Along with menopausal weight gain and sleep problems commonly seen during menopause, there are other health conditions that can occur when you are in post menopause. As your estrogen levels continue to decrease, you may experience changes in your skin such as dryness, which can lead to wrinkles and vaginal dryness that can cause painful intercourse and osteoporosis (bone loss).

Skin Changes During Menopause

Since entering menopause, you may notice some physical changes in your skin and hair; both are becoming drier and thinner. The decrease in your estrogen levels is what causes your skin to lose elasticity, and it becomes thinner and unable to retain as much water. Your sweat and oil glands are producing less moisture, causing the skin to become dry, and to wrinkle and sag. 

A 6c homeopathic remedy, selected according to your mental and emotional states and physical symptoms, is the best way to support you as you are in post menopause.

Most Common Homeopathic Remedies for Menopause

• Calcarea Carbonica – Overwhelmed, overworked, over responsible, taking care of everyone. Craves bread, pasta, milk, cheese, and eggs.
• Lachesis Muta – Symptoms feel worse after sleep. Symptoms are more on the left side of the body. Can feel angry, jealous, disappointment in love, and can come from grief or depression.
• Natrum Muriaticum – Mental and emotionally feels frustrated, dwells on thought(s) throughout the day, holds on to emotions, does not cry in front of others. Often withdraws from others, prefers to be alone, may be depressed. Craves salty foods or dislikes salty foods.
• Pulsatilla – Feeling sad, lonely, left out and can come to tears very easily. Seeks food for comfort. Hot flashes worsen in stuffy rooms, and feels better with fresh outside air.
• Sepia – Emotional states that go from happy to angry, argumentative and irritable. Has ahistory of using the birth control pill, and may have a decreased sex drive. Hot flashes that ascend up the body or you feel as if hot water was poured over you.

Cell Salts (Hyland’s) for Skin Changes

You can take the Hyland’s 6x Cell Salts to help support the texture of your skin, along with a 6c hormonal homeopathic remedy. The suggested dose will be 1-4 tablets 1-3 times a day depending on the severity of your skin changes.

• Calc Fluor #1 – Helps with the loss of elasticity of your skin cells, that can cause you to have cracks, wrinkles, and stretch marks.
• Silicea #12 – Helps to produce collagen, a protein found in connective tissues, especially of the skin. Silicea is selected for crow’s feet and wrinkles around your eyes, forehead, and cheeks.

Vaginal Dryness

There several homeopathic remedies for vaginal dryness and 2 of the most commonly used homeopathic remedies are Natrum Muriaticum and Sepia.

• Natrum Muriaticum– Has vaginal dryness that can be intensely painful. Vaginal dryness with mental and emotional symptoms of feeling frustrated, dwells on thought(s) throughout the day and holds on to emotions, does not cry in front of others. Often withdraws from others, prefers to be alone, may be depressed. Craves salty foods or dislikes salty foods.
• Bryonia – Known to address dry membranes (tissues). You may have dryness elsewhere in body. Some homeopaths claim Bryonia is the best remedy for vaginal dryness.
• Sepia – Ascending heat or feels as if hot water was poured over you. Has vaginal dryness with bearing down pressure in the uterus, may have an aversion to sex, and the hormonal levels are decreasing. Has a history of using the birth control pill, miscarriage and/or abortion. You are feeling irritable which can go from happy to angry.
• Lycopodium – External vaginal dryness instead of internal dryness. You may be prone gas, bloating, heartburn, and indigestion
• Nitric Acid – Has chafing and rubbing that causes vaginal tissue to become red, cracked and split. You may also have a needle-like or smarting pain when genital area is touched.

Lubricants You May Want to Use:

• Calendula Cream or Ointment
• Coconut Oil
• Olive Oil
• Jivana Oil –you can make your own Jivana oil using a blend of 50% Almond oil, 40% Castor oil and 10% Jojoba oil
• Creame del feme – Dr Christiane Northrup, M.D recommends this in her books
• Yes – Water Based Intimate lubricant -=from Helios Homeopathy in the UK

*Be careful when buying over the counter lubricants, that may contain an acid.

Do You have Lichen Sclerosis?

