What should I do for hot flashes?

[uppityperson]

Am getting rather tired of them. It's been 9 yrs now.

[DesertFlower]

1. i tried several natural methods.

none of them worked, so i went on natural hormones. they will have to be prescribed by a doc.

[uppityperson]

2. I did estrogen/whatever for a bit after a concussion set them off majorly

I got a concussion and was hot flashing continuously, wore me out after a couple days. I took some sort of Rx'd thing (premarin?) for a couple months 'til I healed, then went off them.

Can't do soy because of thyroid interference, and I don't trust taking massive amounts of soy either.

They come more often when I'm concentrating deeply, trying to figure out if I breath differently then.

[sipping radicchio]

16. Did the horse urine really 'heal' you or just time?

Evening Primrose, Vitex (chasteberry), Dong Quai, vegan diet, no caffeine...

[uppityperson]

23. Wow, you made it to 48 this time.

Still can't read very well though.

[Mnemosyne]

3. I've found standing in a foot or two of

snow when it's below freezing to be quite refreshing! :evilgrin:

Seriously, I've found nothing that has helped in 11 years, other than head in freezer, etc.

[BrklynLiberal]

5. LOL. I tell my friends.. "May not always be hot, but I am NEVER cold."

[Mnemosyne]

6. Saves a small fortune on my heating bills!

:hi:

[BrklynLiberal]

4. There are some herbs that help.

http://www.project-aware.org/Managing/Alt/hotflash.shtml

http://www.liferesearchuniversal.com/menopause.html



I found that Estroven was very helpful.....

http://estroven.com/


I get it at The Vitamin Shoppe. You can buy it online at their site.

[pleah]

7. I use Evening Primrose Oil.

It doesn't get rid of them, but for me, it reduces the intensity. It is supposed to be good for your skin, too.

How long are hot flashes supposed to last?

[sipping radicchio]

17. You are right about it helping the skin!

I have something like seborrhea dermatitis, which is flaking around the eyebrows, nose, and on the scalp. It's not dandruff; it's very scaly and hard to scrape off. During the summer, the Sun seems to help keep the symptoms down, but winter is the worst! And my moisturizers only do so much. So I tried the Evening Primrose and saw a sheen right away on my skin--like two days! However, I stopped because I suspected that it was increasing the production of estrogen or something. I became very PMSy.

[pleah]

19. I wonder if you broke the capsules and applies directly to the skin

if it would work that way.

[BonnieJW]

8. bio-identical hormones

You need to see your doctor and they should give you a saliva test to determine your hormone levels. Then they can prescribe the hormones that are made at a compounding pharmacy. After about 3 months, you take the test again and the hormones are adjusted if needed. They are wonderful. I've been taking them for five years and I feel terrific. I take the saliva test just once each year.

[BrklynLiberal]

10. I have seen Christiane Northup give lectures about this and she also

recommends the bio-identical hormones.

http://www.drnorthrup.com/

good info here...
http://www.womentowomen.com/bioidentical-hrt/bioidenticalhormones.aspx?id=1&campaignno=getoffhrt&adgroup=ag4bioidentical&keywords=bio+identical+hormones

[woodsprite]

9. I've had some success using some natural methods

mentioned in a book called "The Only Menopause Guide You'll Need". It's from Johns Hopkins Press. I got mine from the bookstore, but maybe your local library has a copy.

I was hit with surgical menopause and was prohibited from using any prescribed hormone supplements. My worst symptoms were hot flashes and sore joints. They really hit hard about 3 months out from surgery. Apparently lack of estrogen can accelerate the affect/growth of arthritis in your joints. On top of suggestions the book made, I've been taking 3 tbls ground flax seed spread throughout the day (sprinkled on yogurt, salad, cereal). It contains phytoestrogens, but I cleared it's use with my oncologist.

There's a group online that I've found alot of support at called Hystersisters and there is a specific forum for women trying to deal with menopause symptoms in a more natural way. You can google to get the URL. I don't know if I'm supposed to post links to other groups or not here.

I hope this helps.

[mahina]

11. The other solutions here look good and I'll look into all of them.

One thing that helps for me is to drink a ton of water. It dilutes the hormones and their effect.

-hating the flashes
-specially in the summer, damn!

[Warpy]

12. It's been 12 years for me

and as someone with hormone induced migraines and as a daughter of someone with HRT induced breast cancer, I'm stuck with the buggers.

It has improved over the last 3 years, though. I started out getting them every 41 minutes around the clock. Now I get them every 2 or 3 hours.

