We're all biologically different and it may be that some people just don't get symptoms in response to a hormone change, where others become very symptomatic. Other popular alternative therapies are creams which claim to mimic the effect of progesterones. Very little scientific information is availabe about either of these products. A study of one brand of natural progesterone cream found that it gave only minute increases in the blood levels of progesterone, unlikely to be enough to have any medicinal effect. Like hormone replacement therapy, alternative therapies carry no guarantee of safety.
Some doctors are concerned that their 'natural' label gives a false sense of confidence.
We don't know that. We don't know that long-term usage has any harm to it. If a product has an effect on the body that mimics the effect of a medicine, she says, it should be treated with the same respect. The maze of conflicting information about menopause and menopause treatments can be overwhelming. But perhaps women can take heart from the fact that at least menopause is getting a bit more attention than it used to.