coping with hot flushes

annie1623

Hi, can anyone help me I am really struggling with hot flushes and nothing seems to work.  HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!

iodine

HI, welcome to the club!  So many of us have the personal summers and haven't found what to do about them.

I had a great onco. who would provide me a prescription for anything I asked for to treat them.

My route: Effexor XL, works pretty well, titrate up or off the med.

Megace: an older generic that worked better than anything else  I tried.

Bellergal: another oldie which didn't work for me.

Vitamin E: caused brusing as it's a blood thinner.  I took with senior vitamins which also had a fairly high dose of Vit. E.

I was cautioned (this was over 6 years ago, so things may have changed) NOT to use ---black cohash, plant estrogen, pseudo estrogen, or any of the other "natural" replacemtns for estrogen.  He was not a fan of  soy because it's in so many of prepared foods so one doesn't know how much we are actually getting.

So---different sources help different people.  Just have to keep trying. 

I carried a folding fan in each and every purse--had all sizes, and they look classs, IMO.  At least they look better than stripping of clothing in the supermarket.

I wore t-shirts at home YEAR ROUND  for 3 years.  I still don't get very cold and have saved a bundle on not buying coats and sweaters.  Now my husband has to wear 3-4 layers, including a hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants around the house.  I sleep in a bedroom with the heat vent closed off and have a remote control electric fan pointed directly at me.

Some keep a thermos of ice or ice water near them at all times.  There are night gowns and pj's one can purchase which wicks off the sweat, so you don't freeze to death after a night sweat.  They make a Chillo--a pillow with a water filled cover that helps cool you at night.

Oh, and plan on that sweat that comes about the time you are beginning to fall asleep.  I have no idea why, but almost everyone gets that.

Avoid hot, spicy foods and wine or any booze.  Major trigger for a flash.  On the other hand a few drinks may be the only way to "make it thru the night" for some people.  Just kidding.

Very hot showers or baths are a no-no, luke warm and brief -- that's the way to get clean and not sweat for an hour after.

I guess that's all I can think of for now.  Others may come by and add to the llist.  In the meantime, use the search at the topish left of the page for hot flashes and you're likely to pull up a whole LONG thread about it.

GuyGirl

My sister bought me a chillow pillow that helps at night. 

annie1623

thankyou, I ordered a chillow pillow yesterday so I hope that gives me some releif I am taking effexor already but it hasnt done much and also catapress but I am looking forward to receiving my pillow

shells43

I was at work yesterday (agricultural research) in one of the green houses and had dressed warmly for winter (even in Florida it has been cold). I hadn't been to the greenhouses in awhile and forgot how warm AND humid they are. I had a thick sweater on plus a coat, which I removed immediately, but after awhile I thought I was going to pass out from the heat + hot flashes and just about ripped my sweater off right there in front of the young post-doc guy I was working with!! I'm sure he was wondering what was wrong with me! That would have been a sight/fright for him!

I ended up going back to the lab, taking my sweater off and just wearing a cotton lab coat over my bra! I think I will stash a few t-shirts in the lab, as Iodine suggests!

We all know you you feel, Annie! Hugs 

Basia

My onc gave me gabapenten for the hot flashes, seems to be working.

Sandeeonherown

Hi and welcomeAnnie1623! I have only been posting on these sites for a couple of weeks and have been on Tamoxifen since radiation, November 23. I started splitting my tamxifen in half 10 days ago after follwing some of these threads..1/2 in the am and 1/2 in the pm around supper and voila! my hot flashes have stopped at night. I am also taking a sleeping aid prescribed by my doc.(zopliclone)..before I split the tamox, he sleeping pill didn't seem to have any affect. Now I am ou tlike a light. I am also doing two or three good, sweat-producing workouts per week (the kind where your face isbeat red afterwards for 2 or 3 hours)  and this is also helping with the hot flashes, at night anyhow. I sleep with the heat in the bedroom OFF (and it was -7celsius last night here in Nova Scotia) but I start the night off with falannel pj's, sox and a beanbag I heat in the microwave for 4.5 minutes before bed...seems to do the trick...keeps me warm enough to fall asleep but by the time the beanbag has cooled, my own warmth takes over. Oh...and I have layers on the bed now too so if I do wake up in the middle of the night (uaually 4am(, I can simply throw off the duvet and keep sleeping with the lighter blanket(duvet like so not worrying about getting tangled up in sheets and the like)

During the day, I wear layers.Made the mistake of buyi ga gorgeous corn blue shirt at Mark's work wearhouse..cotton...and soaking through it 10 minutes before I started a class on Monday...thank god I had a t-shirt type pull that I could replace it with (with pins or that too woul dhave been a site!)...I keep a back up shirt or two in my gym bag inthe car now and an extra sports bra as well for the days I soak through that (and for the days the wire in my lacy bras starts to make my whole body ache)...

