Hot flashes after chemo

Scrabblelady

Is anyone else reliving their menopause?  I went though it eight years ago.  I finished chemo in February and a now on Herceptin until December.  For that past couple of weeks I've been getting hot flashes just like  eight years ago and I am not on any hormone treatment.  I hoping it just my body readjusting to the riddance of the chemo drugs, but it's been 2 months. 

LtotheK

They will retreat. Mine were absolutely unbelievable, and gradually, they chilled out (pun intended).  I think it took about five months.  Tamoxifen also gives me hot flashes (I see you are ER-), but they are actually very different from the ones I got on chemo.  I was a puddle for much of the end of my TC treatment!

sandi777

I have been getting hot flashes since I was taken off Estrogen Therapy when I was 65.  Before that I didn't get any hot flashes with Menopause.  Now they are worse and more frequent since I have been taking Arimidex.  My surgeon told me about a product called Sam-e which some of her patients have good luck with but so far I don't feel that it is making a difference.  Have any of you tried Sam-e and what were your results?  I also found that spritzing my face with water every time I have a hot flash has helped.  I'm glad winter has gone so I won't have my furnace running so much.  Everytime it turns on, I get a hot flash.  And every time I put a long sleeved shirt on I get a hot flash.  I am trying to keep my house cooler then usual but when the furnace isn't running, I start to get cold, so I put on something long sleeved and get hot again.  Has anyone got any advice on this one?? 

LtotheK

Sandi,  welcome to my world!  I do find that the amount of caffeine I drink makes some difference (like if I cut it, I could do better).  The thing that is weird for me is that one day, I'll have a ton of flashes, then today, just a little teeny bit.  Doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason!  Though definitely when the heat goes on, I get one just like you.

I carry a fan, and I try to nip it before it starts.  If I start sweating, then it goes on for quite a few minutes.  It isn't just being hot, sometimes they make me feel a little sick, too.

Exercise is supposed to be good, not really seeing the benefits of that yet.  My oncologist told me that some women take a change of clothes with them, so I'm grateful they aren't like that. 

One thing I will say:  I'm pretty sure I'm going to ditch most of my wool clothes.  Even when it's freezing, if I put on an Icelandic sweater--forget it.  I'm a mess.  It's all about layers and wicking clothing.

Sigh, they stink, don't they??

Blondvoyage

I'm premenopausal, 45, and started getting hot flashes after my 5th chemo. They are horrible at night and keep me up all night. . I still have my period so I have the worst of both worlds. Now I'm reading about tamoxifen and scared of getting cervical, endometrial, or other cancer, Parkinson's, stroke, etc that are listed as risks. All other side effects of chemo I have avoided with nutritional IVs, peptide injections and b12 shots, along with macro diet -- but I haven't found a solution to hot flashes yet. Any alternative or integrative medicine tips would be useful.