Waves of heat, out of the blue. Waking up hot and sweaty in the middle of the night. Feeling hot after eating. Life marches on and menopause is on my horizon. Homeopathic Sepia to the rescue!
Even though menopause runs early in my family, it kinda snuck up on me. I'm 45 years old, and although it feels too early, perimenopause is here. One of the first things I noticed was erratic menstrual periods, beginning a couple years ago, sometimes arriving late, sometimes right on time, and sometimes arriving early.
Then over the last year, I was noticing that my skin seemed different, less plump, more prone to wrinkles. And I was more tired than usual, but thought it was just because I've been so busy. I hadn't yet put together the pieces of the puzzle, but it all became clear with the arrival of hot flashes a few months ago.
I'd be going about daily life, and then suddenly I'd be hot and sweaty. I'd wake in the middle of the night and then feel a wave of heat come over me. I'd eat dinner, and then be suddenly hot. I was leaving little fans all over the house and taking one with me every time I went out, so I would be able to fan myself anytime it happened.
I finally realized, *duh!* I must be in perimenopause! The weird periods, the hair falling out, the hot flashes, the unexplained weight gain... it all added up. It was time to select a homeopathic remedy, as the hot flashes happening more and more, all day and night.
Homeopathic Sepia for Hot Flashes
Sepia is the queen of remedies for women during times of hormonal change. It can have beneficial effects during puberty, pregnancy, motherhood, menopause, and many times in-between. It can help the body re-balance the hormones, naturally and without side effects. Here are a few scientific references of interest:
Management of distress during climacteric years by homeopathic therapy - Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicince - "Homeopathic therapy was found to be useful in relieving menopausal distressing symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety, palpitation, depression, insomnia... The medicines found to be most frequently indicated and useful were Sepia, Lachesis, Calcarea carb., Lycopodium, and Sulphur."
Sepia for the management of menopausal symptoms: A multicentric, randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial - Indian Journal of Research in Homeopathy - "Sepia is able to allay the menopausal symptoms when prescribed on symptomatic indications as per homoeopathic principles."
Homoepathic Treatment of Hot Flushes - British Homeopathic Journal - 79% of the women enrolled in the study reported a reduction in both the severity and frequency of hot flushes as a result of the treatment.
Treating hot flushes in menopausal women with homeopathic treatment--results of an observational study - Homeopathy Journal - In this large multi-national observational study, data was assembled from 438 women suffering from this complaint who were treated by 99 different homeopathic physicians across 8 countries. 90% of the women who were treated in this manner reported a complete amelioration or significant reduction in their symptoms, and of these, the majority experienced this change within 15 days of beginning the treatment.
My hot flashes went from ~12-15 daily to none or maybe ~once a week!
My hair loss slowed down to normal.
I stopped gaining weight, so long as I stuck to my two life-hacks for healthy weight and also reduced my carb intake a bit.
And, I was no longer waking in the middle of the night with hot flashes.
All of that was just from one dose.
The effects started to wear off after a few weeks, so I repeated the dose and once again the hot flashes disappeared. Now I just watch to see when I need to take more Sepia, based on when my symptoms start coming back. That tends to be about once every 3-4 weeks.
Characteristic Mental/Emotional Indications for Sepia
Sepia is not the only remedy that can help with hot flashes. As with all homeopathic remedies, Sepia will work best when it matches well with the mental, emotional, and physical symptoms that a person is exhibiting. The mental/emotional picture for Sepia can be one of this remedy's most striking features.
The classic picture of a Sepia woman includes:
feeling overworked and/or overwhelmed,
irritability or anger specifically triggered by one's children and/or spouse,
feeling less affectionate or apathetic towards one's children and/or spouse,
a desire to escape, even for just a few minutes of solitude,
"loves her husband and children dearly but is too exhausted to feel anything but the need to get through the day's work and survive to the next," [1] and/or
feeling "overly conscientious about family responsibilities and thus excessively guilty about any desire or effort to avoid them" [2].
Women may feel guilty about having these feelings or try to deny that they exist. Nonetheless, Sepia can help the body and mind become more balanced so that these feelings occur less often and with less intensity.
Note that if a woman is very well-balanced, she may exhibit few or none of these emotional symptoms alongside her hot flashes. That was the case for me, so I started out trying other homeopathic remedies that didn't do a thing for me. Once I finally tried Sepia, the improvements were dramatic.
Dosage and Potency Guidance
Sepia 30c is a good general purpose potency to start with for most people, although for some people it may be more appropriate to start with a lower or higher potency depending upon their individual sensitivity level.
One pellet dissolved on the tongue constitutes one dose, and it should be taken at a time when there is no taste in the mouth from previous food or drink. It's best to avoid eating or drinking anything (except water) for 10 minutes after the dose.
Beware that coffee, menthol, alcohol, essential oils, and recreational drugs can all interfere with the remedy action. Comment below to let me know if you need more info on how to navigate this.
With all homeopathic remedies, the least number of doses is always the best. After the first dose, wait-and-watch for several weeks to see if the Sepia has acted well and how long the improvements last. There is no need to repeat the remedy dose until the positive effects wear off.
If Sepia is needed for more than two doses, it may work best to use wet dosing after the first two doses. Wet dosing can also be used to modify the size of the dose if there is any sign of temporary symptom aggravation after a dose. Wet dosing for chronic ailments is quite a bit different than for acute ailments, so let me know if you need more information about this by commenting below.
Other Remedies for Hot Flashes
Sepia is the most commonly-indicated homeopathic remedy for hot flashes, but there are other remedies that may work better depending on each woman's symptoms. Some other remedies to consider include Lachesis muta, Causticum, Sulphur, Calcarea carbonica, Pulsatilla, and others.
I hope this helps more women navigate this time of transition with greater ease and well-being! Feel free to share your own perimenopause and menopause experiences below.
References
[1] Coulter, Catherine R. (1998). Portraits of Homoeopathic Medicines: Psychophysical Analyses of Selected Constitutional Types, Vol. 1. St. Louis, MO: Quality Medical Publishing, Inc.
[2] Moskowitz, Richard M.D. (1992). Homeopathic Medicines for Pregnancy and Childbirth. Berkely, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or licensed healthcare professional. I am a homeopathic practitioner whose services are considered complementary and alternative by the state of New Mexico. The uses of homeopathic remedies described herein are provided for educational use only.
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