Hadn't heard of the pillows before but if mine come back this summer, I will look into it too!

Be well everyone,

Sandee

Letlet

am in the middle of chemo and the hot flashes wake me up at night. My bald head gets hot and sweaty so I take off my sleep cap then it gets cold. It goes on and on and on...I was hoping to tackle menopause 20 years from now....

minxie

i had these something AWFUL after chemo for well over a year and a half - every hour or so, the major ones with a wave of nausea, then burning hot, dripping sweat, and then in the winter, freezing cold 5 minutes later from being drenched. At least 20 times a day, waking me up many times at night.

My onc tried Pristiq out on me, but I had very bad SEs and stopped. Then this fall they tried clonidine, which is a high blood pressure med. I take it before bed, and the flashes have abated about 80%, still get a few but they are much less often and much less severe.

iodine

gabapenten==Neurontin.  Good choice.

One of the things my onco. and I discovered is that one may have to different meds to see which works for you.  It could take several to find the right one. 

All good tips above!

carcharm

Can someone tell me why black cohash is not a good choice? I am er/pr- so would it be ok than? My persentage at dx 0/0. I read somewhere in these boards that it is a carcinogen. Is this true? My psych changed me to lexapro and told me to take black cohash for hot flashes. I was on effexor-which worked well but my insurance said I had to take the generic which didn't work so well.

kira1234

Can't help you with the black cohash, just know I was told it's a no no.

My Onc. wants me to take 400 I.U. of vitamin E 2X a day for the hot flashes. It seems to be helping me so far.

lago

black cohash I don't think they know yet Both these articles reference older information.:

 Sloan Kettering Cancer Center:
http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/69140.cfm

Clinical Summary
Obtained from root of the plant, black cohosh is used as a dietary supplement to relieve the symptoms of menopause and dysmenorrhea. Black cohosh has antiosteoporotic effects (8) and has been shown to enhance bone formation (9). Black cohosh alone (1) (2) (3) or in combination with other herbs (4), (5) has been shown in clinical studies to be effective in the treatment of menopausal symptoms, but data are conflicting (6) (31) (32) (36). Studies evaluating black cohosh to treat hot flashes from breast cancer treatment also yielded mixed results (10) (11) (12). Further supplementation with black cohosh did not enhance bone density, menopausal symptoms, or 10-year risk of coronary heart disease in early postmenopausal women (37).

In vitro studies show black cohosh decreases prostate cancer cell proliferation (14) and induces an apoptotic response in liver cells (21). However, it also increased the incidence of metastatic disease in mice (16). Whether it has similar effects in breast cancer patients is not well studied, although a retrospective observational study of breast cancer patients found that black cohosh enhanced disease-free survival (15).

Some studies indiate that black cohosh does not possess estrogenic activity. Until this is confirmed, patients with estrogen receptor-positive cancers should use caution when considering the use of black cohosh dietary supplements.

---------------------------------

From webMD:

Black Cohosh Tied to Breast Cancer Spread
Black Cohosh May Not Promote New Breast Tumors but May Spur Breast Cancer Spread, Lab Tests Show 

http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20081111/black-cohosh-tied-to-breast-cancer-spread 

lorrhaw

My hot flashes mostly bother me at night, in spite of my gabapentin, so I have started sleeping with a wet washcloth on my head and a fan on my nightstand pointed straight at me.  I am sure sleeping with a woman with a cold, clammy towel on her head isn't very appealing to my husband but it seems to help me.

Lorraine

Sandeeonherown

lorrhaw...bet it is better than th ealternative if you took it off your head and sweat you both out of the bed, hmm>?LoL...i am just plagued by lack of sleep...2am andI am still wide awake..not imporessed.