I'm aware that none of us have answered the question about sage.
I'm guessing that'll be because no one has tried it.
I am reluctant to go straight to HRT - I think for women who are really unwell it's essential but so far, at least, I'm just rather uncomfortable. I use herbs a lot for mild ailments, which is why I wondered if there was one that could help. Red clover or soy are the stronger options (oestrogen replacements) but as the only symptom so far is the hot flushes, I thought I'd try something milder. I grow a lot of sage, so making myself sage tea every day is neither difficult nor expensive.
It's early days - we'll see
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
@raisingirl -- i cannot comment on sage, but I find two things help me ( i have no idea whether this is a placebo effect or not, but i don't really care either way, it works). fennel infusion ( 0.25 to 0.5 tsp fennel seeds in a large mug of boiling water) and something called mag phos which is a tissue salt remedy that i have used for PMS symptoms all my life. I find both have a calming effect on me which helps with general wellbeing ( note I generally feel the cold very aggressively, so the "heat" symptoms essentially seem to have mitigated that slightly vs being a problem for me, so these remedies are not for that per se). I am on plentiful other medication so trying to avoid HRT for that reason.
I waited it out and just as I started to think "I'm not sure how much longer I want to put up with this", everything eased. It was the rage as much as the flushes, for me. I couldn't tell you how long it went on because once it had stopped I moved on and forgot about it, iyswim.
The perimenopausal period was all tied in with when I was losing my mind with my job, so I thought feeling depressed, desperate, furious etc was menopausal, but then I quit and most of those feelings disappeared overnight so it wasn't! We were also continuing the tradition of concurrently pubescent daughters and menopausal mother which my mother and I had started, which added an extra frisson.
I *think* I had a fairly easy time of it (and didn't attempt to do anything to alleviate the symptoms) but I don't know - as I say, it's a memory now.
My daughter sometimes drinks sage tea as one of the many herbal teas she enjoys, and I'm not aware of any problems with it so you might as well drink it in case it helps.
'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
Let us know how the sage tea goes @raisingirl. If you find that it helps I might try it. I have purple sage in the garden already. It might make a funny-looking tea! I'll admit one of the reasons that I don't want to take HRT is that not having periods trumps hot flushes.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
fennel infusion ( 0.25 to 0.5 tsp fennel seeds in a large mug of boiling water) .
Interesting - thank you. I have a really nice fennel tea that I was given for Christmas that I could happily drink more often - I think it's fennel with chamomile.
Thanks @LG_ I agree. Other stressors are hard to distinguish sometimes, until you remove them.
Thanks all
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Sorry - can't help with the sage. For me the worst thing was the migraines I suddenly started having which I only really realised were menopause related when they stopped once I got a bit older than 27. I took part in the trial for sumatriptan which was a godsend. My sister scorned at me for going through the menopause naturally - she took HRT - but I just wanted to get through it. When my sister came off HRT, on the advice of her doctor (she was tested for breast cancer and had treatment although it was very early stages apparently) she realised that all she had done was delay the symptoms.
I'm lucky enough to be this side of all of this but have horrendous problems associated with hormones. I found an excellent medical herbalist after my GP told me the next available thing on the NHS was a hysterectomy (!). Problem basically solved. I can't help with the sage, but if you can afford it and if you can find a good practitioner, medical herbalist treatments might be a potential alternative to HRT which doesn't delay symptoms.
Posts
I am reluctant to go straight to HRT - I think for women who are really unwell it's essential but so far, at least, I'm just rather uncomfortable. I use herbs a lot for mild ailments, which is why I wondered if there was one that could help. Red clover or soy are the stronger options (oestrogen replacements) but as the only symptom so far is the hot flushes, I thought I'd try something milder. I grow a lot of sage, so making myself sage tea every day is neither difficult nor expensive.
It's early days - we'll see
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
The perimenopausal period was all tied in with when I was losing my mind with my job, so I thought feeling depressed, desperate, furious etc was menopausal, but then I quit and most of those feelings disappeared overnight so it wasn't! We were also continuing the tradition of concurrently pubescent daughters and menopausal mother which my mother and I had started, which added an extra frisson.
I *think* I had a fairly easy time of it (and didn't attempt to do anything to alleviate the symptoms) but I don't know - as I say, it's a memory now.
My daughter sometimes drinks sage tea as one of the many herbal teas she enjoys, and I'm not aware of any problems with it so you might as well drink it in case it helps.
Thanks @LG_ I agree. Other stressors are hard to distinguish sometimes, until you remove them.
Thanks all
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”