Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Personal Experiences => Topic started by: karenja on February 12, 2015, 07:23:29 PM
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Hi anybody know anything about this, Ive been to the health shop today and they recommended for night sweats and balance etcx
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I seem to remember taking it when I was struggling to conceive.
Can't remember much about it, but funnily enough, I saw an advert for it from Healthspan today - for night sweats and depression/anxiety in menopause.
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It's an adaptogen which means it isn't a herb that mimics estrogen, it balances whatever is out of sync. It can raise progesterone if this is out of balance which is common in premenopause when estrogen becomes dominant and swings about, while progesterone slowly drops out of the picture :)
This is from Dr Marilyn Glenville website who is a nutritionalist in the UK.
Agnus Castus (Vitex agnus castus)
This herb is classed as an adaptogen as it has a balancing effect on your hormones. It works on the pituitary gland which is the gland that sends the message down to the ovary to release hormones. Agnus castus can help increase certain hormones if they are too low and decrease them if too high. This is particularly helpful in the perimenopause years because your hormones can be fluctuating widely and this herb helps to create a kind of stability. It is also the best herb to take if you are getting mood swings, anxiety and tension.
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Thanks ladies I'm seriously considering hrt yet again as it's brilliant for helping night sweats at least / in a dilemma really x
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Hi karenja
I couldn't find much scientific info on this but I did find a recent review of clinical trials which says there is some limited evidence for the benefits of its use in treating pre-menstrual syndrome, pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder ( ??? ) and another condition to do with lactation. There is no mention of menopause and therefore I don't think there are any randomised, controlled trials, so on this basis I wouldn't take it - especialy if there is no medical reason not to try HRT. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed'term=23136064
If you were going to take anything alternative I would go for Red Clover/Promensil - a phyto-oestrogen which does have more evidence in its favour, although any effect will be weak.
Hurdity x
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There has been double blind controlled trial on Agnus Castus
http://therapy.epnet.com/nat/GetContent.asp'siteid=EBSCO&chunkiid=21649
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12809367
Particularly in Germany http://www.stevenfoster.com/education/monograph/vitex.html
It was one of the herbs we studied when I took a Herbal Course and learned an awful lot about the herb and its properties.
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The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has a list of products containing herbal ingredients that they have registered - Agnus Castus is on there. Search for "Herbal medicines granted a traditional herbal registration" for a full list if anyone wants to feel assured :)
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Another book that has been my herbal bible for years is
The Green Pharmacy: The Ultimate Compendium of Natural Remedies from the World's Foremost Authority on Healing Herbs by James A Duke Ph.D
and you can get a used copy on amazon for 1p, if you are interested in this sort of thing.
Can't tell you how much I have delved into this one, its one I won't part with it even when I have my book purges.
Description
" New discoveries in Herbal Remedies for Common Diseases and Conditions"
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The German attitude to herbal remedies is so different to here. As I know having lived there for 2 years it is usual for German GPs to prescribe a herbal remedy alongside a conventional one, or sometimes by itself. In fact all German doctors have to complete a course and exam on herbal remedies before they can qualify.
Don't forget many herbal meds have been used for thousands of years, not just a few like many modern drugs.
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Rosebud57 - I would love it if my doctor did both. Right now I am attempting to integrate my treatment/health plan myself and it's quite a task and also quite expensive.
My sister lives in Australia and they approach healthcare in a similar way, they have a lot of Drs known as functional medicine Dr's, they combine lots of approaches and all under one roof and as part of their national healthcare system. My sister is frustrated and upset for me right now, with the time and energy it's taking to get together a way forward - she is happy she emigrated. ha. I told her I would get there in the end.