HRT vs Herbal Remedies
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123dola
Posts: 6 Member
Hi, I'm thinking about starting HRT to help me with some of my menopause issues. Expecially weight loss and libido. I've been using herbal remedies for about a year and have had good results with my hot flashes and mood swings but have not had success with weight management or libido. I've struggled with my weight all my life but since pre-menopause the battle is much harder. I'm currently taking estroven, htp 5, and st johns. I'm concerned about the HRT cancer and heart risks. Anyone else find they needed hrt to win the weight battle? Are there other herbs I could try? I tried green coffee bean and garcinia cambogia but did not see results so quit these.
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I just started HRT about a week ago. I feel a lot better, but it has stalled my weight loss. I keep fluctuating over the same pound or so. I suspect that this is pretty normal as it is similar to what has happened the week before my period. I think over the next couple of weeks I will return to my normal loss average, but simply carry that pound as hormonal water weight. We will see what happens, but in any case I am far more active now that I feel better, so weight loss or not, I expect my health to improve. I use an estradiol patch and take synthetic progesterone, because that is what my insurance will cover. So far the worst of it has been that the stupid patch keeps catching on my clothes and tearing off.
Supplements that seem to help have been vitamin D, lysine, and magnesium. I also drink dandelion tea daily, which can help with water retention.0 -
123dola,
I began menopause symptoms about three years ago with hot flashes both during the day and at night. Horrible feeling like I needed to shower all the time. Did some research on herbal alternatives and tried a few like black cohosh, selenium, etc. Black cohosh didn't seem to help so I quit that and tried selenium and noticed some relief rather quickly. I also have uterine fibroids which have made my erratic periods awful when they do decide to just happen whenever (miss the old days of every 28 days like clockwork). I kept researching and read about dong quai which is used in Chinese cultures and decided to try that in conjunction with the selenium. I think I got lucky and found a combination that works for me. No more hot flashes and the occasional discomfort from the fibroids has decreased also.
Bottom line - I recommend you research your options and try a few to see if any, like dong quai, could provide some relief. I also added regular exercise which is where I try and sweat on purpose!
Good Luck with your search! You'll find what works for you.0 -
I have dense breasts so my doctor doesn't want to put me on any HRT for my hot flashes, sweats, etc so in November she put me on Brisdelle. Every once in a while I will get the 'feeling' but for the most part they are gone as are the night sweats. Now if I could just lose this weight I'd be ok. I'm exercising like a nut but so far the same 2-3 pounds come/go....so annoying.0
