Posts Tagged "night sweats"

Menopausal symptoms? Treat them with Ease…

Posted by Liz on Aug 20, 2010 in herbal medicine | 3 comments

Or not.

I just wind of a new product called EaseFemin™, a supplement with a proprietery formulation that the manufacturers are calling IsoFactor™. These specific isoflavones and flavare derived from a unique Brazilian red propolis, which is a resin collected by honeybees. Evidently, propolis has been used in folk medicine since around 300 BC and clinical data show that it is non-toxic.

Theoretically, Ease-Femin™ taken once-daily, addresses irritability, hot flashes and night sweats. Moreover, an antioxidant has been added to fight cellular damage caused by free radicals circulating in the bloodstream.

Does this sound a bit too good to be true?

I would say, yes.

My first concern is that I did a search on propolis. And as an isoflavone compound, it’s not been studied extensively in menopause or any other condition. The second concern I have lies with isoflavones themselves. As I’ve written of late, it seems that only specific isoflavone compounds, namely S-Equol and daidzein, appear to have any sort of demonstrable effect on hormonal symptoms. So I am not entirely convinced about whether or not this is an exciting new avenue or the promise of spending money ($36.99 a month) for a product that won’t do much of anything.

This is another case of buyer beware. The research simply isn’t there to back the use of the product. At least not yet.

Working through the transition? Or is the transition working you?

Posted by Liz on Jul 9, 2010 in menopause, Work/occupation | 2 comments

I ran across an interesting study examining how work affects menopause and visa versa. Initiated two years ago by Professor Amanda Griffiths of the Institute of Work, Health & Organizations at the University of Nottingham in the UK, the study aims to identify challenges that women face while working through their transition and also help raise employer awareness.

I contacted Professor Griffiths to learn more . Although she is still compiling her final data (culled from 900 women, ages 40+), she did share some interim nuggets that are pretty interesting.

The fact that menopause, or more specifically menopausal symptoms might affect life quality and work is not a novel idea. Numerous studies have shown that hot flashes in particular can significantly impact daily activities, especially when they are severe. In turn, hot flashes, night sweats and hormonal swings can significantly affect sleep and coping mechanisms. Hence it’s not surprising that among an initial group of 941 female police officers surveyed*, most agreed that the primary factors affecting their ability to function in their job were fatigue and insomnia. Nevertheless,  about 2/3rds said that they wouldn’t or didn’t disclose the fact that they were going through menopause to their managers, either because their managers were men, were younger (and therefore unlikely to understand or have much empathy) or because they felt embarrassed. This point of view only changed if the symptoms were so obvious that they felt they had to explain, if they felt that their ability to cope with their symptoms was less than stellar, if their performance was somehow being affected by their symptoms or if they felt the need to justify a change in their behavior at work.  However, I was heartened to read that many of the women felt comfortable sharing their experience with other colleagues who were similarly in the midst of menopause or had already gone through it.

Griffiths reports that a clear majority of women surveyed that expectations of their physical capacities did not change as they aged. Yet, less than half believed that their contributions were valued as much as their younger peers.

When asked what changes they’d like to see in their jobs to ease their way through the transition and challenges of growing older, most pointed out greater flexibility in working hours (e.g. flex time, no night shifts or since this was a police force, shifting from the front line to a desk job), access to workplace-focused health promotion, such as regular check ups and fitness program), improved awareness among managers of health-related changes in midlife and improvements in the physical working environment.

Griffiths says that more recently, she and her colleagues have surveyed women from all walks of career life, including education, administration and journalism and the final write-up of the study** will include these opinions as well. However, based on our correspondence, it appears that the difficulties that women face in the workplace during the transition are fairly universal. She explains that menopause is ‘taboo’ yet happens to 50% of workforce (I imagine that this number will only continue to grow as the population ages and we are forced due to economic constraints, to work well into retirement years.) “Evidence suggests that some women do experience a lot of difficulty – largely tiredness – much of which can be resolved with sensible line management and flexible work,” says Griffiths. However, “as with any other long-term health condition, employees should feel empowered to discuss health conditions with their line manager/supervisor,  otherwise the latter are not in a position to help.”

Isn’t it time for change? Rather than let the transition work us, shouldn’t we be looking for empowering ways to work through it? In the early days of this blog, I wrote that science has confirmed what women have known all along: social support networks are one of the strongest weapons we have against the aging process. Griffiths’ research confirms that by engaging female peers who are going through similar experiences, we have a stronger experience overall. Yet, she also points out very clearly that men need to be brought into the equation as well. The only way to foster understanding is to share and educate, right?

The research shows that women want their managers to be more aware the menopause doesn’t simply affect their personal lives but also their occupational health. Although sharing may be risky, we really need to ask ourselves how much we are risking by allowing the transition to work us. Time for change, don’t you think?

*The initial research was funded by the British Association of Women in Policing. **Dr. Griffiths’ larger study is funded by the British Occupational Health Foundation.

Wednesday Bubble: HRT – wait a moment!

Posted by Liz on Jun 16, 2010 in HRT | 0 comments

Back in early May, I wrote a post about the difficulties in stopping hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and the disturbing fact that doctors have no guidelines to follow in order to advise their patients on the best strategies. Today’s Bubble is a perfect companion to that piece, as it addresses the fact that research now shows that women who start HRT and then stop it have a tendency to have significantly greater and more severe  menopausal symptoms than had they never started HRT at all.