My mother said she got them a couple of times a week in her 80s and when she'd long been off the HRT. I don't think they ever go away completely, just diminish with time.

What infuriates me is how little medicine knows about the bastards. Once they realized giving women estrogen stopped them, they stopped looking at what really happens inside our bodies to cause them. Even with all the problems related to prolonged HRT, they're still not bothering to look.

If men got them, the cure would be in vending machines in every convenience store in the country.

[pleah]

20. That isn't very encouraging,

I can't imaging facing 7 more years of this. Ugh!

And, you are so right about if it was a man.

[SidDithers]

13. Vitamin D...nt

Sid

[EC]

14. You can try yams and cantalope

which have estrogen in them...that didn't really help me. The only thing that really helped was a fan. Kept a fan on my desk, next to my chair and next to my bed. Cool moving air in my face for 3 to 5 minutes helped a great deal...

[DUFan]

15. Reduce Caffeine Intake

If you use caffeinated products, try eliminating them. When I don't drink tea or coffee or eat chocolate, they disappear. Hot and or spicy foods bring them on, also.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

18. Have you tried Vitamin D?

Ha, just kidding! :) It just seems to be the latest fad cure-all - as a 36 year old dude, I have no idea what to do with hot flashes.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

21. was having hot flashes, thought it was due to menopause

but it was a medication I was taking.

Weird, but my doc didn't give it any significance that one of the possible
side effects of the med was hot flashes, heavy perspiration, and oh, my hair became
wavy after that. (It had been full but fine and straight until I took that med).

Got off the med and hot flashes went away.

Other than that, I have no helpful advice for you - I am sorry.

Perhaps some vitamins.

I wonder when I will get those hot flashes, the real ones.

[DavidDvorkin]

22. My wife takes chasteberry (vitex) and black cohosh

They help her.

[yy4me]

24. Cool showers and a lot of patience. Worse at night? I used to get

up at 2 or 3 in the AM and shower. My poor husband used to go into the guest room, he said I radiated heat.

No fun but eventually passes. I think I had them for about 5 years-maybe more.

Pain in the butt.

Never took anything for the flashes, figured I could cope. Never thought that every part of my body would be on fire and perspire so much. Who invented hot flashes anyway, I'd like to give my opinion about the uselessness of the affliction. A few other female things come to mind too. If there is a God, he has a warped sense of humor.

[Orrex]

25. Maybe it's your pants. Are your pants on fire?

If that's not the answer, perhaps you should just go naked henceforth.

[Warpy]

26. Orrex, orrex, do you know what women with hot flashes

tend to look like? We've long since passed the "Show us your pink bits!" stage and are well into the "For god's sake, lady, cover that up!" period of our lives.

Be careful what you wish for. We just might give it to you and then you'd have to gouge out your eyes and soak your brain in bleach.

[Orrex]

27. I'm shocked at the suggestion that I am motivated by anything other than concern for her comfort.

What kind of pev do you take me for?!?

[uppityperson]

29. Unfortunately, it is not my lower nether regions which flash hot

It is my face and torso. I run around shirtless at home, but, unfortunately, must wear a shirt at work to avoid scaring people.

[mopinko]

28. microfiber

the thing that helped me the most, especially at night, was to invest in some microfiber cotton or silk undershirts. i wore them to bed, and under clothes even when it was hot out. they wick the sweat away, and at least help to lessen the rebound of "i am all sweaty but not hot anymore. now i am freezing."

[Why Syzygy]

30. Obviously you should poll a public forum for health advice! nt

[uppityperson]

31. I need to gather info for the poll choices first.

soy, black cohosh, going topless, etc. I wonder if going topless would get me many votes or if the idea would send people away without voting?

[Tumbulu]

32. Lion's Mane hot water extract ( a popular Japanese medicinal mushroom)

has helped me the most. And I have never heard anyone recommend it for hot flashes and it is supposed to be for promoting the process of myelination- for brain health - which I need all the help I can get with.

I have taken various supplements that were supposed to help with the flashes (they did not help me in any noticeable way) and eliminated caffeine which reduced the hot flashes, but I really cannot function without a little bit so now it is just reduced.

But the Lion's Mane has the most effect of anything. I go weeks now without a flash. It is really something and I cannot figure out why it would helping me, but if I stop taking it for even one day they come roaring back. I have to mail order it from Oregon as no one carries this extract in my local health food stores, it was a fluke that I found it at all and tried it.

But it works for me. I hope that you will find something that will work for you.