Dealing with hot flashes while wearing sleeves.

cjain

I'm struggling with hot flashes (oophorectomy + femara) that make wearing my glove & sleeves unbearable.  As a result, my arm has flared up.  Any suggestions on how to handle this?  I tried effexor to reduce the hot flashes but noticed that I was becoming very unmotivated and "flat."  It took 2 weeks to withdraw from effexor and I'm much happier but still hot.  Thanks!

Binney4

Cjain, hello!

I'm bumping your post because it got lost, and I sure hope some of the gals will come along and help with this, because it is a problem many of us face.

I hear you on avoiding drugs that give you that "flat" feeling, but then...what? The only thing I've found that helps is to try and cool the "core." For a while when it was really bad I kept a couple of cold packs (stuffed with flax seed instead of water or gel so they didn't get ice-cold) in the freezer and stuffed one into my cami ("between" my missing breasts), changing them out as they lost their cool. Harder to do when you're not at home. For that those water-bead chill scarfs might help.

As you're unfortunately discovering, wearing the dumb glove and sleeve is not exactly optional, and whipping them on and off isn't exactly efficient. So anything to cool the arm quickly might help, even a gel pak, as long as you don't leave it on your arm too long. Actually, the whole thing makes you feel like climbing into the refrigerator. Nasty business!

Juzo has a new Cool-Vent glove out that I'm experimenting with. I find it keeps my palm and back of hand cooler and dry, though the fingers are still a problem. LE stinks. Hot flashes stink. The combination takes some maneuvering to manage. Sure hope others come along with some thoughts!

Gentle hugs!
Binney

vlnrph

Not that I have a definitive solution, but wanted to give you some kind of reply! Interesting that it took so long for the Effexor to wear off: it's short half-life (even in the extended release version) means I can tell quickly if my dose for the day is late. It is fairly common to experience emotional "flattening" on antidepressants since they eliminate the lows but also seem to blunt the highs.

Have you thought about the blood pressure medication called clonidine? Some have found it helpful.

When I got really hot last spring, my sweaty arm gave me a cellulitis infection. Try to change into dry garments if you can because the moist warm environment is ideal for bacterial growth. 

cjain

Thanks for the suggestions Binney.  I'll definitely give the cold packs a try and ask about the cool vent glove when I get remeasured for my sleeve next week. 

A special thank you for all the great advice you share on this site.  With such a lack of knowledge of LE in the medical field, this site has been an incredible resource. 

cjain

Thanks for the warning about moist garments vlnrph.  I hope you didn't run into too many complications with the cellulitis. 

The effexor may have been out of my system in a short amount of time but I had 2 weeks of dizziness and nausea before I started to feel better without it.  It's recommended that you slowly ween yourself off effexor with the supervision of your doctor.  However, I'd only been on it since August and was at a relatively low dose (75mg ).  I wanted off and feeling better before Christmas.  Got back my pep but not without the hot flashes. 

FYI - before trying the effexor, I tried clonidine without any luck.  Thank you so much for your reply!