7 Pharmacist Tips To Consider About Amberen vs Estroven

Medically reviewed by, Russell Braun RPH

Your doctor told you that perimenopause might be to blame for the way you have been feeling. What the heck is perimenopause and why is it happening to you? Now as you search for a supplement at the pharmacy to treat your symptoms both Amberen and Estroven look like options. Which one should you choose?

Menopause affects woman at different ages. Typically somewhere in the early 50’s women will experience menopause, defined as 12 consecutive months without a period. However, perimenopause can occur much earlier, as young as 35 for some women.

The term perimenopause simply means the time before menopause when estrogen hormone levels change and cause symptoms. The most common symptoms include:

Hot flashes	Night sweats	Sweating for no reason
Menstrual cycle changes	Headaches	Forgetfullness
Sleep changes	Bladder control problems	Hair and skin changes
Digestive issues	Osteoporosis	Bloating
Fatigue	Stress	Vaginal dryness
Weight gain	Muscle and join pain	Intolerance to foods
Painful periods	Abdominal tenderness	Low sex drive
Anxiety	Irritability	Depression

Ambreven and Estroven have long been marketed for this condition, so which one is better? Let’s compare these medications to help you pick the best option for you.

However, no healthcare professional should jump right into medication without first reviewing a few basic non medication tips.

1. Can lifestyle affect perimenopause symptoms?

Similar to most things in life, the choices you make can affect how severe your perimenopause symptoms are. In addition to helping with symptoms, these lifestyle changes can make you healthier overall.

Eat a healthy diet

1. Drink plenty of fluids, 2.5 to 3 liters per day is optimal for an adult female.

Water or juices are best
Limit sugary soft drinks

2. Eat small frequent meals, remember food can be the best medicine.

Instead of three large meals try to eat smaller meals every 3-4 hours.
Complex carbohydrates are key, these help feed the bacteria making up your microbiome in your intestines.
Limit salt intake to help prevent water retention.
Eat foods high in protein, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and calcium
Avoid too much caffeine

Increase physical activity

Finding an activity you enjoy and doing it consistently. Doing this with a friend of family member is a great idea that can keep you sticking to the habit.

1. Frequency

The Surgeon General physical activity guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per week.

2. Intensity

Research has shown that alternating high intensity cardio with rest periods is better than just walking or jogging for a set amount of time.

3. Benefits directly related to perimenopause:

Endorphins released during exercise can help limit the amount of pain perceived during menopausal symptoms.
Increasing excercise has been shown to decrease perimenopause related depression and fatigue.

Sleep

1. Get 7-9 hours of sleep

Sleepfoundation.org recommends adults be in this range for optimal health.
Lack of sleep will make the symptoms of perimenopaus worse.
Power naps earlier in the day are fine, but no long naps in late afternoon or evening.
Good sleep hygiene is essential.

Vises

1. Don’t smoke

Numerous studies show that smoking can bring on and worsen perimenopause symptoms especially hot flashes.

2. Avoid excessive drinking

Drinking in excess can increase the number and severity of perimenopause symptoms.

What is a menopause belly?

Weight gain is very common during perimenopause. The weight is normally put on around the mid section leading to the concept of a menopause belly. As your estrogen levels decline the body is trying to preserve it. Because estrogen is stored in body fat the menopause belly can appear.

How do you get rid of menopausal belly fat?

Aside from being annoying extra weight in the mid section is dangerous. Your risk of heart disease increases as the waist to hip ratio increases.

These lifestyle changes above can have a major effect on menopause belly!

2. Amberen vs. Estroven comparing apples to apples

Amberen and Estroven are brand name products that have more than one active ingredient to help with perimenopause symptoms. In addition, they both have more than one formulation (different ingredients or different strengths).

Why is that important to you?

This is key because, comparing apples to apples will guide you to buying the right product for you. You may want to avoid one of the ingredients if you do not have symptoms it is used for. Also, it is important to know when you have a health condition where the ingredient(s) should be avoided.

3. Amberen

Deciding on a product to use can be quite confusing. Amberen has two different formulations. One is for perimenopause symptoms and the other is for menopause symptoms. Obviously there will be a lot of overlap and you should confirm with your doctor which of these categories you fall into before buying anything.

Some key ingredients in Amberen include:

Antioxidants

Amino acids, minerals and vitamin E.

Glycine

An amino acid that has estrogen like effects especially on bone formation.

Pros:

Several ingredients are antioxidants and reduce free radicals.
Claims to increase energy and improve endocrine gland function.
Products are easily split up between women over 35 in perimenopause or those in menopause.
Does not contain estrogen.
B vitamins have been shown effective in testing some menopausal symptoms.

Cons:

There is no information on how much of the each of the base ingredients are in the “proprietary blend”. They only say 400mg or 560mg, which is not normal for over the counter medications.
Tocopherol (Vitamin E) can interact with medications used for blood clots.
Very few studies support these combination of active ingredients actually help with menopausal symptoms.

Cost:

60 capsules is a 30 day supply and cost ~$24, which is $0.80 per dose.**

**Prices subject to change.

Does Amberen have estrogen in it?

While Amberen has a blend of antioxidants, amino acids, vitamin E and other minerals it does not contain estrogen. Estrogen is the female hormone that is responsible for many of the symptoms of menopause as levels decrease in the body.

Many times doctors will give woman who suffer from menopausal symptoms a prescription for Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). These drugs will consist of estrogen and possibly other hormones. No Over The Counter (OTC) products like Amberen or Estroven will actually contain estrogen.

Does Amberen really work for menopause?

To date there have been two randomized, placebo controlled studies that are the hallmark of proving if a drug works to treat a condition. Both trials looked at Amberen over a 90 day timeframe for treating perimenopause symptoms.

Specifically, these studies found that Amberen was better than placebo at treating:

Hot flashes
Vaginal dryness
Mood changes
Sleep disturbances

Before you run out and buy Amberen make sure you keep in mind that these studies had some limitations that may make it not have the same outcome for you. These include:

Did not have a diverse patient population.
Only followed patients for a short time of 90 days.
Were funded by the company that makes Amberen.

Federal Trade Commission Complaint on Amberen

In 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint against the Lunada Biomedical the manufacturer of Amberen. It stated that they used deceptive marketing. They alleged that the product made claims about treating the following symptoms that had no proof.

Weight loss
Losing belly fat
Increased metabolism
Relieving hot flashes and night sweats

The manufacturer settled and changed the marketing on the product to remove these claims. Keep that in mind when looking at any dietary supplement and claims they make. Always ask yourself, are the really true?

4. Estroven

Estroven has seven different formulations. Six of them are marketed for menopause and one is for perimenopause. They target a womans primary symptoms by claiming to be for stress, weight, sleep, mood or energy.

Similar to Amberen there will be a lot of overlap and you should confirm with your doctor which of these categories you fall into before buying anything.

Some key ingredients in Estroven include:

Rhapontic Rhubarb Root Extract

There is 4mg of this extract as the primary ingredient in all of the seven Estroven formulations. The label breaks this down as 2.2mg of rhaponticin and 1mg of desoxyrhaponticin. These are simply variations of the form of the root extract.

There is no evidence of this root being effective at treating menopausal symptoms.

Other ingredients

The table below lists the other ingredients in each one of the Estroven products. The only ingredients that have been studied on menopausal symptoms include black cohosh.

What is not in Estroven

The manufacturer of Estroven markets the product as vegetarian. In addition it is hormone free including no estrogen. Other woman may find comfort in the non-GMO and MSG-free designations.