Menopause Discussion > Alternative Therapies
Has anyone tried Macafem, a natural aid for Menopausal Symptoms
Chi chi:
I'm really interested in this, I'll try anything to help with the damn anxiety and low moods!
Which brands are recommended? Is Holland and barratt's ones an option?
Dana:
I often read these good reports about Macafem, and I'm tempted by it even though I'm very sceptical about any of those alternate remedies for menopause, after having spent a lot of money on them some years ago with absolutely no success.
However, my meno symptoms especially insomnia, are so severe without HRT that I'm scared to attempt it. In the next few years I would like to try to decrease my estrogen dose (mainly because I don't always get on that well with progesterone/progestin), so I wonder if supplementing my HRT with the Macafem would help? What is the thinking on taking it in conjunction with HRT? Some alternate therapies aren't supposed to be used with HRT.
Food for thought.
Sunnydays:
Like Dana I would be interested to hear thoughts. I read good reports about Macafem in the peri but I'd like to know how successful it is in meno. I hadn't thought about taking along hrt..........
dogdoc:
Hey ladies. You are going to find almost NO studies about taking maca in conjunction with hrt. I believe I found one... I'll try to find it again.
So far I have put my peri menopausal sister on it ( improvement as well particularly when it relates to stress coping) and my very very post menopausal mother ( 74) who has had insomnia since having hysterectomy at 43. She's not on hrt and never has been ( hence her poor dissolving bones).
Some studies show maca increases your own ( endogenous) estrogen levels and some find no change to your own hormones. They believe it regulates the hypothalamic pituitary ovarian axis but does not act specifically as a 'fake estrogen' which is what most herbal menopausal remedies do ( like black cohosh or soy).
I'll try to find the study. I cannot find ANY adverse events in the profile of this medication other than mild gastrointestinal upset for some women.
It us not supposed to be taken raw FYI. :)
dogdoc:
Here's that paper that mentions estrogen and maca in the same breath. Not exactly an endorsement for their use but they're at least thinking about it.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25668332
Ps. Results still out for my post meno mom. Insomnia is really her only main issue wrt no hrt so we shall see. If she suddenly states sleeping I'll let you all know. Lol.
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