Menopause - Hot Flashes

How I'm dealing with hot flashes

Basically, one at a time. But you probably want more useful information than that.

I've decided NOT to take Hormone Replacement Therapy. I do not want to have to take HRT (or anything else) for the rest of my life, nor for a short while [which might merely delay onset of symptoms]. I prefer to allow my body to stabilize itself naturally, without supplemental hormones.

I've gotten through most of the hot flashes now and they bother me only occasionally, but the sudden palpitations [pounding heart] of the adrenaline surge happen when I'm startled or wakened suddenly.

I usually didn't have hot flashes during the morning. Some days they would start as early as 4:00 in the afternoon, and occur as frequently as every 50 minutes, but mostly I had three or four in the evenings, beginning around 8:00.

Bathing my face and neck and arms with a cold wet washcloth was very helpful. It didn't make a hot flash quit, but it gave me some relief during one.

Breathing slowly and deeply during a hot flash often helps.

The best thing I've done for myself is to gain weight. That's right, GAIN weight! Skinny white women (that's me) have more problems with body temperature regulation. Estrogens are produced NATURALLY in body fat. Extra fat adds insulation from the cold and you might think it would hold in heat and make the hot flashes worse, but over time the added estrogen production helps stabilize the body's thermostat.

My normal, comfortable weight has held steady at about 120-125 pounds for twenty-five years (except for the two pregnancies) and I'm just under 5 feet 5 inches. I increased my weight to about 135, give or take 3 pounds. I still had hot flashes about as often, but they were not as unexpectedly sudden and I didn't sweat as much as before. I would still wake up with night sweats, but not as thoroughly, so I could usually get back to sleep in just a few minutes.

Of course, it's possible that my system was already balancing and the worst of my hot flashes were over, anyway.

• I've tried taking Dong Quai, one to three times a day. It doesn't eliminate the hot flashes, but it does seem to diminish the severity of them. It tastes (all day) like celery seed, which I'm not especially fond of, so I stopped taking it.
  
• I've tried taking Ginseng. It seems to accellerate my metabolism and help boost my energy reserves, but doesn't particularly affect hot flashes. It is an estrogen-like plant derivative. I took it every once in a while.
  
• I've tried taking Black Cohosh. It seems to work better if I take it at night, but if I take it too many days in a row, I wake up feeling slightly nauseous. Since I don't like feeling nauseated, I stopped taking it. Your body's reaction might be different, so you might want to try Black Cohosh.
  
• I've tried taking Pantothenic Acid in various doses between 250mg and 1000mg, mostly at night, to try to alleviate the night sweats. This seemed to give me some relief, but not drastic improvement.
  
• I've tried taking Vitamin B-6 at night (50mg to 100mg) which sometimes improves my early morning retention of my dreams, but seems to have little effect on the night sweats.
  
• I've tried Natural Progesterone [in capsules specially-made in a local pharmacy] which seemed to give some relief from the dryness and the feelings of aggravation, but also seemed to interfere with or eliminate my dreams [which aggravated me].
  
• The best relief I've found for myself is Valerian and I take one or two capsules at night (preferably with Hops and Scullcap) along with 200-800mg of Ibuprofin and 4mg of chlorpheniramine [an antihistamine].

Sometimes I also take plain Valerian during the day, especially when "my nerves feel on edge" or when I'm having sharp startle-reflexes upon being touched (like by a cat's paw).

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