Hot flashes AFTER stopping hormonal treatment?

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ziffy321
ziffy321 Member Posts: 41
edited August 2018 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

I finished Aromasin in April 2018 after 5 years of treatment (5 years of Femara before that, 5 years of Tamoxifen before that--all with only mild side effects). Now I am experiencing hot flashes! I'm not sure when they started, because at first I attributed my sweating to faulty air conditioning in my home. But by now I'm convinced they are genuine hot flashes-annoying but not severe, usually when resting or sleeping at home. Has anyone else had this experience after stopping the drugs?

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  • Lula73
    Lula73 Member Posts: 1,824
    edited August 2018

    I haven't stopped yet, but basically what's happening is that the estrogen you're body is now making (where it wasn't before) is interacting with your temperature regulation center in your brain and it's caused it to be off kilter. It's erronseously picking up signals that you're hot and so it send the signal to your blood vessels at the surface ofyour skin to dilate and release heat to help cool you down. Because you're not really hot, you feel the dilation and release as a hot flash. Hopefully it will correct itself soon.

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  • Runrcrb
    Runrcrb Member Posts: 577
    edited August 2018

    Ziffy321 - if you think it's a hot flash, it probably is. I wish I had great news for you that they will stop and never happen again. Pre AI, when taking breaks from AI, and while on AI, hot flashes have been my constant companion since coming off hormone replacement therapy when diagnosed with breast cancer.

    The one thing that helps me when one comes on: cold water to drink.

    I took effexor for a while - that helped but eventually, I was back to 6+ a day so weened off last month with no increase in hot flashes.

    The main thing that has helped reduce the number of hot flashes is reducing my carb/sugar intake. I refuse to give up all sugar and coffee having had to give up so much already, but have noticed that cutting back on bread, pasta, potatoes, etc., has helped. (2-4 per day vs 6+) So I'm selective about the wine I drink and the cookies I choose.

    Most of the online guidance for reducing hot flashes just piss me off - it's August in Virginia - no way to avoid heat! I work full time - sometimes it's stressful. I am active and maintain a healthy body weight.




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