His and Her Health

I am trying to help a friend. She has had Breast Cancer (in remission) and has high blood pressure for which she takes medication. What are her options for natural treatments for menapausal symptoms. HRT is not an option.

Since you have not described the symptoms your friend is experiencing, I will discuss some ways which help the most common symptoms-hot flashes and vaginal dryness. It is important that your friend discuss all these options with her health care provider. First, adapting good lifestyle strategies is very important. This includes incorporating exercise on a regular basis. Exercise is an effective way of relieving hot flashes, and has also many other health benefits. As far as non-prescription remedies, the jury is still out on soy foods and isoflavones and whether these products are safe and effective in women who have or had breast cancer. Some women report a reduction in hot flashes when taking Vitamin E 800 IU daily. There are also prescribed therapeutic options such as antidepressants (venafaxine and fluoxetine) which have shown efficacy in treating hot flashes. Clonidine, an anti hypertensive agent is sometimes prescribed to help with hot flashes. In addition, several progestogens (oral and intramuscular) have shown efficacy. Progesterones can also be compounded and used as topical creams as well.<BR> For distress associated with vaginal dryness, there are long-lasting vaginal moisturizers and lubricants available which treat mild symptoms or vaginal dryness. We have a coupon on our website <A HREF="www.redhotmamas.org" TARGET=_blank>www.redhotmamas.org</A> which may be of use to your friend.<P><BR><p>[Note: This message has been edited by NEWSHE Moderator]

Thank You. I have forwarded this too her.<P>