Writing in the online edition of Menopause journal, researchers say that among 3,496 postmenopausal women who completed a pre- and post- stopping therapy survey during the Women’s Health Initiative study (a trial that compared estrogen/progestin to placebo and was subsequently halted when HRT was found to double the risk of breast cancer) :

• Those who had not reported having hot flashes at the start of the study were more than five times as likely to report moderate to severe hot flashes after stopping HRT compared with women with no symptoms who took sugar placebo pills. However, women who had reported having hot flashes at the study’s start were only slightly more likely to report hot flashes after stopping HRT
• A similar pattern was seen for night sweats, i.e. women who had none at the study’s start were almost twice as likely to report them after stopping HRT
• Age at stopping HRT was increasingly associated with more joint pain, i.e. the older the woman, the higher the risk for experiencing joint pain

The researchers say that although there have been previous reports of  a surge in vasomotor symptoms like flashes and sweats after stopping HRT, these findings show that estrogen, either alone or with progestin, may promote symptoms when HRT is stopped, even if a woman was not experiencing them when she started therapy. More specifically, the risk for menopausal vasomotor symptoms and joint stiffness is four to seven times more in women with and without prior symptoms when HRT is stopped.

The takeaway message is that it’s not only important to consider the health risks associated with HRT but also, what happens when you stop it. Clearly, even if your symptoms disappear while on HRT, your risk for symptoms after stopping therapy is fairly high.

You should always weigh the risk benefit ratio before starting any type of therapy. HRT may not be worth the trouble. Or the multiple risks.

p.s. More on this study from my friends at Reuters Health.

Is your mattress the ‘key to cool’?

Posted by Liz on May 14, 2010 in nightsweats | 3 comments

Hot flashes? Night sweats? I’ve written about various solutions, ranging from herbs to bed clothes and sheets. But I was intrigued when I ran across an article about a mattress manufacturer that claims that its mattress will keep you cooler without the all the trappings…as in, trapping the heat that is wafting off your body without circulating it properly.

According to Robin McRoskey Azevedo, the president of McRoskey mattresses, the ‘key to cool’ is in the way a mattress is constructed and the materials that are used. Consequently, theoretically, air circulates freely, cotton covers and materials breathe and vented sidewalls and flexible coils allow for better airflow.

Even the customer testimonials sound convincing.

There is a price to comfort, however, as McRoskey sets (mattress plus boxspring) can run upwards of $5,000. Lots of moula to insure better comfort during sleep.

There’s nothing better than a phenomenal mattress. I believe in making the investment because better mattresses do last. However, I’m not entirely convinced that the key to a cooler sleep is a better mattress. Rather, it seems that appropriate herbs (like black cohosh), great sheets, and proper bed clothes can make a huge difference without denting your wallet quite as deeply.

What do you think is the key to cool?

Wednesday Bubble: HRT – Ask the Hard Questions

Posted by Liz on May 5, 2010 in HRT | 3 comments

Your doctor has just recommended that you try hormone replacement therapy, better known as HRT. You’ve heard the horror stories about increased risk for breast cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, heart disease…yikes!  And yet, you are flashing like nobody’s business, sweating like you’ve just run a marathon and moody as all hell. What should you do?

Ask the hard questions.

Anyone who reads this blogs knows that I am not a huge fan of hormone replacement therapy. There are numerous reason for my personal biases, ranging from the inherent health risks to the belief that menopause has been treated as a disease for far too long and that the paradigm needs to change. These reasons represent the initial driving force behind this blog, which is to explore viable and evidence-based alternatives to HRT and discover strategies for dealing with the emotional and physical aspects of midlife and the transition in more positive and empowering ways.

However, I also support  any woman’s decision to use HRT. Your life is your life and only you can control the decisions that feel right for you.

Nevertheless, it’s critical to ask the hard questions.

So, what do I mean by that?

Medications are meant to heal, sometimes even cure what ails. But medications can be dangerous if they are misused, overused, or inappropriately prescribed. It can be confusing, because who can you trust to deliver the truth? And where should you turn when the media can’t agree on the story, when doctors are misinformed or too busy to take the time to thoroughly vet a patient or when one internet source states one thing and the other, another? What’s more, what’s at stake?

So, I’d like to put forth some initial questions for your consideration.

For your doctor

• Why is your doctor recommending HRT? What does he/she believe it is going to help? What are your personal risks, based on your current health status, family history, genetics and disease profile? Are you a smoker, drinker? have heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, etc?
• Does your doctor have any personal investment in HRT, i.e., has he/she done research on HRT on behalf of companies who manufacture it?
• What is the risk/benefit ratio for you? Are the risks higher than the benefits or visa versa?
• How long does the doctor expect that you will need to take HRT? How does this affect your risk/benefit ratio?
• Has the doctor had any patients who have had bad experiences with HRT? Would he/she be willing to discuss those experiences generally?

About your information source

• What is the source of information about HRT? Is it/he/she reputable? Have you taken the time to follow the trail and looked into its/her/his personal interest in HRT?
• Is he/she/his/her company or association sponsored by manufacturers who have a financial interest in HRT?
• How accurate is the news report? Do you thoroughly understand the news report? Does the news report seem like it has a bias? Has it throughly explained the study that it is basing its information on? (Gary Schwitzer’s HealthNewsReview provides excellent guidance on reading health news and what you should be looking for.)
• Who sponsors the website you are getting my information from? Is it industry sponsored? What is the background of the people who are writing the information that is highlighted on that website?

I am sure I’ve missed some important considerations or questions but these represent great starting points.I’d love to hear your thought. Or if you feel that I’ve missed the boat entirely.

Always…if you want the truth, you’ve got to ask the hard questions.