Hi Megs. Black Cohosh has not been definitively proved to assist with menopausal symptoms. If you are taking Tamoxifen it is advised against as it can lead to liver toxicity. It's also not advised during chemo.
If you are looking at herbal supplements you can run them through the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre About Herbs website/app. It is recommended by BCNA, and my oncologist also gave me the web address.
https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/diagnosis-treatment/symptom-management/integrative-medicine/herbsI'm afraid there's no magic bullet here. I've been looking for one for almost a year now... I have a chilly towel by my bed for relief. Some people find sleeping with the window open or air-conditioning on helps, even in the winter. You can work out if there are triggers (hot drinks, alcohol, spice, stress) and try to avoid them. Sleep naked, or in cotton. Sleep under layers, on a towel. When you get into bed, don't cover up straight away, just bit by bit from the feet up as you get cold.
I get hot flushes multiple times a day, and the ones at night especially are sweaty. I've have had one massive full blown night sweat. The full cliché, woke thinking I'd wet the bed, mopping up with towels. Horrible.
They stop me from falling asleep, and they wake me up, one to three times a night now. They've ruined my sleep. I lie there and of course the whale of doom arrives as I stare at the ceiling. I am always tired as a result, which makes my entire life harder. Many to most of us here have the same problem.
Hot flushes aren't properly understood by scientists. It's a female thing, and so of course it's not been researched as much as if it would have been if men got them (I mean normally, as some men get them on hormone therapies as well).
Speak to your oncologist or GP about menopause clinics in Adelaide. But I warn you, you're going to be told about dressing in layers, meditation, and cognitive behavioral therapy...
If I had a magic wand I'd wave it over all of us. K xox
