16
For Mary Levering, 65, the hot
flashes and sleep deprivation
of perimenopause sent her
spiraling into a depression. She
tried hormone therapy but quit pretty
quickly because of side effects.
Instead of more drugs, the Chevy
Chase, Md., attorney turned to Ayurveda,
a 5,000-year-old Eastern healing tradition
that relies on herbs, nutrition, exercise,
and other alternative approaches to
maintain health.
“The depression lifted, and it’s never
come back,” says Levering, who began
taking various herbal mixtures, following
a special vegetarian diet, and doing
yoga about five years ago, when her
menopausal symptoms were at their
worst. “I’m sleeping fine. I lost the weight. I
don’t even remember having a hot flash at
all after I started my Ayurvedic lifestyle.”
Not all women who try complementary
and alternative medicine (CAM)
approaches to treat their menopausal
symptoms have such success. But more
women are giving alternative approaches
a try than ever before. And what was
once called “CAM” in some cases is being
An
Alternative
Approach
For some women, the risks or side effects in taking
hormone therapy for hot flashes, night sweats, and
other uncomfortable symptoms of menopause
outweigh the many benefits—and many women
are exploring alternative therapies.
evaluated and then embraced by mainstream
medicine.
The Study of Women’s Health Across the
Nation, or SWAN, surveyed menopausal
women in 2003 and found that about
half had tried at least one CAM therapy in
the past year. However, included in their
definition of CAM therapy were therapies
such as vitamin/mineral supplements;
a therapy that is probably considered
mainstream by many.
“The first thing I say to women is they
need to look at why they’re avoiding hormones
and whether they understand what
the real risks and benefits are,’’ says Alan Altman,
M.D., an assistant clinical professor of
obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive
biology at Harvard Medical School.
Too many women avoid hormone
therapy because they’re worried about
long-term risks that may not apply to
them, he says. Yet estrogen therapy (with
or without progestogen) remains the
most effective treatment for hot flashes
and other menopausal symptoms.
Alternative approaches just don’t seem
to work for those with the most severe
symptoms, he warns.
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