Hi i just for your observation records i wanted to say my sleep pattern has increased greatly for the better in past week but this is due to being prescribed oestrogen by my consultant. I have been out of Sofi pods for probably 3 months and cant wait to recieve Passiflora. Should be sleeping like a baby then 
.
Also it may help other ladies my age if they are not already taking it xx
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Thatās interesting as I found I had less hot flushes whilst taking valerian, since stopping Iāve had more but not as intense as normal.
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Adding @pamelaspence here as well ā¦ as she may have had some patient experiences with plants and ladies of a certain age! 
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Thats great Kaveh
Thank you x
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Hi all,
@Eevie @tinaspain
Thanks for the add @Kaveh !
When oestrogen levels drop some women definitely find their sleep becomes disturbed. So hopefully with the oestrogen + Passiflora you WILL be sleeping like a baby @tinaspain 
Just to point out that oestrogen isnāt always recommended but for some women it will make a huge difference.
Interesting that your flushes were less intense on valerian @Eevie That is probably because your adrenals were under less pressure. When we go into perimenopause and our ovaries start to wind down their oestrogen production, that job eventually falls to our adrenals (because we still need oestrogen for the rest of our lives, just not as much). Our poor adrenals are usually so under pressure already (home, job, family etc) that they struggle to take up this new job and so we end up with an oestrogen gap. The flushes are like the bodyās way of yelling for more. BUT if our stress levels go down and our sleep improves, our adrenals have a bit more bandwidth to get involved in making oestrogen, so our levels go up and the flushes improve.
Make sense? Seriously, anything you can do at this point in life to reduce stress will REALLY help with menopausal symptoms. For some women just doing that will be enough, for others, synthetic oestrogen can plug the gap for a few years - but use that few years wisely to rest your adrenals because theyāll still have to pick up the slack when HRT stops!
Hope thatās helpful! 
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Hi Pamela
Yes thatās very helpful thank you,with regard to you saying that oestrogen isnāt always recommended I was told a few years ago that I would not be a candidate as there has been so much cancer in our family however this new consultant obviously thinks otherwise I hope he is right 
Thanks again for your wisdom xx
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Thanks thatās really interesting, the only symptom of menopause Iāve had is hot flushes like my mum. She had them into her 70ās, Iām in my 60ās so still a way to go.
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Hi Eevie
Iāve only been on oestrogen for a couple of weeks but Iāve noticed a huge difference Iām not so fatigued,Iām sleeping better and the flushes have stopped. Also it improves your aches and pains Iām 63 now.
Still canāt wait for the passiflora we will all be sleeping like babies and feel about 20 years old again hopefullyā:pray:
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Omg SUPER helpful for me @pamelaspence ! Iāve been going through menopause and itās brutal lately. I tried estrogen cream a couple years ago and I was amazed at how i regained so much energy and could even workout regularly again - lost some of this weight Iāve picked up (mostly belly fat) but I had to stop the cream due to concerns about cancer and, like you said, inevitably Iād have to deal with the natural event regardless. Iām 52 and having a terrible time with belly fat but stress has been a major thing in my life for yearsā¦ looking forward to trying the Passiflora 
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Snap! My Mum was the same. Mine havenāt arrived yet but I suspect they are not far away. Or maybe I will be lucky and they will bypass meā¦ Trying to take better care of my adrenals in readyness!
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Sorry youāve had such a tough time and glad what I said was helpful.
That belly fat will NOT go till your adrenals are happy (because consistently high cortisol will make your body lay down belly fat). So the way to do it is rest your adrenals, reduce your stress where you can (the S3 programme may be even better for you actually but Passiflora will be a great start) and give yourself a break over your shape for now. 
I wrote an article on this for a magazine a while back. Will see if I can find the link if itās still live.
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@tinaspain @Eevie @kaneary
Here you go ladies. The only link that is live is from 2019 and itās an article I wrote for Kindred Spirit magazine (which may be a bit woo for some, but the article is sound!). Of course some women will need, and benefit from HRT - itās just the title they gave me to write to. Hope itās helpful!
https://kindredspirit.co.uk/2019/10/18/herbs-as-an-alternative-to-hrt/
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Wow i found your article fascinating and really helpful. Thank you so much! X
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Ah thank you. Youāre so welcome, Iām glad it was helpful!
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Thanks for the article it really shows how finely tuned our bodies are and how wonderfully plants can come to our aid.
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I read your wonderful article! Iām going to bookmark it for the future. Iām 52 and two ears ago I had night sweats. After taking an herbal menopause supplement which contained black cohosh and gingko and many other ingredients) the night sweats vanished!
But alas, I have āmenobellyā and Iām not feeling the magic about it!
I want to avoid traditional HRT for several reasons., but the main one is that
I have bipolar disorder. My psychiatrist said HRT can interact with my mood stabilizer and lower its effectiveness. As my medication does an outstanding job, I donāt want to risk taking something that could lessen its effectiveness. Iām beyond grateful I can turn to herbs!
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Thank you @DyaneLydia thatās really kind. Iām so glad it was useful.
We know that the herbal formulas available over the counter can work for some people - the trick is to find out who they work for (which of course is what we are doing with sofi ) Great news that your night sweats vanished.
Yes I have known HRT to be an issue with some medications so best to avoid if you can as your psychiatrist has advised you, particularly when your meds are doing such a great job.
So with āmenobellyā it may be that more support for your adrenals and reduced stress will coax your body into coming out of fight or flight mode (and storing fat, anticipating famine or other disaster!) and into letting go of excess. Itās not the whole answer, but itās a good start and all the herbs on the sofi programme have been chosen for their effects on insomnia/anxiety/stress so any of them may be able to help that process, along with lifestyle changes where you can make them!
Hope that helps!
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Youāre so welcome @Eevie - glad it was useful and the plants give me courage and strength every day
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@Eevie @tinaspain @kaneary @DyaneLydia
Hello all,
I forgot about this short blog I wrote a while ago with a few more tips.
Pamela
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Again Pamela thank you so much for your wisdom.
I have always tried to find alternative medicines non-prescriptive and at the age of 63 have never had any prescription drugs, which I celebrate and realise how lucky I have been, until now with the oestrogen which I must say Iām slightly concerned about but have obviously taken advice from the consultant Iām still not convincedš±
I have tried Ashwagandha in the past so maybe when this course of oestrogen has finished I will go back to that.
thank you for your valuable advice xx
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