Hot flashes- what works for you?

I had hot flashes a few years back but they've mostly gone away. I don't have a lot of tips, and some people may think the following wouldn't help, but these are things that worked for me:

I only wore (and still only wear) clothing that has cotton in it. It could be 100% cotton or a cotton blend, like 50 cotton and 50 polyester, but I stopped wearing 100% polyester, rayon, acrylic or anything that did not have cotton. I check all fabric content first before buying clothing. Cotton allows my body to breathe without trapping in hot flashes.

I use only cotton bed sheets. No microfiber or polyester. And tho we have whole house air, we also have a window air conditioner for the bedroom during the summer months and a ceiling fan.

I also found wearing v-neck or scoop-neck shirts keeps me cooler. Something so simple, but I find it effective. No turtlenecks, no t-shirts with round collars that circle up high around the neck. I stopped wearing long sleeved shirts in cooler weather and most often wear short sleeves with a sweater. I notoriously take my sweater on and off all day long.

One more thing I noticed. When I wore face make-up, especially a foundation and blush combo, it also seemed to triggered hot flashes. It's like the makeup trapped the body heat in that wanted to escape through my facial pores.

my Mo prescribed me oxybutynin for mine. Its helped reduce the number, but i still get a few each day, so it may be worth mentioning it to them.

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02961790

I am on a low dose (10 mg) of Paxil for my hot flashes. I still get them several times a day but not nearly as many. I never wake up soaked from sweat or my clothes ripped off like I did without the Paxil.

Back when I was 44 and dx stage 1, CMF put me into rapid chemopause/menopause. At that time my MO prescribed Gabapentin or neurontin for hot flashes. I took it at night and it really helped. I agree with Divine - now I almost always wear cotton t-shirts or blouses with sweaters that button or zip and wear layers, so I can remove a layer if I get warm. I wore a coat with a sweater recently and remembered why I stopped wearing high neck sweaters;) I am now 56 and getting fulvestrant injections as well as taking Ibrance but haven't had an issue with hot flashes starting up again (with the exception of my pullover sweater and winter coat combo!).

Hot flashes: Open freezer door, insert head. Repeat as necessary.

Before cancer and at menopause which I did naturally, I recall being the 1st one of my friends to start with the hot flashes. They would ask how I was doing with periods stopping and starting, and all these other wonderful things that were happening. I described my experience to them as having a hot flash, every minute of everyday, for 24 hrs. a day. Also, there was no more sleeping through the night, ever! You either had to go to the bathroom, or change your clothes and bedding as they would be soaked in sweat. After about a year of this, it started to get better. Symptoms subsided greatly.

Almost immediately after surgery the hot flashes returned. My MO thought that was strange as I hadn't started the AI yet. I was getting several a day. Now, a couple of years later, it's not daily but more random. Some are just a flash. Other times when I'm profusely sweating, I resort to the instructions above.

Good luck to you.