After reading through some of the posts, I thought I would share something that has helped me immensely with several menopausal symptoms, particularly flooding. Maybe it will help someone else, too. I was really having a lot of trouble with heavy periods over the last year and a half, including lots of clots. This was new for me - my period had always been fairly light. Very scary, to say the least. I was just 50, so I knew I was probably getting ready for menopause. After making sure that I did not have fibroids or any other serious issues, I decided to look into alternatives to hormone replacement and or surgical intervention. I stumbled onto a book by Susun S. Weed (yeah, thats really her name!) called "Menopausal Years The Wise Woman Way". It was a godsend and I highly recommend it. I tried the Chaste Tree (vitex) tincture that the book mentioned - 2 dropperfuls, twice per day. I was able to find it in my local health food store, but you could probably get it online as well. It took a couple of months to really kick in, but I did notice some improvement in about a month. I also found a website that contains really good information on managing menopause from Ms. Weed as well as Dr. Susan Lark, MD. It is www.project-aware.org. (I hope its not a violation of the forum to mention specifics.) I just think that the more information we all have, the better choices we can make. Extreme measures such as surgery or HRT can still be used if nothing else works!

P.S. The book noted that if you are prone to flooding you should avoid using black cohosh (which is often used in herbal supplements for hot flashes). I had hot flashes (more like constant heat!) a couple of years back and tried acupuncture. A few sessions really seemed to help, and I haven't had any since. I hope that trend continues, but we'll see!