Hot flashes and feeling "off"....

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jwilco
jwilco Member Posts: 486
edited March 2016 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

I have no idea where to post this question. I am still perimemopausal so not full menopause. On tamoxifen. Over the last year I've had a really hard time with sleeping a good nights sleep because I get woken up with hot flashes. I also over the last year or so have felt "off". Not really clinically depressed, but just unable to get to my happy place.

So, I mentioned at my onc appt about the hot flashes and being woken up every night. She said there are a number of things I can try. Some drug usually used for seizures but they find works for hot flashes, an antidepressent (I think it's Effexor or something like that) or she said some swear that vit E helps. So not really being one for drugs, I said I would try the vit E. Well, it's not working.

I also have had a rough summer due to knee surgery and it's been a really long recovery. Still limping and feeling like my quality of life is just not up to what it used to be. So I think that is a major contributor to my mental funk. I just can't seem to get happy. I am so blessed (good job, nice home, loving husband, nothing really to be "depressed" about), but feeling bleh.

So my question is this....should I go back to the onc and ask about these other treatments for the hot flashes? Specifically will the antidepressant help or will it give me a whole new list of other side effects? When she mentioned the one that helps but was used for seizures she also said it makes you drowsy so I really don't want that side effect.

I'm just unsure of what to do and ask for? Has anyone taken any of these things for hot flashes and were the side effects tolerable?

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  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 57,235
    edited November 2015

    I took a low dose of a prescription sleeping pill the whole time I was on Arimidex. You can not function right when you can't sleep! The sleeping pill just put me under enough so that I would sleep through the hot flashes, with some rest I could cope with them during the way....helped me a LOT!

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  • Mamiya
    Mamiya Member Posts: 432
    edited November 2015

    I am now taking effexor during my chemotherapy phase while in "chemopause" and it is helping tremendously. I can't promise you no side effects but I haven't had any, and have had huge positives (hot flashes almost entirely gone, better mood, just feeling better in general).

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  • jojo9999
    jojo9999 Member Posts: 202
    edited November 2015

    The seizure med is probably gabapentin. I take it at night - dose is 100 mg - doc said I could take up to 300 mg at a time, but I take only one and it seems to help with sleeping. I do not take any during the day. I too am on tamoxifen b/c not yet post meno. I find that my hot flashes wax and wane - a month or two when they are bad, and then all but disappear for a while, so did not want to get into effexor and so far, so good. good luck.

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  • jwilco
    jwilco Member Posts: 486
    edited November 2015

    Thank you all for sharing. I knew I could count on this site to give me some much needed experienced opinions. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do. I'm worried that I'm seeking a pill to make me happy when maybe I need an attitude adjustment. I think I felt more positive immediately following my diagnosis and treatment than I am feeling now and it's been four years. Maybe it's also getting closer to being in real menopause? Not sure. Maybe?

    I then Googled the possible side effects of the effexor and got scared. Maybe I'll call the onc's office and ask about the gabapentin and try that first. jojo I think you are right and that's the same drug she mentioned. Said I would take it before bed.

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  • farmerlucy
    farmerlucy Member Posts: 3,985
    edited November 2015

    I've been on Effexor for over two years. The only possible side effect I might have is that I sleep better. I'm also taking magnesium. Right now I'm on 75 mg since I had an ooph in April and I needed some extra help. Otherwise I was on the lowest dose 37.5 mg. I got off it last summer by tapering. I wanted to see how I felt without it and if I'd have trouble getting off. I didn't. However I just feel more at peace in my own skin with it thus I went back on. Perimenopause alone made me feel off. Best of luck!
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  • Brutersmom
    Brutersmom Member Posts: 563
    edited November 2015

    Jwilco, Hotflashes and night sweats are no fun. I started when I went through perimenopause and for about 10 years after I had hot flashes and night sweats. I tried hormone therapy, anti depressants, exercise etc. Nothing helped. The hot flashed subsided first. The night sweats seem to correspond with stress. They are not fun and you defiantly will feel off from lack of sleep. Sorry I am not much help. My suggestion is try and see what works for you. Good luck.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited November 2015

    HI, I took effexor 37.5 mg for 3 years and finally got off...I felt that coupled with Tamox and then Arimidex it caused weight gain, although it DID seem to relieve hot flashes. Now I take 5-HTP, 1x a day, 100 mg, which also seems to help relieve hot flashes at night, and doesn't cause weight gain like some of the SSRIs do (I know, Effexor isn't supposed to cause weight gain...but it does in some women).

