How safe is Black Cohosh?

[Bihbicat]

I'm beginning to realise that my flushing is quite hormonally driven, and I know many other women notice this too. I've followed some of the threads on this in the past and know that Dr Nase has mentioned Black Cohosh as a hormone regulator. I've heard it's very good from other sources too, but I'm wondering how safe it is. Sorry to harp on about my liver but I do need to be careful. Does anyone know if it's easy on the liver or if it has any risks for it? And is there a particular dosage that is recommended for hormone related rosacea?

Cheers, B

[Mermaid]

Hey B,

When I had my health food store, I learnt a lot about Black Cohosh and the benefits that women could gain from this supplement. However having said this, I also know that it is not good for the liver in some women, especially those who are already pre-disposed or have compromised liver function. If you visit Pub Med and I'll give you the link below, you will read hundreds of medical studies done and the correlation between Black Cohosh and adverse Liver function. The web site is:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Display&dopt=pubmed_pubmed&from_uid=12381254

I hope this helps you weigh up the pros and cons B. You can never be too careful, so you should definitely be wary of any supplement that you are not familiar with.

Mermaid

[karen_breeze]

Hi...I was told by gynaecologist that my hormones were making my flushing worse...she suggested trying the Yasmin pill, and I have to say that it's deffinately helped..I'm also taking Ayurvedic medicine (drakshadi), which also seems to help with the flushing....when I take Milk thistle I seem to flush less as well..karen

[Kelli]

Isn't Black Cohosh one of the ones that is bad if you are trying to get pregnant? Can't it contribute to miscarriage?

[Bihbicat]

Thanks Mermaid, but damn! Sounds like that isn't much of an option then. Dr Nase, anybody, is there a liver safe natural kind of hormone regulator out there? (I don't want to go on birth control pills).

[Rowan]

My rosacea is mostly triggered by allergies and hormones. I used black cohosh to offset progesterone domination for a couple of years. I worried that long term use hadn't been studied. Eventually I decided to try the Yasmin suggestion and I'm very happy with it. I use it for nine weeks of active pills and one week off, as per my midwife's instructions. This has made a tremendous difference. If you're looking for a BCP to help with flushing, I recommend this pill and method.

[karen_breeze]

Hi...I also take yasmin to help with the flushing. It helps but I still have odd times/days that I flush for no reason. I'm wondering if I should try your method 9 weeks on, one week off. Is this ok,safe? I'm just doing the 3 weeks on,one week off. Thanks Karen

[Rowan]

Not only is nine weeks on safe, but there is some evidence to support it being safer than the 'traditional' approach for women with certain conditions. I did a bunch of research before making the decision to go with my midwife's suggestion. Did you know that the original inventors of the pill only decided on the 21 day on 7 off model in an attempt to make it more 'normal' to women and to sell it as 'natural' birth control to the Catholic church as an alternative to the rhythm method? They found no improvement in safety nor effectiveness by mimicking a typical cycle. I recommend the following reading, but googling "birth control pills extended cycle" will bring up many sites on the subject including continuing study.

http://www.arhp.org/healthcareproviders/onlinepublications/healthandsexuality/extendedregimen/choosingwhen.cfm

Frankly, I’m thinking of staying on them all the time. Many woman with complications from hormonal fluctuations have gone without a period for years with no negative side effects. I’m going to discuss it with my midwives. They’re very careful and take no chances with my health so I trust their opinion. I’ll report back with what they have to say.

[Mermaid]

Hi everyone,

I would just like to concur with Rowan, at the difference it has made to my symptoms by adopting the 9 weeks on, 1 week off regime.

My doctor has told me that it is completely safe and is even of benefit to certain women like myself, as Rowan said. At first I was hesitant because as women, we have naturally been conditioned to accept our monthly cycle as the norm.

I now know my body better and as such I suffer much less and feel healthier.

Mermaid

[karen_breeze]

Hi thanks for that...as soon as I stop the pill after 3 weeks I'm desperate to start the next month, as I can feel the flushing building up...good I will try the nine weeks on...Mermaid(or anyone else), you seem to know lots about supplements during/after laser, do you know if it's ok to continue taking calcium(with vit D), and a zinc supplement. Thanks Karen

[irishgenes]

I don't think that any herb, food, or supplement can really take the place of hormones if your estrogen supply is low. I couldn't live without my Tri-est.

However, I read in Dr. Julian Whitaker's May 2005 issue of Health & Healing that 40 g of ground flaxseed daily was shown in a study to reduce hot flashes by 38%. That is 1/4 cp. and 120 calories. Since it loses potency very rapidly, you should buy the refrigerated kind and keep it in a freezer. This is different than the oil. It tastes pretty good in hot cereal.

