Supplements for menopause symptoms and metformin

[Loopy]

Has anyone had any experience of taking supplements for menopausal symptoms e.g. ashghawanda, 5-HTP etc when on metformin.
Doctor said is not qualified to give advice on supplements as they are not proper medication.

 

[Alan44]

Hi @Loopy and welcome to the forum.

Only your doctor can give you a qualified answer to your question. Even if some of our members have tried said supplement while on Metformin, that would not be to say it would suit you.

Sorry I can't be of any more help.

Alan 😉

 

[Natalie123]

Has anyone had any experience of taking supplements for menopausal symptoms e.g. ashghawanda, 5-HTP etc when on metformin.
Doctor said is not qualified to give advice on supplements as they are not proper medication.

Sorry I don't have any experience of this but my first thought is that you could try a different doctor? Some doctors are much more open to supplements and alternative medicine than others. Doctors should be able to look up medical interactions, even if they don't know already.

 

[Leadinglights]

I don't think it is a matter of whether you can take with metformin but whether it is wise to take these sort of supplements at all without proper medical advise. There are potential side effects of even these 'natural' supplements and no certain proven effectiveness at safe doses.
I'm sure there are proven medications to help with menopausal symptoms which your GP could prescribe.

 

[Thebearcametoo]

I haven’t seen either suggested for menopause but I’ve tried both for my fibro fatigue/brain fog. I felt great on 5HTP for the first month but then the effects waned. Ashwagandha I can’t say I’ve noticed any difference.

Doing some web searching and it seems that ashwagandha may interact with oestrogen which is interesting to me as I’m on HRT. Oestrogen may make metformin less effective. Ashwagandha may interact with diabetes medications and make them more effective but I couldn’t see anything that said which diabetes meds. So if you’re on HRT then the two interactions may balance each other out 🙂 Ashwagandha can cause liver issues so it’s not recommended to take it for more than 3 months at a time.

5HTP I couldn’t find any information on it with metformin. It’s really important not to take it with antidepressants though just as a FYI.

Obviously supplements aren’t regulated so you can’t be sure how much of any supplement you’re getting or how pure they are etc. I am a bit of a sucker for ‘this might work’ but I never take anything for too long.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Loopy

Perhaps you might be able to have a chat with the qualified pharmacist at your high st chemists? Many of them have a little consulting room these days, and the qualified pharmacist (not just the counter staff) should have up to date information about drug interactions, that may well extend to natural supplements.

Diabetes UK suggests avoiding herbal supplements sold for diabetes, because of the lack of robust evidence that they are safe and effective for people with diabetes.

Herbal and food supplements

Many people rely on traditional herbal and complementary remedies, which are said to help with blood glucose control. These remedies can be homemade or bought from local shops, and while they may have benefits, they should not be a substitute for your medications.

www.diabetes.org.uk

 

[Loopy]

thanks everyone
I have taken some advice from the Balance website run by Louise Newson the menopause expert (on advice from my doctor). There is additional information on supplements.
I have decided to take some magnesium (clean and high quality) at a low dose to see if it helps with brain fog, sleep and low mood.

I have recently decided to come off of HRT (after 3+ years) for personal reasons so am keen to try to replace it with something more natural. I do not have strong hot flushes more the emotional/cognitive effects of menopause.

Many thanks for all your comments and pointers, supplements and medication is a tricky area I believe.

 

[Thebearcametoo]

That’s great. Louise Newson is well respected and magnesium is well researched. I hope it helps you.

 

[Sarahp]

thanks everyone
I have taken some advice from the Balance website run by Louise Newson the menopause expert (on advice from my doctor). There is additional information on supplements.
I have decided to take some magnesium (clean and high quality) at a low dose to see if it helps with brain fog, sleep and low mood.

I have recently decided to come off of HRT (after 3+ years) for personal reasons so am keen to try to replace it with something more natural. I do not have strong hot flushes more the emotional/cognitive effects of menopause.

Many thanks for all your comments and pointers, supplements and medication is a tricky area I believe.

Please can I ask which type of magnesium you’re using? My GP told me to use a specific one called glicanate (sorry if not spelled correctly) and it’s been quite hard to find in chemists near me, had to buy online in the end.
Also Louise Newson, there was a tv investigation on her practice last year and it was quiet shocking especially for women under her who have hyperplasia, I think it was BBC Panorama but could be wrong, will try and find online in a minute, it was mainly around HRT prescribing practices. Will edit my post when I find the Channel name.

Edit just checked it was panorama and there’s a article on the BBC website, she’s also lost her menopause society accreditation, article gives more info.

 

[Drummer]

@Sarahp Magnesium glycinate has been used for a long time - I read about it in New Diet Revolution, the last book Dr Atkins published.
I realise that I have been lucky in that menopause was simply not a problem - it happened sometime and it took a while for me to realise - no distressing symptoms.

 

[Sarahp]

@Sarahp Magnesium glycinate has been used for a long time - I read about it in New Diet Revolution, the last book Dr Atkins published.
I realise that I have been lucky in that menopause was simply not a problem - it happened sometime and it took a while for me to realise - no distressing symptoms.

Ian aware of that but in the over the counter formulations it’s quiet hard to find and not everyone realises that, that’s why I wanted to highlight it, I have massive escalation of sleep disturbance and anxiety with my menopause symptoms, I just took the over the counter formulation of magnesium from boots and wasn’t until my GP pointed out it was not Glycinate and I swapped brands that I got some relief.
Your lucky you haven’t had issues, for me it’s been very hard, once I started HRT my blood sugars stopped spiking and this new formulation of Magnesium is helping a fair bit.

 

[Drummer]

Ian aware of that but in the over the counter formulations it’s quiet hard to find and not everyone realises that, that’s why I wanted to highlight it, I have massive escalation of sleep disturbance and anxiety with my menopause symptoms, I just took the over the counter formulation of magnesium from boots and wasn’t until my GP pointed out it was not Glycinate and I swapped brands that I got some relief.
Your lucky you haven’t had issues, for me it’s been very hard, once I started HRT my blood sugars stopped spiking and this new formulation of Magnesium is helping a fair bit.

I took note of various things which might be useful in time, for some decades, and then when I might have needed them - I didn't Strange how things work out.
It's good that it does work when needed.

 

[Sarahp]

I took note of various things which might be useful in time, for some decades, and then when I might have needed them - I didn't Strange how things work out.
It's good that it does work when needed.

That’s hormones for you. Hoping the more natural route helps as well.
Am
Puzzled though, why did you think I was saying the glycinate info my Dr gave me was new? I never intended it to come across that way.

 

[Loopy]

I am trying Magnesium L-Threonate
There are others too.
Early days, and there are other factors involved in my sleep quality so will continue trying. If it does not work after a while then maybe I will try the glycinate one.