A few years back, when things felt out of balance, I used a bioidentical progesterone cream with good results. I've never tolerated RX hormones well, and the cream is available OTC in a lot of areas. Topically applied sage oil was also surprisingly helpful- it has estrogen type compounds. There are some people who shouldn't use these (people who've had cancer, for example), and I'm not sure about combining them with traditional HRT. Some doctors support bioidenticals, it could be worth asking about?


If your issue is with hormone balance, then maybe research vitex. It's a plant that's been used for centuries, and it's very inexpensive. Vitex isn't hormonal, but my understanding is that it works by activating your body's ability to balance and regulate the hormones you have. So as your hormone levels shift at our age, vitex helps your body to keep them in balance with each other. Menopause became a non-event for me once I started using vitex. One problem with it, though, is that it can give you awful headaches the first few weeks you are taking it.