Night sweats - herbs as well as hrt?

[WashableVelvet]

Hi there, would love any personal experiences (or advice).

41, in premature menopause for last couple of years. 4 pumps oestrogel each morning, life changing. But I still get drenching night sweats maybe every other night - I think it wears off too quickly! I’ve started magnesium which helps a bit with getting back to sleep afterwards but doesn’t help the sweats. Any experiences of taking supplements as well as hrt to deal with night sweats /hot flashes? Any recommendations for what’s worked for you?

(To answer the obvious question: If I switch to two pumps in the morning and save two for night time the nights are better but the days are much worse on all symptoms. Consultant reluctant for me to take more than 4 pumps as it gives me high-end-of-normal serum levels in the morning so he would prefer me to spread the pumps out to address the night sweats. He’s happy for me to stay like this however given it gives me better overall sumptom relief, just doesn’t want to increase dose. Also I have some progesterone intolerance so wouldn’t want to up that to balance more E. Hence me asking about herbs and supplements that might help!)

Try red clover capsules. Several friends swore by them. The capsules are supposed to be a higher concentration than the tablets and have less/zero binding agents.

I had horrible night sweats someone suggested I take sage I started taking them a couple months ago now and I haven’t had one for about 6 weeks. I’m surprised at the difference it made!

I have found menopace tablets helpful with night sweats. If I forget to take a tablet, they do seem worse. You have my sympathy because I have found night sweats to be one of the worst menopause side effects so far.

Cutting out alcohol, and or caffeine, can help a lot with night sweats.

Sage.

Exercise

Can you find time in your day for a run or a brisk walk for 45mins or more?

Cutting out refined carbs, sugar, eating more pulses (they are weak phytoestrogens) or soya yoghurt, loads of fruit and veg every day.

Be careful with herbs as even herbs aren't always 'safe' - some like black cohosh can cause liver issues if used long term.

Sage is safe but it's not proven scientifically to work and the same for red clover. A lot of the effects are placebo, but worth a shot if you're desperate.

I’ll take a good placebo effect tbh if it stops me waking up soaking wet 😂
Already get good exercise, good diet, plenty of pulses and veg, no booze etc. Don’t exercise every day but get enough across the week.
I’ll try the sage/clover/menopace, thanks.

Why nit switch to patches? Less spike, gradual hormones you may find they suit you better given your symptoms are spiking.

Tried them @fluffbreeder but didn’t absorb, kept falling off or slithering round on the skin no matter how many tips and tricks I tried.

Has anyone suggested an estrogen implant?

FWIW I've been advised many times by my consultant that blood tests for estrogen are unreliable when on HRT. They are a hormone and fertility specialist. (This unreliability of tests confirmed by other medical research I've read online.)

Maybe you could consider getting a 2nd opinion?

There is wide variety of opinion/how to treat between drs.

I've found that black cohosh tablets have helped a lot. I saw them in Tesco, went home and did a bit of research and ended up buying some from Nutrition Geeks (much cheaper than Tesco)

Be careful. The quality varies and long term it can cause liver disease. Perhaps rarely, but just be aware.

If you want to check this out there are research papers and medical guidance online about using it.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5df7610ce5274a08f78bca34/Black_cohosh_and_liver_injury.pdf