How to Get Off of Hormone Replacement Therapy and Start Using Royal Maca

From the blog of the Cofounder of Whole World Botanicals, Viana Muller, Ph.D.

When I first started organic, sundried, pre-cooked maca root 15 years ago and then started working with the indigenous communities who produce this lovely, powerful type of maca 14 years ago, i developed an elaborate protocol of reducing hrt and adding royal maca that lasted 2 or 3 months.  The problem was that this protocol was only satisfactory for the women whose hot flashes were mild.  For the rest, this gentle substitution protocol just prolonged the agony of making the change over.  The hot flashes were raging and we never knew for sure whether it was because of the withdrawal from the hormones or whether it was because the combo of Royal Maca with the reduced level of hormones was just too much for the body to handle.

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Eventually, most women agreed that it was better just to go "cold turkey" and stop the hormones for at least 3 weeks before starting a tiny dose of Royal Maca®.  For those women who said they couldn't stand it after two weeks, we said, "O.K., take one capsule (or 1/6 tsp) of Royal Maca® a day for the third week of no hormones and two capsules (or 1/3 tsp) a day for the fourth week of no hormones.  After four weeks had passed, then the women could jump up to 3 capsules (or 1/2 tsp) a day (all taken in the morning unless they also had adrenal exhaustion or were taking Royal Maca® Plus for Women with DIM, in which case it is advised to take one capsule (or 1/6 tsp) with each meal).  If 3 caps (or 1/2 tsp) a day wasn't enough to make the hot flashes at least 80% better, then the women could increase by one more capsule daily for 5 days and evaluate again. This was repeated until the symptoms were at the 80% better level.  That is what we considered and still consider to be the right serving size. In time, since maca root has a cumulative effect, that 80% can become 90% symptom free for many.

What If You Can't Sleep Without Taking Your Hormones?

In addition to the very uncomfortable feeling of the hot flashes during the transition period between getting off of estrogen and starting Royal Maca, many women face sleepless nights brought on by the estrogen depletion of their bodies. Many of these women tried herbal sleeping remedies and they often worked.  But for other women they didn't.  For these desperate women, we suggested discussing with their doctor a temporary solution of a prescription sleeping pill—just for 2 - 4 weeks until the changeover was complete.

What If You Become a Raging Bear Without Your Estrogen Prescription?

There is a certain percentage of women who tell me that if they go off of their hrt they are afraid either that they will lose either their job or their husband! Others are afraid that their sadness will become unbearable once they are off their estrogen.  Estrogen helps their mood balance, their serotonin level.  What to do?  Well, there are always mood prescriptions available from your physician—again on a very temporary basis.  But many women have tried taking Royal Camu™ first and this has worked so well that it wasn't necessary to get a medication.  Why it works no one really knows.  The research isn't there at this point.  Some might call it the "placebo effect".  All I can tell you is that for many the effect is very positive.  Dr. James duke, chief botanist for the usda for 30 years, talks about this effect in his best selling book, The Green Pharmacy: The Ultimate Compendium Of Natural Remedies From The World's Foremost Authority On Healing Herbs.