    I also make sure I don't eat late at night--and don't eat carbs after 7. By the time I go to bed at 10, when I avoid eating carbs (perhaps because of the sugars) it seems to help me sleep better and more deeply.

    Claire

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  • dtad
    dtad Member Posts: 2,323
    edited November 2015

    jwilco have you tried the supplement called Icool? You can find it on Amazon and it has been approved for bc patients. Good luck....

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited November 2015

    I started acupuncture while going through radiation (offered and recommended at the hospital where I am treated) and noticed benefit mostly for hot flashes. My hot flashed started shortly after starting chemo and typically occurred 2-3 times a day and also at night. Since starting acupuncture, they have reduced in frequency and severity. My MO also strongly advises regular exercising before starting any medications....I need to step it up a notch. Leisurely walking is not enough. She feels that it will help with hot flashes, anxiety, insomnia and well as lingering neuropathy. I will give it my best shot as it seems to have greater benefits than any pill and without any additional side effects.

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  • Donita
    Donita Member Posts: 4
    edited November 2015

    BRCA2 Positive- my oncologists put me on tamoxifen but found out my body wasn't absorbing it, so I'm on Femara. Before I was on anything I was down, agitated and not sure why, tried ignoring it & didn't want to go on meds to control my moods, but I decided to stop fighting it and am on Effexor- much better! It doesn't keep the hot flashes from coming, maybe if I wasn't taking it I would be worse. I do have some muscle aches (possible side effects) I try to exercise as often as I can and that helps. I also don't sleep through the night, usually have to pee and occasionally a hot flash will wake me. My Dr. told me that blood pressure meds can help hot flashes, prefer just to live with them. Will be posting a lot more in Jan- getting a double mastectomy and DIEP procedure, trying to beat the odds of getting cancer, already had a partial hysterectomy.

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  • peggy_j
    peggy_j Member Posts: 1,700
    edited November 2015

    jwilco, sorry you're going through this. Sleep is so important! I've had periods of sleeping problems and it really spills over into the rest of my life (when I first started tamox I had 6 weeks where I got practically no sleep at all, night after night after night. arg. And I had no motivation to do anything. A friend thought I might be clinically depressed...) I've heard that one of those anti-anxiety or anti-depressants does have the SE of reducing hot flashes. I'm like you.I don't like to take drugs if I can avoid it. I do take melatonin and it seems to help me sleep. The fact you've had a rough summer is probably discouraging too. I wonder if that's contributing to your feeling "off." Sometimes when I have smaller setbacks, I find myself thinking, "well, it's not cancer." As if I'm not allowed to be discouraged about not being able to go hiking when I have plantars fasciitis. One thought if you don't want to try a new medication: maybe you can put yourself on a self-care bootcamp for a month (or at least a couple of weeks). Block out time and seek ways to help yourself feel better. Take a bath every day if that helps you relax. Spend time in nature. Read novels at night. Whatever works for you. But maybe prioritize this and say that you're health is important (it is!) and see if any of these things help you.

    A counselor once talked about the need for each of us to identify and use self-soothing behaviors. (i.e. doing things to make ourselves feel better). Maybe these articles have some ideas???

    http://blogs.psychcentral.com/emotionally-sensitiv...

    http://ptsd.about.com/od/selfhelp/a/selfsoothe.htm

    Hang in there. Hope you're feeling better soon.


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  • jwilco
    jwilco Member Posts: 486
    edited March 2016

    Just a little update. Since I posted this I've realized I'm not really feeling blue, but I am feeling like my stress level is too high. Things that used to make be a little bugged I no longer seem to shrug off.