[irishgenes]

Bihbicat, this is an old thread that I just happened to read again, but I am wondering how your hormonal flushing is doing and what you are taking. I don't know your age, but whether you are pre-, peri-, or post-menopausal, you could use the natural human estrogen applied to the skin so that it does not have to go through the liver. So many women are terrified of estrogen because of the side effects of birth control pills and Premarin, which are drugs and not bio-identical. But it makes no sense to be afraid of your own natural hormone that you have lived with all your life, and that is what bioidentical hormones are. They do not come from pregnant mares' urine! I suggest you buy a great book from Amazon about topically applied bioidentical estrogen by Dr. Uzzi Reiss called "Natural Hormone Balance for Women": http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743406664/qid=1127750180/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-4974073-0498455?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

[Bradley]

I'm not sure if this is a stupid question but would Black Cohosh be effective at reducing facial blushing in males? Thanks.

[Rowan]

Lowered estrogen levels cause many women to get "hot flashes", night sweats and flushing. Raising the level can help stop those symptoms. Black Cohosh contains a substance close enough to estrogen to trip our estrogen receptors and make the body think the estogen level is higher than it actually is. So it helps with flushing, but only if you already have low estrogen induced flushing.

Since flushing in men isn't caused by low estrogen, I don't see how raising the level could help you with your flushing. It can't fix what's not broken. It should be noted, however, that the first physical step in any male to female sex change is to take estrogen because it causes the body to feminize. If this would be unpleasant for you, I would stay well away from Black Cohosh. Just in case.

[Bradley]

Lol, I knew that was a stupid question but your answer gave me a lot of information that I didn't know already. Thanks for helping out Rowan you have saved me from a potential unexpected sex change LOL!

[Bihbicat]

Thanks for your interest Irishgenes, but I am not yet at the low eostrogen stage. I'm probably fairly early peri-menopause but there is not indication on tests yet that my flushing would be due to low eostrogen or that they would be the typical menopause flushes. What I think I have is a problem with fluctuating hormones contributing to flushing at certain points of the cycle. Also, as I've long had very bad PMS and other symptoms consistant with eostrogen dominance I think there are points of the month where that is my problem. I already use bioidential "natural" progesteron prior to menstruating, and will keep a close watch on the hormones levels in the coming years so I can change and incorporate the other if and when it's needed. All very complex isn't it, and hard to know exactly where you are at times. Still, it is important to women of certain ages to look into this.

[irishgenes]

I remember having very bad PMS and reading Dr. John Lee's book about lack of progesterone being the cause of every ill. I had some progesterone suppositories made up in the days before the OTC progesterone creams were available. It never helped. I continued to suffer from PMS--bloat, migraines, irritability, depression, extreme hunger. Only after it was too late for me did I learn that progesterone has the opposite effect from what it is supposed to have in many women and that, far from having estrogen dominance, what I had was declining estrogen. My tests didn't show low estrogen because they weren't done at the time of month when I was having the symptoms. Also, doctors may call a level "normal" that is still low enough to cause symptoms. They believe that if a woman is still menstruating, that is "proof" that her estrogen level is OK. Later, when I got my records, I saw that my PAP smears had been saying "Estrogen Effect Minimal" for years, and the doctor never mentioned that to me. After menopause, when I started on estrogen, the migraines that had sent me to the ER every month went away.

My favorite hormone book author, Dr. Elizabeth Vliet, explains it in her great book "It's My Ovaries, Stupid!" Here is the first page about the estrogen dominance theory of PMS starting about midway down: http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0743210565/ref=sib_vae_pg_200/002-4974073-0498455?%5Fencoding=UTF8&keywords=estrogen%20dominance&p=S06D&twc=8&checkSum=PiL4WhPphf0FD%2BqhNj74LNOibCCDc8JAPsbnQwM juGU%3D#reader-page
You can click ahead a couple of pages with that link by using the arrow on the right side of the page. I recommend the book to every woman suffering from hormone problems. Of course, if progesterone is stopping your symptoms, keep on. But if not, this is something to consider. Possibly an estrogen patch at the times you start having PMS symptoms. I wish I had tried estrogen back then. I could have avoided so much suffering.

[Bihbicat]

Thanks Irishgenes, interesting. I do seem to get relief from the progesterone cream, but I'll look into this further, and as I've heard of a good doc in this area I'll go see her for new tests when the cream runs out.