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December 04, 2004
Hot flashes and black cohosh
Sounds like a coupla rappers. And perhaps it should be. But in fact it's the blog entry I've been intending to write since back in the Day when I didn't have a blog—verily, it's so a month ago. Here it is, anyhow. In the spirit of academom's fab entry on the complexities of being a breast-feeding runner, here's my entry on how to be a hot-flash-free post-menopausal woman in the Post-Estrogen-Supplement Age.
One friend (who might prefer to Remain Nameless) swears by flaxseed. She buys ground flaxseed and puts a tablespoonful in everything that can't get away from her: cooked cereal, bread, salad dressing, whatever. She says it keeps her hot-flash-free. Now, I haven't tried that (though I do add whole flaxseed when I'm having cooked cereal). Instead, I've tried the other major alternative, black cohosh. Works like crazy. Takes a few weeks to kick in: first I notice that I'm not having hot flashes so often; then I notice that when I do have them, they're not as severe (i.e., I don't have to suddenly start tearing off all the clothes that the law allows); and then I realize that I'm just not having them at all.
BUT I've learned that it very, very much matters how I'm taking the black cohosh. You can buy capsules or tablets everywhere--grocery stores, drug stores, health food stores. And I have tried it in three different dosages. The kind that you're supposed to take a single tablet a day of: that stuff does absolutely nothing for me. The kind you're supposed to take twice a day ameliorates hot flashes. (Sorry I can't speak of actual milligrams and what not here; I've thrown those damned bottles away so don't have that data at hand.) BUT 540 mg capsules of black cohosh root, three times a day: that stuff absolutely does the trick. After about 3 weeks, no more hot flashes. Eureka! "Nature's Way" makes the ones I buy, but I'm sure other companies offer capsules of the same dosage of black cohosh root.
Posted by senioritis at December 4, 2004 10:24 AM