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Over the Counter Medications for Menopause

All women experience menopause at some time in their life. Some women will go through menopause at a much earlier age than others and some women have much more severe and wide-ranging menopausal symptoms. Many over-the-counter medications are available to alleviate some of those symptoms, improving daily life for sufferers.

  1. Symptoms

    • Untreated menopause symptoms may cause chemical imbalances which will further lead to your frustration when dealing with all of the other symptoms. Chemical imbalances can cause frequent vaginal yeast infections and decreased libido. Other symptoms associated with menopause include hot flashes and night sweats and vaginal itching, bleeding and dryness. Urinary urgency and frequency can also be experienced along with thinning hair, dry skin, increased facial hair and digestive upsets such as heartburn and heart palpitations. These symptoms are all due to the decrease in estrogen, progesterone and testosterone production. Some women will experience all of these abnormalities while others will have few or a decreased level.

    Pills

    • Over the counter medications for menopause may be found in an oral pill form in online pharmacies and also in your local pharmacy and in grocery stores. These pills help relieve menopausal symptoms and include a blend of all natural herbal plant products. The most common ingredients to help hot flashes and night sweats are black cohosh and licorice root. Evening primrose oil is included and has been shown to reduce cholesterol while reducing breast tenderness during pre-menstrual syndrome. Don Quai reduces symptoms of painful and irregular menstrual cycles, which are also associated with menopause or pre-menopause. Some of the popular in-store products are Remifemin and Estroven. Online you may find Ymea, Novagen Red Clover, Menopace and Harmony.

    Creams

    • Topical creams are easily accessible in over the counter formulas as well. They are compounded from natural hormones of bio-identical estrogen. The topical creams are herbal and formulated from natural progesterone. These are applied daily in the vaginal area to relieve burning, itching and dryness and the progesterone is absorbed into the system. Estro 500 and ReStore are available on line and in local pharmacies.

    Expert Insight

    • All over the counter menopausal treatments are helpful to women, but more helpful to some than others. Each woman has a different body chemistry and each has a different estrogen, progesterone and testosterone level to be considered. Since each of the products listed have a different blend of herbs and vitamins, you may have to try more than one to get effective results.

    Considerations

    • All over the counter menopause treatments are all natural and herbal. The topical creams are labeled for sale under a cosmetic label, while the pills are sold as a vitamin or dietary supplement. This enables these products to be sold without being tested and approved by the FDA. Extended use of these products have not been studied and may interfere with medications. Some of the ingredients have been shown to interfere with medical tests, so it is important to advise your physician of what you are taking.

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