Effectiveness of Individualized Homoeopathic Medicines in the Management of Postmenopausal Syndrome: A Prospective Case Series

Author

Dr. Swati Shravan Yenurkar, Dr. Virendra Jain, Dr. Sonali Roham, Dr. Ankita Thete, Dr. Aditi Kale, Dr. Deep Mandali

Abstract

 Background

Postmenopausal syndrome comprises a variety of vasomotor, psychological, somatic and urogenital symptoms that may adversely affect the quality of life of women. Individualized homoeopathic treatment considers the totality of symptoms rather than treating individual complaints in isolation. However, clinical studies evaluating individualized homoeopathic treatment using standardized outcome measures such as the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) are limited.

Objective

To study the effectiveness of individualized homoeopathic medicines in the management of postmenopausal syndrome, to identify commonly occurring symptoms and to determine the frequently indicated homoeopathic medicines.

Materials and Methods

A prospective case series was conducted over a period of 18 months. Thirty postmenopausal women aged 45–60 years fulfilling the predefined eligibility criteria were included. Detailed individualized case-taking was conducted, followed by analysis and evaluation of symptoms, repertorization and selection of the homoeopathic medicine according to the totality of symptoms. The Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) was used to assess symptom severity before and after treatment. Pre-treatment and post-treatment MRS scores were compared using a paired t-test.

Results

Of the 30 participants, 27 (90%) were categorized as improved and 3 (10%) as not improved. Hot flushes and sweating were the most prevalent symptoms (96.7%), followed by joint and muscular discomfort (90%), physical and mental exhaustion (86.7%), sleep disturbances  (83.3%) and irritability (83.3%). Eleven different homoeopathic medicines were prescribed. Sepia and Lachesis were the most frequently indicated medicines, each prescribed in 6 cases (20%), followed by Sulphur in 5 cases (16.7%). The mean MRS score decreased from 20.56 before treatment to 9.50 after treatment, with a mean reduction of 11.06 points. The paired t-test showed a statistically significant difference (t=16.834, df=29, p<0.0001).

Conclusion

Individualized homoeopathic treatment was associated with a significant reduction in MRS scores in this prospective case series. The findings suggest a possible role of individualized homoeopathic medicines in the management of postmenopausal symptoms. However, larger controlled studies with longer follow-up and additional outcome measures are required to further evaluate these findings.

Keywords

Postmenopausal syndrome, Homoeopathy, Menopause Rating Scale, Individualization, Sepia, Lachesis, menopausal symptoms

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