My client has had a urinary tract infection (UTI) for 2 ½ months. She took antibiotics on and off for a month. She called me for help with her UTI. She stated that she was not making any progress healing the UTI, and all the doctor says is that she needs more antibiotics. She told me she was experiencing a burning sensation when she sits and pees, along with an urgency to pee. She also told me she feels pressure in her bladder when she needs to pee, and sometimes she doesn’t even need to pee and she still feels the pressure. I selected the homeopathic remedy Cantharis 200c, to take 3 times a day with 10 succussions each time. I also had my client take the homeopathic remedy Apis 200c, with 10 succussions each time, 3 times a day for the pressure she was feeling in the bladder. My client reported 3 days later that she is feeling better. She doesn’t have the urgency to pee, and has less pressure in the bladder than before taking the homeopathic remedies. The next few days, we made adjustments with the homeopathic remedies as needed to continue the healing process. After taking the homeopathic remedies for 10 days, she no longer had UTI symptoms.

Three weeks later, she called to tell me that she has UTI symptoms again. My client went back on the same homeopathic remedies, since she has the same UTI symptoms again. After taking the remedies, her UTI symptoms improved again. A few weeks later, my client called, stating that she has UTI symptoms again. She went back on the homeopathic remedies, and I also stated she must have something else going on, since she has so many UTI’s. I suggested she see a doctor again.

After a vaginal examine, her doctor stated that her vaginal walls are thinning and she has atrophy of the vagina, along with Lichen Sclerosis, a skin condition in the genital area that comes from low levels of estrogen. Her doctor prescribed an estrogen cream for her to apply once a day for a week. After 2 days of applying the estrogen cream, her vaginal symptoms were lessening.

I selected the hormonal homeopathic remedy Sepia 30c, to be taken daily while she was still on the estrogen cream. I explained to her, that now that the estrogen cream is reducing her symptoms, Sepia will take over to help rebalance her hormonal levels. Two weeks later my client called to let me know that since she has been taking Sepia and has finished applying the estrogen cream, her burning and bladder symptoms are much better, along with the pressure she was feeling in the bladder. It turns out the pressure she was feeling was the “bearing down” sensation, pressing on her bladder, which caused her to think she needed to pee. I also had her to apply Calendula Ointment to the vaginal area, if she starts to feel dryness at any time. We adjusted the Sepia dose for when her symptoms started to worsen again.

What is Lichen Sclerosis?

Lichen sclerosis (LS) is a skin condition that comes from low levels of estrogen, that usually affects the genital and anal areas. When Lichen Sclerosis affects the skin of the vulva, it is call Vulval Lichen Sclerosis (Vulval LS). Lichen Sclerosis can affect anyone, however the condition mostly affects postmenopausal women. Lichen Sclerosis is often misdiagnosed as a UTI. The skin condition isn’t contagious and can’t be spread through sexual contact.

Lichen Sclerosis and Vulval LS can have flare ups from irritants such as soap, detergent, shower gel and bubble bath. Friction or damage to the skin causes the skin to feel worse from frequent washing and the drying of the vaginal and anal areas.

Symptoms Checker:

It’s possible to have mild lichen sclerosis with no symptoms. The symptoms of vulval LS vary from person to person. Sometimes, Lichen Sclerosis or Vulval LS isn’t discovered until tests done to rule out other health problems such as a UTI or vaginitis.

• Smooth skin patches with or without as redness
• Blotchy, wrinkled skin patches (pale or white)
• Itching
• Soreness or a burning feeling, may be worse at night
• Easy bruising
• Fragile skin (tearing)
• Urinary tract infection (UTI)
• Bleeding, blistering or open sores
• Painful sex, especially when vulva is scarred and stuck together, causing the opening of the vagina to narrow.

Common Hormonal Homeopathic Remedies for Lichen Sclerosis or Vulval LS

I recommend that if you are experiencing Lichen Sclerosis or Vulval LS symptoms, have your case health history taken to have what’s called a “Chronic or Fundamental homeopathic remedy “for who you are that has a lack of estrogen, and any of the other symptoms related to the Lichen Sclerosis or Vulval LS. You will take a 6c homeopathic remedy daily, to address the low estrogen levels. In most cases, you will also need to take a homeopathic remedy acutely when you are experiencing skin symptoms, such as Nitric Acid for a sticking sensation on the skin when touched.

• Symptoms are worse after sleep. Can feel angry, jealous, disappointed in love, and can come from grief or depression.

• Feeling sad, lonely, left out and can come to tears very easily. Seeks food for comfort. Hot flashes worse in stuffy rooms, and feels better with fresh outside air.

