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I have come accross some references to using herbs as opposed to animal based hormones in order to gain the desired results. These include Fennel of all things. Names like Black Cohosh, Rhodeola Rosea and Maca all sound viable. But what are the dangers and can you mix and match? What are the time periods like compared to standard HRT?
Alice
No expert on hormonal treatments, but I do use herbs a lot for all manner of ailments and emergencies, and this leaves me puzzled... Fennel has many properties and is a wonderful herb but, er... Black Cohosh is a powerful fellow, that you want to treat with respect because in bigger doses it is toxic. No personal experiences of Rodheola or Maca.
Do not assume that because they are "just herbs" you can up the dosage, mix and match at will. Herbs can be as powerful as chemical drugs (else why would they work??) and require some caution.
I have to say my trust in herbal medicine is pretty much inexhaustible, but there is too much of a tendency to attribute very fancy properties to herbs, with I am not sure what agenda...
Echinacea was suddenly attributed the power to cure anything except outright beheading a few years back... of course when these claims were put to the test they turned out to be mostly bogus and the whole herbal medicine philosophy was thrown into ridicule.
Christ, if Fennel provided the, ahem, *desired results* you could not move for boobs in Italy, we eat it as salad!!
My advice is to take these claims with a grain of salt. That said there are good herbal practitioners who have both an open mind and good scientific basis and who will probably be able to give you a more informed response... I trust herbs with my life (literally) but I would do some serious research on this.
"I have come accross some references to using herbs as opposed to animal based hormones in order to gain the desired results."
Animal based hormones? I can only think of one animal based form of oestrogen - Premarin; which is extracted from the urine of pregnant mares, but that is really not prescribed any more, at least not round here, probably because it's such a gross way of obtaining oestrogen.
"Standard HRT"
Presumably you mean, as opposed to "herbal HRT". Undoubtedly the safest form of hormone replacement therapy is bioidentical oestrogen, which, like all the herbals out there, is derived from plant products, soy or yam I think.
As Katia points out, many of these herbals are toxic in large doses, and the main difference between herbals and bioidenticals is that herbals contain a fraction of the amount of oestrogen. So you need to consume more to get similar effects, risking toxicity.
That's if they work at all, because the herbal hormone industry is a hotbed of quackery. Inevitably herbal hormones are hugely expensive compared to bioidenticals, weaker, potentially more toxic, and not subject to the same testing and regulations as standard hormones as herbals are considered a food supplement.
Some girls swear by them, I am entirely sceptical, and yes, I've tried a few.
Bioidentical oestrogen means it's exactly the same as human oestrogen. There can be nothing better if you want to achieve feminisation. It's suprisingly inexpensive too.
Don't take any medication, herbal or otherwise, on a whim. If you are going to take any form of hormones you should only do so if you intend to transition. Just my opinion.
xx
I really have so much to learn. Are there any accurate web sites that will cover this? There seems to be a lot of info out there, but what to trust?
Lucy, your opinion is very valuable. You are giving me real information from your own experience and reading.
Alice
