Thanks Doreen. Must take a lot of time to write all these detailed responses to my questions as well as those of others. I'm going to head over the Choices this p.m. to check out dong quai and soy possibilities. I've bought flax seeds and made flax porridge a couple of times. Entirely palatable. Do you know how much daily flax seeds would be useful for reducing hot flashes and sleep interruption (I woke at 3:30 a.m. on Friday and had no brain at work all day long--lost and found my keys 5 times before 10 a.m., thought I was going crazy as I'd lose them almost as soon as I found them--spent the day patting my pockets, searching my purse, and lifting papers off my desk...).

Also, the hormone pills I was on were the conjugated estrogens from plants. Are those pills made from the plants that are the alternatives? And, if I'm getting hormones from plants, wouldn't that put me in the same condition (which I'm thinking has stalled me) as I was in with the pills? I'm confused.