Night sweats help please. Black cohosh or HRT?

[mrsjackrussell]

I think I'm definitely going through the menopause now. I'm 50.
For the last 3 years iv had irregular periods and night sweats so I then take black cohosh and it all goes back to normal then I stop taking it and within a few months it all starts up again. Apart from 4 months last year when I wasn't taking it and I had non stop bleeding for 4 months. Had a scan all OK. I don't know whether the cohosh actually worked or if it was just coincidence.
Forward to now and no period since October.
I'm having night sweats and it's affecting my sleep badly and in turn my life.
I'm disabled too and get horrendous cramps and what with my husband snoring.
I'm thinking about taking the black cohosh again but I'm worried about the side effects re. Liver damage. Iv been put off HRT by others saying its not good to mess with your body which I agree with to some extent. Also with the HRT would I then have to stop it again in the future or is it for life?
Would all of the menopausal symptoms come back?
Coul d I have some advice please from you lovely people

It might help you to read as much as you can about HRT- the website of Dr Louise Newson is a good place to start.

I have left a link to the TV programme / Youtube a few threads down and think this will answer all your questions.

HRT is not 'messing with your body'- it's putting back a natural substance just as if you needed insulin or thyroxin if you were short of them.

It makes me wonder if people who think that about HRT take paracetamol (8 at once will kill you) or even antibiotics.

You can take HRT for as long as you want- there are no limits. You might get symptoms back- some women have them till they are 80, some just for a few years.

The medical advice is that using HRT up to age 60 at least has more benefits than risks.
Long term use of black cohosh has been liked to liver disease.

Hi and thanks for your reply.
I will need to research it.
I can't carry on like this.

Hi Sweetie. Me too just turned 50 and 20 plus hot flushes day and night. I was thinking of Black Cohosh but scared of it. Went to (uncaring) female GP and she just plugged HRT but I didn't want that. I did some research and came up with Soy. Instead of trying a supplement I went onto Soya Milk. A month later I have almost no hot flushes. I wanted to try something natural and it has worked for me. X

I was lucky. My gp immediately recommended hrt. I had limped on with herbal supplements for a year. I take a very low dose of big standard nhs hrt.

I can say without exaggeration that it has changed my life.

*bog standard

If your gp recommended hrt she's the very opposite of uncaring.

There’s some recent research showing that CBT can ease/eradicate menopause symptoms.

Gotta be worth a try?

She never gave me any alternatives to HRT and most of the ones I discussed with her she had never even heard of. Also she did not tell me about the contraindications. She just folded her arms and smiled at me to leave. To me = uncaring GP.

Sage tablets might help?

She's not a herbalist, presumably. She's not licenced to prescribe black cohosh etc

Black Cohosh is not prescribed. It's herbal and available off the shelf. But that's not helping mrsjackrussell x

There are plenty of herbal supplemts available, it's trial and error really

@Fazackerley

I'm confused :)
You said your GP suggested HRT and it's been good for you, then in your next post you say it the poster's Gp suggested HRT she'd 'not caring'. They are contradictory!

For the record, the RCOG produced a leaflet which showed all the results of herbs and supplements, based on the trials they had studied.

You might find this info online.

But in case you can't, (and there is masses online if you search- NOT adverts or sites by journos, but real evidence in medical papers) there is nothing that works as well as HRT.

The stuff that appears to work is often a) placebo effect or b) symptoms disappear or reduce anyway.

That's why it's important to read the results of research.

JinglingHellsBells

I said her gp offering her hrt was the opposite of uncaring

ie caring!

@NeffiNoodles Soy may work but again the research doesn't back it up.

The effective- if any- part of soy is phytoestrogens. Ironically this is the same as you'd be using with standard HRT! It's estrogen derived from plants.

A month is not long enough to say soy works. I have 20 flushes a day then months when they went away simply because my own estrogen levels were climbing again during that time and I had periods. Then when my periods stopped for good, the flushes came back.

Yup i get the odd tiny breakthrough flush occasionally which I expect is natural fluctuations. I could probably up my dose as I am on the lowest form of hrt, but I feel really good on it generally so don't want to change.

Sorry Faz- snr moment!

I am not advocating Soya Milk, just saying it's a simple thing to try it and it has certainly helped me after a month. Every body's body is different - from the time and way we go through our menopause and to what helps or hinders us. None of us goes through it identically which is a shame because then there would be simple answers x

GP suggested black cohosh to me, with the rider that there is only anecdotal evidence supporting it.

I also take Agnus Castus, which I think has helped.

I don't want HRT as I don't want periods back.

Picklemepopcorn,
The only thing I suggest is what works for you X And some fellow girlie support if required x

Hi JinglingHellsBells,
Just wondering, are you a Doctor? Medically trained?
Thanks x

Just realized I am thick and don't understand why I am taking Soy ....... 🤔 🤯

I got so fed up of the night sweats and hot flushes that I started HRT - low dose patches. I've had no problems on them and feel a whole lot better. I use the ones that don't give you periods.

GP suggested them for a couple of years and I'm sure once I stop then some symptoms will return but I will be looking to keep on them for a bit longer. GP also suggested tailing them off slowly as that might help.

I don't see the point of taking soy when it's basically an inferior version of hrt!

I had this problem - two years with little sleep because of the night sweats and I had no flushes during the day. I tried various supplements but ultimately went for HRT. Changed my life and I'm staying on it till I die. I've been on it since May last year and it has been a bit trial and error to get the dose right but we're slowly getting there I think. All the latest research suggests that HRT is safe and that the benefits, especially when it is started as soon as possible, are measurable.

For transparency, I'm a normal person, not a BigPharma sock puppet (lots of those on the meno board). I know what has worked for me and suggest others try it - you can always stop if it doesn't suit you, but you do need to give it a good go over a 12 month period.