HATE HOT FLASHES AND MENOPAUSE

dksindistress

Is there any help out there for hot flashes and the other menopause side effects?  Does anything work.  I used to hate PMS and periods till I had my last one eight months ago at the same time as my mastectomy.  menopause is miserable.  If you have found anything that helps, please share.  If I discover anything I promise to share with you all.  Thanks. 

wrsmith2x

I have gone thru this for 3 years now and finally broke down and bought something off the web called Macafem.  I was skeptical but needed to get rid of hot flashes, especially night sweats.  It works beautifully!  I hardly ever have night sweats anymore and very few hot flashes.  I am hoping that the longer I take it that it will help with energy and libido also.  Only been on it for 13 days. Read up on it.  Hope this helps you too.  Good luck!

dksindistress

Thanks for the info.  I will check into it.  glad to know it is helping you.  Another lady recommended Effexor, which is only by prescription.  I really hate the hot flashes and not getting good sleep.  It's driving me and my boyfriend crazt.  All advice is appreciated.  Thank you

woodstock

I purchased something called a "BedFan" on line.  Used it a few nights and it helps.

Esti

dksindistress -

My oncologist started me on Effexor when my 'chemopause' symptoms started halfway through treatment.  I do think that it helps with the hot flashes, sleep disturbances and mood swings. I was on the medication a few weeks before I noticed any improvements, and it doesn't eliminate the symptoms altogether; it lessons them to a bearable level. (Meaning I don't want to rip my clothes off in a flash, but I notice getting warmer.) 

Linda54

I have menopause hot flashes.  I took Effexor for 8 months but could not stand the side effect of constipation.  I went off of the med cold turkey.  I was glad to be off of it.  Like Esti said...it only lessens the severity of the flashes...does not get rid of them.

I now take a very low dose of a BP med called Clonidine. It had been proven to help with the severity of the flashes.  So far so good.  I still have the flashes but not as bad and not as frequent.  But still I notice that if I eat sweets or high fat foods, high sodium then they can be more frequent and lots of sweat. Apparently the flashes can be triggered by certain foods.  I have noticed that when I have not eaten or just had yogurt for breakfast that I do not have flashes....hey I have to eat....I have fans all over my house.  One by my bed and it blows on me all night. If I can get some air blowing on me then I can get over a flash faster.  Here come one now...gotta go get the fan....good luck finding something that helps yours.

bevin

HI Everyone, I am an Efffexor fan!!

I will say it took about 6 weeks to get the full dosage up in my body, I take 37.5 mg a day.So , I was afraid it wouldnt work since it took that much time.   But now, I am 99% hot flash  and night sweat free.  I had terrible ones. Sweating , dripping water down my chest, back. So many a day I couldnt keep count. Now, I only get them if I have an alcoholic beverage (hence the 99% effective rather than 100%1. Which in itself is rare, but if I do, I can count on some small flashes if I drink.

I also had the great effect of losing 4 lbs on it.  I did find at first I had a bit of constipation, but that subsided by week 6 and I took stool softeners in the beginning. Those helped. Now, I dont need those and I have no issues.

I am a huge huge fan and suffered from hot flashes for 4 years before finding this!!  Everyone's body is different, so if one thing doesn;t work for you tell your onco and they can try something else.

Good luck!  Here's hoping for some nice cooland flash free days for you!

Linda54

Amazing how different we all are bevin.  So glad the effexor is working so good for you.

I told my doc that I had to decide which was the better of the two evils...constant constipation or a hot flash every now and then....I chose to have the hot flashes....he laughed and then prescribed the clonidine.  I read an article last week that women who experience hot flashes vs women who do not have a lesser chance of having a heart attack.....wow we are at least getting something positive for our agony......

bevin

Dear LInda- your post just made  me laugh out loud.  I can definately understand that constipation is WORSE than a hot flash... Nothing can make me more cranky and amazing how good it is to be regular!!! Scary what I share now that I am in my 40's!!

Linda54

bevin, so glad you got a chuckle from my post.

