Amberen?

[HermioneHatesHoovering]

I've been taking Amberen for almost two months. They stopped my hot flushes overnight and I have not had any since. BUT today, I have got a period (last one was Nov 2011). It's not heavy so far.

I'm guessing that as Amberen is supposed to restore hormone levels to a pre-menopausal state that this is to be expected but I can't really find any reference to periods returning in the googling that I have done.

Anyone have any thoughts/experience with this?

Thanks

[chocoluvva]

Two months isn't all that long. You will still be adjusting.

[HermioneHatesHoovering]

Bumping for any other views?

[Missbopeep]

I am going to say things that you might not like- warning :)

I am not a great fan of expensive products that are advertised as wonder treatments!

No product IMO not even traditional HRT will stop symptoms over night. In the peri phase your hormones are all over the shop- you can have flushes etc that come and go overnight for months. Some women don't even have any. What is more likely is that you are not yet post meno, you still have some estrogen ( as shown by your period) and it's nothing to do with Amberen.

I've had a look at the Amberen website and it raises lots of questions. If a product could reverse ageing without use of hormones then surely it would be available on the NHS or at least from menopause specialists?

They use a lot of scientific terms which TBH are meaningless to anyone without a degree in chemistry or biochemistry. BUT it's a very clever and cynical marketing ploy because it implies the products work.

They say they have done double blind trials but they don't publish any results such as whether the researchers are independent, or how many women were in the trials- this is crucial to all research as small numbers of subjects ( fewer than thousands) are meaningless.

The other point is that if Amberen was able to turn back the clock and put your hormones back to where they were, it would be a potentially dangerous supplement, with side effects potentially the same as HRT can be for some women.

The other point is that if you are over 50 now ( are you?) and have had a period after a 14 month gap, you ought to see your GP as this is classed as post menopausal bleeding and should be investigated. The usual advice is any bleeding 12 months after a 'final' period needs investigating.

Sorry if this sounds a bit negative- but best talk to your dr.

[chocoluvva]

Oh my goodness yes definitely go to see your GP as Missbopeep says. I feel completely negligent - I assumed that amberen was HRT and misread 2011 as 2012.

[Missbopeep]

Hermione You might find this useful to read.

supplement-geek.com/amberen-menopause-review/

I did a dig around for the research papers and I found an abstract of one- a summary. It said that a small group of women had taken the supplement for around 3 weeks and they had reported "subjective" improvement- this means it was not measured scientifically, but was women reporting how they felt- so the placebo effect could be very powerful.

It also mentioned they had more calcium in their bones- which is not surprising as one of the main ingredients is calcium! This is not the same as proving the women had better bone density though because bone turnover is very slow and is measured by a DEXA scan only every 2-3 years.

[sarahfulltimemum]

Hermoine, I registered on here just to reply to this as I have been looking for the same answer!! I have been taking Amberen for about 3 weeks. My periods came back as well and I am completely stumped. My last period before this was just under a year ago. Have no idea whether this is meant to happen or not. The Amberen staff were less than helpful in this regard when I called them up, they basically said if this is your only side effect then keep going(!?) No idea what to do but have booked an appointment with my GP next week. For the time being will keep up the Amberen and go buy some tampons again! The only website where I could really find any reference to this (all the rest are complete spam..!!) was at www.menopausereviews.org/reviews/amberen/ and there were a few women over there who had their periods come back. That said it certainly does worry me and I hope my doctor has some answers! Please let me know what your doctor says, I'm completely lost for words!
Hoping for the best for you and all other women going through this hell
Sarah xx

[HermioneHatesHoovering]

Hi Missbopeep, thanks for the info, are you a medical professional?

Hi sarahfulltimemum, let us know what your Dr says please.

I've decided to take the 3rd months' worth. I will see what happens from there on.

[molllyrouse]

I started it 4 months ago, age 39, still regular periods, but with serious perimenopause symptoms that were helped if I lathered on the progesterone cream until they just got to be too severe.

I was amazed that within 4 days of Amberen I snapped back to what has been a steady approx 28 day cycle since. Being on the one-month free trial I got nervous and sent the last 2 months back in time for my refund, but I realized that it had made such a difference that I didn't want to go without. So I ordered a 3-month supply.

I tried it after reading hundreds of positive reviews on I think on this site
www.consumerhealthdigest.com/amberen.htm