Hi Sharr76
I didn't take that many alternatives - well mainly just Black Cohosh for a while, and also a diet high in phyto-oestrogens ie lots of seeds etc. I thought they worked at first but actually it was my own cycle coming and going as it does in peri-menopause and eventually the flushes and sweats remained whatever I tried so went onto HRT and have been on ever since ( almost 9 years now).
Rather than take loads of supplements, the best thing you can do is to make sure your diet is really good and varied with lots of fresh ingredients, fish, fruit and veg, nuts and pulses and few refined & processed foods, sugars and fat - reduce unnecessary carbs. Perhpas a few well chosen ones like cod liver oil, or iron tonic now and again or possibly Vit D in moderation ( or lots of oily fish). It's a good time to look at your lifestyle ie give up smoking, reduce alchohol, lose weight reduce stress, take more exercise - if necessary. There is a lot of info on NHS website and here:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/diet.phphttp://www.menopausematters.co.uk/weightgain.phpIf you go to your doctor asking for help - what you may be prescribed will likely depend on what your periods are doing and what you emphasise and how they view menopause. Have you started missing periods - or has your cycle lengthened or is variable and how old are you?
What your doc should not do if you go with menopausal symptoms such as you describe, (in addition to the "mad woman" ones!) is prescribe anti-depressants rather than HRT so I would be prepared for this and read up about the different types of HRT if you are thinking along the lines of taking something prescribed to help you. These are not supposed to be prescribed as first line of treatment for menopause and especially if you are under the natural average age of menopause when you need to maintain your oestrgoen levels.
Pleaae do ask about anything you are puzzled about
Hope this helps!
Hurdity x
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Topic: Alternatives - natural and help.... (Read 5610 times)