I am 57 and have shared some things that are most embarrasing.  I have been DX with Rectocele. I have a bulge (hernia like) in my rectum.  Giving birth can weaken your support down under and then you hit menopause and no estrogen...well, that is just the icing on the cake.  My uterus has dropped about halfway so I will have all that taken out also...bladder is a little tipped but not bad but while we are in there might as well do a little work on it.  At least I went a year without a surgery.  I want to enjoy my spring so will likely have it done during July 4th week when hubby is off work. 

bevin

Dear Linda- that sounds dreadful. I hope they're able to repair that. Good luck and talk soon.

codavis

Unfortunately, Effexor isn't working for me. Or is it? My hot flashes started part way through 6 months of CMF chemo treatment and I haven't had a period since May 2010. I'm only 44 and am likely in chemopause, but the hotflashes have gotten progressively worse. When I started taking Tamoxifen, which can make flashes worse, I relented and let my onc put me on a low dose of Effexor. I'm up to 75 mg twice a day and still have sweat-dripping hot flashes at least every hour. I have a fan on my desk, in my bedroom, in my living room and I bought a bunch of those little folding hand held fans for when I'm in transit.

Last night I did some internet research and found that stress, alchohol and certain foods can trigger hot flashes. I'm going to see if I can reduce the triggers and start excercising every day. If that doesn't help, I think I'll have to try another medication. Or maybe quitTamoxifen--I don't know how long I can stand this. If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

mollyinco

Brookstone bedfan helps tons, blows cool air on you under the blankets all night so your core doesn't heat up so much..way better than a regular fan sitting beside you. 400mg/day od vitamin E has helped decreased the hot flashes

Best thing to decrease internal body temp that I've found is eating several slices of steamed sweet potatoes after lunch and dinner every day, plus drink. A cup of soy milk in the morning. The sweet potatoes work incredibly well.

If you can affor acupuncture that has helped decrease the hot flashes and keeps me sleeping deeply between each night sweat

sespebadger

I had chemo the first 6 months of last year (I was 49 at the time) and had pretty bad hot flashes, mostly at night. My onc said exercise would help, as would limiting caffeine and limiting alcohol. Luckily for me, coffee tasted terrible during chemo and I have pretty much given it up. I now actually like jasmine green tea. I also drink much less alcohol now (I admit!). I notice that when I do have more than one drink in the evening I have many more hot flashes during the night. I also exercise with a long walk almost every day. I'm on Tamoxifen now but I think that the hot flashes are fewer than they used to be.....I'm sleeping better and they don't bother me much. So, I highly recommend exercise, and limiting alcohol and caffeine. 

Linda54

I know everyone is different....we all react in different ways..... I get in 1-1.5 hrs of cardio a day also strength training 2 times a week...I do not drink alcohol and only drink 1 cup of coffee a day..the rest of the time I drink water..I also eat right....this has not helped my hot flashes.  I do notice that if I eat high sodium or high sugar foods the flashes are more severe and more frequent so I do try to stay away from these kinds of food...that means no restaurant foods... 

GmaFoley

I had trouble with effexor and other drugs used for hot flashes. The only thing that I got to help is an ice pack on the neck when one starts or when going to bed I start the night with ice pack behind the neck...it seems to help delay any night sweats. 

cmh58

1 year ago I had ILC with 2 lymph nodes involved. I had a mascectomy and 7 nodes removed. I am on Arimidex. Now at age 59 I am experiencing menopuasal symptoms of poor libido without orgasms. It just got worse this month.

With everything going on and many changes my body is going through and many changes my sweet husband has gone through, it grieves me that I might have to give one more thing up.

 Has anyone tried premarin cream and had success.

elimar86861

The humid summers seem to add to the hot flashes.  My first summer on Tamox. was horrible.  This year, I asked for Effexor (for something else, but I knew that it helped the flashes too.)  I am having the effect already mentioned, about still feeling them but in a decreased frequency and intensity.  They are more like warm flushes now.  I seem to throw of the bed sheet a few times a night still.  I don't like how Effexor gives me "dry mouth."  If and when I go off Effexor, I think I will give accupuncture a try.

lhasamom

I figured I'd chime in here.  I am on Effexor and Welbutrin, for depression.  I had a "toxic" boss that hated women and did EVERYTHING in his power to make me and the other ladies miserable.  The Effexor helped with the hot flashes.  Then I started taking Tamoxifan, jeez!  My Onco wrote me a script for Gabepentin (think I spelled it right) and I'm taking that 3 times a day.  I can't remember what it's actually prescribed for, but it is helping.  And I have started walking again.  Have a dog, they'e supposed to LIKE going for a walk, right?  Someone should tell my Lhasa that he should like going for walks, he's a DOG! 

Has anyone tried a Chillow, supposed to be a pillow that keeps you cool. I've even checked out mattress toppers that are supposed to keep air circulating, etc. Anybody know anything about these?