    So I had my Onc appt. I talked to her about how I've been feeling, the various symptoms I'm experiencing and she totally understood. As I started talking about the aggravation, the anxiety, the hot flashes, and what ever else I told her about....the culprit? Menopause! I haven't gone a full year with no period (only about four months straight) but apparently just about everything I'm feeling can be due to that. yippy

    She told me to talk to my primary doc about getting something for the anxiety. She mentioned something that started with a "b"....I think it was Benzodiazepine.. She did make a point of telling me NO if he offers hormone therapy, which I know to avoid. So now I have to decide if I want to have that conversation with my primary doc. he's not bad, but he usually just refers me to specialists. I guess I will though because it's getting to where I feel like I'm a total bitch at work because of it.

    Has anyone taken something like this? Do you think my primary will prescribe or refer me to mental health? If I do take it does it make me loopy?

    Thank you for the advise...you ladies are the best!

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  • jwilco
    jwilco Member Posts: 486
    edited March 2016

    Just an update on my saga in case someone comes across this thread so they know what's happened.

    I saw my primary doc today. He prescribed Effexor, 50 mg, take once a day at first then twice a day. I can't take the extended relief meds due to gastric bypass many many years ago. So....my pharmacy has to order this, they didn't have this dose. So much for testing the first dose over the weekend. Won't get it until Monday.

    I'm nervous about taking this but when I'm honest with myself I'm hoping it helps. I don't want to be a different person just happier.

    My husband has had bad experience when he was married before. His ex took prozac I think and then started to not care about anything, bills in the fireplace instead of paying them, etc. I'm thinking there may have been more to her situation than with me. Honestly she seems a little wacky to begin with. Anyway, this is where I'm at. Trying Effexor for my hot flashes and mood/anxiety due to menopause.

    I also see a new OBGYN at the end of March. I figure I can have a conversation with her about things too.

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  • farmerlucy
    farmerlucy Member Posts: 3,985
    edited March 2016

    Glad you're trying the Effexor. I think you'll like it. It's not easy being us! (A la Kermit the Frog's "It ain't easy being green!"


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  • jwilco
    jwilco Member Posts: 486
    edited March 2016

    Thanks farmerlucy, I hope I respond well to it.


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  • Martini
    Martini Member Posts: 30
    edited March 2016

    jwilco, I'm just another happy exfexor user. Hysterectomy in 2006 put me in early menopause...Hot flashes were incapacitating so GP put me on HRT. Tried many times to get off them because of breast cancer risk but never slept, was angry and depressed so always went back on my estrogen. Fast forward to November 2015 and I am diagnosed with Estrogen receptive breast cancer. Cold turkey on the HRT and the hot flashes again became intolerable. Exfexor doesn't stop them completely but they are now manageable. Dry mouth is only side effect I have. If I had of known there was something other than HRT to help I might not have BC!

    Hoping it will help!!

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  • jwilco
    jwilco Member Posts: 486
    edited March 2016

    Thank you Martini, it's good to hear from people that haven't had bad side effects. My pharmacy didn't have it on Friday so I won't pick up the Rx until Monday.

    I was hoping to start it over a weekend so I knew if it made me feel weird. I wasn't sure about starting it during a work week. Will it be best to take in the morning or at night? He wanted me to start with one dose a day at first.

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  • farmerlucy
    farmerlucy Member Posts: 3,985
    edited March 2016

    I take it in the morning. I've started and stopped it a couple times. At the beginning I get a tad bit dizzy mid morning for about a week. Also if I miss a dose now I get a bit dizzy too. It is the one emergency med I keep in my purse in case I have a forgetful morning - everything else can wait.

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  • Martini
    Martini Member Posts: 30
    edited March 2016

    jwilco, I take it at night as I find it does have a little bit of a sedating effect on me and I didn't want any dizziness if that was going to happen. Problem with taking it at night is dry mouth so I wake frequently to drink....and then, later, to pee!

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