Hi can I add my bit here. I didn't know anything about the peri menopause - I didn't know why I was getting awful headaches before periods and various other changes. When my periods stopped my doctor simply said how good it was that I wouldn't get periods anymore. Haha if only I knew it isn't always as simple as that! I tried the lady care magnet and multi vitamins. I'm not so sure the magnet helped but in my own mind the vitamins helped support my store of hormones and I was ticking over sufficiently well which was surprising as I had tremendous family stress and close bereavement at the time. The main thing that was declining rapidly was 'down below'! Last October however I think my old hormones sighed their last breathe as the change that came over me was awful. The sweats intensified sleep was non existent etc. it was clear to me that Things to balance my hormones wasn't enough - they actually needed replacing!
Sorry rather a ramble but I wanted to get across that for me, I would try all the different alternatives to start with and be prepared to 'lose ' the money if they didn't work. I don't believe that the NHS can provide every type of medecine/remedy that's out there and just because the NHS don't provide it doesn't mean it doesn't work. There are meds on the NHS that stop working after a while. As DG says a good diet and exercise, eg brisk walking, are good to do and I believe are a medecine in themselves!
I've had NHS meno support for 7 weeks or so now and it has made a great difference to me but I don't like taking it and so I keep an eye out for alternatives that I can change to when the time is right for me. Just like some of the nasty side effects of some NHS medicines so we have to be cautious about side effects non NHS options. Hey, we have to be cautious about everything in reality! By the way I have 2 close friends for whom the meno has been liberating, symptoms nearly non existent and not a single supplement in sight! They both exercise a lot. Another friend was knocked for six by the meno and could only survive with NHS products Just shows how different we all are.
Keep up the posts on these alternatives please! I'm personally especially keen for post meno experiences with them. Thank you