MANAGING THE MENOPAUSE WITHOUT HRT: HOT FLUSHES
Few treatments are as effective as oestrogen, but if oestrogen is not for you, then what else can you do? Firstly, try not to let your doctor prescribe tranquillisers, sedatives or anti-depressants; they don’t relieve die hot flushes and night sweats, and they may make you feel much worse.
Controlling or preventing hot flushes is not easy, but some things make them worse, so:
• try to cut down on smoking, coffee and alcohol
• avoid hot spicy foods
• try to avoid stress
• ask your doctor if any tablets you are taking could be making the flushes worse
• wear cool, loose clothing made of natural fibres, especially in hot weather
• have a tepid shower whenever possible
• if you decide to stop HRT, do it as slowly as possible, and not during hot weather or times of stress
‘I stopped taking HRT to see if my ovaries would start working again without it, but they didn’t, and the hot flushes came back. So I went back on the HRT and feel much better now. I am 52.’
‘I bought some special “calcium tablets for women” from the health food shop for my flushes, but they didn’t help at all.’
The first of the two women quoted above doesn’t understand that once ovaries have stopped ‘working’ after the menopause, they won’t start up again. And the second has been misinformed about calcium tablets; they will help your bones, but not hot flushes.
Herbal remedies can sometimes help hot flushes; instead of just buying something over the counter at the chemist or health food shop, you might get a remedy that is more appropriate for you if you visit a medical herbalist or an aromatherapist. A homoeopath may also prescribe a suitable remedy. Bear in mind, though, that these remedies are not oestrogen, so will not prevent osteoporosis; however, many women And that alternative medicines can help other aspects of coping with the menopause.
Unlike vaginal and bladder problems, and osteoporosis, hot flushes will eventually pass for almost all women. They can be embarrassing and uncomfortable, and they may make you want to disappear into a hole in the ground, but they don’t last forever. If you are lucky, they will be over in about two years or even less, and if these are your only symptoms you may well feel that HRT is not necessary for you; if you are one of the unlucky ones, the hot flushes may still be with you in 20 years, and HRT may be the only effective solution.
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