives are unknown because no one has to tell you what the additives are.

There is talk about a crack down happening in Australia at the moment with these alternative remedies. It's early days and it still has a way to go, but it's about bloody time. There's too much crap out there at exorbitant prices which just basically ends up giving you very expensive wee.
« Last Edit: February 17, 2017, 03:45:01 AM by Dana »
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CLKD

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Re: Black Cohosh
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2017, 10:21:19 PM »

 :thankyou:  Dana
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Cookie17

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Re: Black Cohosh
« Reply #12 on: February 26, 2017, 12:54:12 PM »

I think what everyone needs to keep in mind is that if all these alternative remedies were so good they wouldn't be considered "alternative". They would be considered "medications".

Actually the medicine we have now-a-days is the alternative medicine. The "real" medicine was all the centuries before and got lost to use.  Following ..... 8) ???
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CLKD

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Re: Black Cohosh
« Reply #13 on: February 26, 2017, 02:55:32 PM »

What we take now has been tested and approved.  I remember Mum taking me to a 'witch' in our village when I fell badly, the woman was probably a herbalist - she lived in a bungalow surrounded by shrubs and tall trees  :o.  I remember creeping by the gate 'in case'. 

"Isis, Istate, Diana ........ "
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Dana

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Re: Black Cohosh
« Reply #14 on: February 26, 2017, 08:56:09 PM »

I think what everyone needs to keep in mind is that if all these alternative remedies were so good they wouldn't be considered "alternative". They would be considered "medications".

Actually the medicine we have now-a-days is the alternative medicine. The "real" medicine was all the centuries before and got lost to use.  Following ..... 8) ???

And a lot of that "real" medicine was pretty barbaric and killed people.
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