Question about hot flashes

To me, chemoflsahes and hormone therapy induced hot flashes which I have been getting since February of 2006 are equally annoying as hell. I was so hoping them to be gone when I finished with chemo but they are still here. It took a whole year to finally finish with chemo as I did three chemo (12 Taxol before surgery, 4 EC and another 12 Taxol after surgery) Can you imagine how hard it was to be tortured by chemoflashes for a whole year? Now I have another three years ahead of me before I finish with Tamoxifen.

How long before you complete your chemo? Hope you get to feel better soon.

Hugs,

Gina--I think chemo flashes were just terrible and much more frequent. Femara flashes are no picnic either. I had my ooph about a month ago. The week I had it I thought I would be flashing all the time. I did not have one hot flash for 3 days. They are back now though. Not quite as intense maybe but now my skin gets very itchy all over right before I get one. It is extremely hot and humid this week so I am sweating like crazy. I also switched my anti-depressant from Lexapro to Effexor over the last 3 weeks. Shirlann said that might help. To hot to tell right now. Alcohol definetly makes them worse and more frequent.

For me, the chemo flashes were more frequent but the ooph flashes were unbearable. Nighttimes were the worst, waking several times not knowing if I should get up and change t-shirts or just climb in the fridge.

Now 7 years out and at age 52, I’m on the other ‘side’ and the flashes have stopped. Now I’m chilly most of the time. Can’t win.

~Pam

So are you wearing a wig? Poor girl, I know exactly how miserable it feels. I started my first Taxol in July of 2005. Needless to say it was summer. Our summer isn't that easy to deal with, too much humidity and it gets 100F in the afternoon and hardly goes down any lower than 82 in the night. Although I had my last Taxol (another 12 rounds after surgry) in July of 2006, I had to keep wearing my silly wig until April of this year as my hair didn't grow back that fast. I don't know what you are doing for living but hats, bandanas etc weren't my option for some business reason. When my hot flashes got really bad, an ice pillow helped me fall asleep. Other than that, I haven't found anything that really works, unfortunately. I put an ice pack on my forehead but it only caused me headache.

Wearing a wig certainly makes you feel worse with those annoying hot flashes. I just hope your hair grows back quickly.

Hugs,

I was menopausal before chemo. I had pretty much completed the hot flash and night sweat period and just run warm all over all of the time.

Then I went on Arimidex and get hot flashes in my head. I just seem to sweat through my head now insteqad of the rest of my body. Any heat producing activity, house cleaning, heat outdoors, coffee drinking results in a wet head. Since growing my hair back, it is curly and then the wet head enhances the curl and destroys any styling I had done.

But hey! I have hair and there is nothing like feeling the wind though your hair after not having any hair. And when you hair is wet, that wind feels even better. I make my own wind now with Asian fans left at various locations in the house.

notme