• Sepia – Emotional states that go from happy to angry, argumentative and irritable. You have a history of using the birth control pill, and may have a decreased sex drive. Hot flashes that ascend up the body or you feel as if hot water was poured over you.

Homeopathic Remedies Taken Acutely for Lichen Sclerosis or Vulval LS

Select a 30c homeopathic remedy according to the symptoms you are experiencing. Take the homeopathic remedy 1-3 times a day when the symptoms become more intense.

• Helonias – Genital area feels hot, red and swollen, along with a burning sensation with intense itching.
• Kreosotum – Burning and soreness in the external and internal parts.
• Natrum Muriaticum – Dryness and soreness of the vagina with itching. Burning and soreness of the vagina after peeing. Feeling frustrated with the skin symptoms.

• Nitric Acid – External parts of vagina sore with ulcers. You may have a sticking needle-like sensation.
• Platinum Metallicum – Genital area is painfully sensitive with itching, tickling or crawling sensation.
• Sepia – Feels a dragging, bearing down pressure in the uterus and bladder as if everything would escape out through your vagina. Sex is painful from dryness of the vagina, may cause bleeding.

Vaginal Atrophy

Vaginal atrophy is from decreased levels of estrogen that causes the vaginal tissue to thin, deteriorate and make your vagina dry. Low estrogen levels can also cause urinary tract and bladder symptoms, along with a leaking urine problem.

Vaginal Atrophy Symptoms:

• Vaginal dryness
• Burning which can lead to bleeding
• Itching
• Vaginal discharge
• Discomfort with intercourse
• Vaginal canal shortening and tightening
• Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

Homeopathic Remedies to Help Support Low Estrogen Levels:

• Lachesis Muta – Symptoms feel worse after sleep. Symptoms are more on the left side of your body. Can feel angry, jealous, disappointment in love, grief or depression.
• Natrum Muriaticum – Dryness and soreness of the vagina with itching. Burning and soreness of the vagina after peeing. Burning, smarting in the vagina during sex. Emotionally feeling frustrated.
• Pulsatilla – Feeling sad, lonely, left out and can come to tears very easily. Seeks out food for comfort. Hot flashes worse in stuffy rooms, and feels better with fresh outside air.
• Sepia – Feels a dragging, bearing down pressure in the uterus and bladder as if everything would escape out through your vagina. Sex is painful from dryness of the vagina, may cause bleeding. Emotional states that go from happy to angry, argumentative and irritable.

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a diagnosis that label bones that have been weakened, which commonly happens over the age of 35 when your bone strength starts to decline, especially in post menopause from low estrogen levels. You are probably getting plenty of calcium in your diet, whether it is a fast food or vegan diet. Taking in more calcium is not the answer. Most bone loss is from inadequate calcium absorption and is not about not inadequate calcium intake. Magnesium helps you absorb the nutrients from food in your gut. Bone loss is also due to low levels of Vitamin D (absorbed from sunlight) and Vitamin K2. A sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise can also affect your bone loss. You should be doing weight-bearing exercises, yoga, or Qi Gong to help with increasing your bone mass.

Recommended Homeopathic Remedies for Osteoporosis

There are several homeopathic remedies for osteoporosis. The homeopathic remedies below are the remedies most commonly used, especially in post menopause. Select a homeopathic remedy according to the symptoms you are experiencing.

• Calcarea Carbonica – Has weakness in the spine and in your long bones that curve from reduced bone mass. Calcarea Carbonica helps repair and regrow your bones by stimulating the periosteum.
• Calcarea Phosphorica – Is the #1 homeopathic remedy for bone loss, because your bones are made from calcium and phosphorus. Selected for thin, brittle bones (osteoporosis). Calcarea Phosphorica is best taken as a Hyland’s #2 Calc Phos 6x Cell Salt. You can take 1-4 tablets of Calc Phos 6x 1 to 3 times a day, depending on at what stage you are experiencing bone loss. Calc Phos 6x cell salt is also known to be used for Hormonal Replacement Therapy (HRT).
• Silicea – Selected for bones that are sensitive and tender to touch. May also have a spinal curvature, especially to the right.

Decreasing levels of estrogen in post menopause can create health conditions that can affect your quality of life. Whether you are experiencing symptoms every day or just several times a month, taking a 30c homeopathic remedy acutely for your symptoms will help relieve your symptoms. However, having a complete case history taken to help select a 6c homeopathic remedy can help you in post menopause, giving you the quality of life you deserve.