Medical Questions » Menopause Questions » Question No. 1480
| Question: | I' ve stopped HRT because of the risks, but the hot flushes are back. What can I do? |
| Answer: | Hot flushes happen when the ovaries stop producing enough oestrogen. The pituitary gland in the brain then overproduces certain hormones in an attempt to kick start the ovaries into action. It is this overproduction of pituitary hormones that triggers hot flushes. If you take oestrogen they tend to stop, but oestrogen HRT does have problems - not least of which is the increased risk of breast cancer. Recent research has shown that the hormone progesterone works just as well, if not better, at stopping hot flushes. The good news is that progesterone reverses breast cancer risk, and is therefore better than oestrogen HRT. However, do not confuse ' natural' progesterone, which comes as transdermal cream that' s absorbed through the skin, with synthetic progestins used in HRT preparations. The latter are not the same thing at all and do have associated problems. A recent US study showed that menopausal symptoms in 83 per cent of women using natural progesterone cream were significantly better or disappeared. Natural progesterone is available on prescription from your doctor.
Vitamin E supplements (400mg/600iu) and the herb agnus castus are helpful, but isoflavones, plant oestrogens found in soya, red clover and chickpeas, have a more powerful effect. Supplementing isoflavones from red clover or from soya has been shown to reduce hot flushes quite significantly. The herb St John' s wort, widely used as an anti-depressant, can also relieve menopausal symptoms such as headaches, palpitations and decreased libido. So a combination of these substances could be a highly effective alternative to HRT. |
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