getting of of hormone replacement therapy

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LifeOfBabbs
LifeOfBabbs Member Posts: 28
edited March 2016 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

My oncologist referred me to my gyno on my first vist, and I have now been removed from HRT. I went through menopause at age 42 and was on HRT for 7 years because of severe hot flashes. My gyno put me on Paxil (for hot flashes) and also prescribed Vitamin E, which apparently helps with 25% of women. I had 6 hot flashes between 3 am and 4 am this morning, and am wondering what has worked for other people who have been forced to stop HRT.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited March 2016

    Hi LifeOfBabbs,

    You'll surely receive some helpful posts here soon, but in the meantime, you may want to check out the main Breastcancer.org site's extensive section on Menopause Symptoms: Hot Flashes, which discusses lots of great ways to manage this uncomfortable side effect.

    We hope this helps!

    --The Mods

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  • LifeOfBabbs
    LifeOfBabbs Member Posts: 28
    edited March 2016

    Thank you!

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  • Kicks
    Kicks Member Posts: 4,131
    edited March 2016

    Can't help you - I went through natural menopause at 44 (in 1990). Never had any 'hot flashes' then or in the 6+ yrs on Femara/letrozole.

    There will be others with input though.

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited March 2016

    I was on HRT at the time of dx due to surgical menopause at 45. The dose of HRT I was on barely controlled my hot flashes during the nine years between hyst/ooph and diagnosis with breast cancer, I still had daily, sometimes hourly, hot flashes. I did go cold turkey when diagnosed, and have not taken anything for the continued hot flashes, but they were not worse during chemo or with the anti-hormonals I take now. I do follow an anti-inflammatory diet which has seems to help. There are some who take Effexor with good success for hot flash abatement. Good luck!

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  • LifeOfBabbs
    LifeOfBabbs Member Posts: 28
    edited March 2016

    hmm, thank you SpecialK, I'm going to look in to the anti-inflammatory diet!

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited March 2016

    Check out the Virgin Diet - that is what I follow. It is hard, particularly initially, but it has been great for me - the only way I had success with losing chemo and AI weight gain also, and it has helped with AI induced joint pain.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2016

    Hi, although when you google it, 5HTP often gets no real support for allieviating hot flashes in some research, I found it has helped me a lot. And I used to take effexor 37.5 mg, which many MOs rx to relieve hot flashes. It's an SSRI but in that small of a dose is only helpful for hot flashes. Effexor is used because many other SSRIs reduce the effectiveness of those of us taking anti-hormonals too.

    Also--it breaks my heart to type this--but avoiding all alcohol also helped me a lot. Drinking iced coffee instead of hot coffee, which used to give me hot flashes, sometimes staves off the caffeinated ones. But pry my caffeine from my cold (I mean hot, sweaty) hands. I'm not letting that one go :)

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited March 2016

    Claire - I'm with you on the coffee! It is my one remaining vice! And if there is a 12-step program for coffee addiction - I'm NOT going. I have made my DH go through the Starbucks drive-thru on the way home from outpatient surgery. Seriously. I also agree on the alcohol - I am to the point now where after one glass of wine, or a beer, which I only very occasionally have - my face turns bright red - not a good look, lol!

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  • Hopeful82014
    Hopeful82014 Member Posts: 3,480
    edited March 2016

    Of course, the upside to avoiding alcohol is that it helps avoid weight gain... :)

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