Those Mumsnetters who are old enough to have (or have had) hot flushes

[bibbitybobbitybunny]

how many do you have in a day/night?

I have only recently started having them during the day. I seem to have about 2 or 3 or 4 ... can I expect that to get worse? Am hurtling towards 50.

I think it varies between people, I used to get several (between 3 and 5 IIRC) a day, and I had night sweats too. I found they were triggered by certain things - hot drinks, stress, confined spaces for example.

Cotton bed linen and having a fan on all night helped a bit. Also one of those little hand held fans for during the day.

They have calmed down a lot now and I don't get them everyday any more (I'm 52)

As KK says it must vary .

My experience was certainly more than 4 a day ,and exactly as KK says there were triggers .

I had to change my wardrobe so that I could wear cardigans ,tops with zips etc so that they were easy to rip off .
And I went down the fan route , ( the old fashioned concertina type ) ,tho this does rather draw attention to one .

I get night sweats about half way through my cycle and again the week before I'm due on. At those times I can have around 3 a night. I am also more aware of hot flushes at night too. I've just done some housework (Im due on any day) and within minutes of doing some dusting was literally wringing with sweat. I am 51 (and a half). This seems to have been going on forever!

Same sort of age as people on here.
On good days I get 6, on bad days I was getting 30, yes I did say 30!
I went away for a few days to see if Iwas tired which was causing all the flushes, or if the flushes were causing my tiredness.It was the flushing causing my tiredness.
Someone told me to wear light cotton type fabrics and this certainly has helped to get the number down.Also I opened up all the doors in the house to even out the temperature.This stopped me entering 1 room which was hotter, and bringing on a flush, and entering another which was colder and giving me a migraine or migraine type headache.
Sitting next to anything hot, eg radiator or even husband brings on a flush, some days worse than others.
I am now on year 3
1st year quite bad including night sweats for the 1st 6 months of the year
2nd year not so bad, and thought i might be near the end of them
Im hoping I will be better from july onwards this year like I was in Year 1
I could write more, but that will do for now.

I'm also nearing 50 and started having hot flushes

I've found wearing layers of cotton clothes is helpful. I also avoid wearing anything too tight these days otherwise I have sweat marks (sorry if tmi). I carry wet wipes around with me too.

I've found that avoiding certain triggers (hot drinks, spicy food) reduces the number of flushes and makes them less severe. If it happens in a supermarket, I head for the freezer section!

Saw a great plaque in an office years ago, "Real women don't have hot flushes.... they have power surges!"

Oh hell not that I'm saying that you're not real women! - snurks at the appropriateness of the emoticon there!

I think I'm heading this way too, seems quite early, am only 41. Is it true that if you started AF young then you'll hit perimenopause early too, does anyone know?

I will be 53 this year and have been having them on and off since 2008. Daytime ones are just irritating but the nighttime ones are a bit more troublesome, because they wake me up. I probably am aware of about 4 or 5 during the night? However, at the moment they are not that bad, although they have got hotter during the day, for some reason. During the day I'm probably having about 3 or 4.

What makes a massive difference is when I am low carbing strictly. Sugar and alcohol are key triggers.

However, even though I have been low carbing seriously since February, I have noticed that over the last 2 or 3 weeks, the flushes have been creeping back.

I was taking Boots Menolieve for a while, and they seemed to help. But I wasn't sure if it was a placebo or not, so I haven't taken them for a while. I am considering going back on to them now, because I really don't like my sleep being disturbed.

have had them off and on for about 2 years , then when I was under a lot of stress at work last year they were constant especially when I had to deal with my toxic boss. when I left tht job last summerthey tstopped abruptly Now they occur again - still occasional in moments of stress - eg row with dh, or somwtimes with alcohol.

Does anyone else get sort of cold shivers that make you grip your teeth and no I don't mean an orgasm can't remember them anyway

GRIT!! I meant grit your teeth not grip your teeth

Night sweats here and mostly in the winter when I am wearing more in bed and have warmer duvet. Or is it the stress of Christmas? Just one or rarely two a night.

I've realised while reading this that I haven't had any recently, but was having them pretty regularly, about five or six times a day plus a couple at night, for a good 18 months or so - am (just) 49. They weren't unbearable in my case, though - more of a glow than a sweat .

The only thing I can think of that might have had an effect is the fact I've hardly had any alcohol for about a month. I also feel much more clear-headed and generally more like 'myself' than I have for a long time. Whether this is the lack of alcohol or just the next stage in the menopausal process I couldn't say.

Dull but true!

Just had one this evening at a client's house (I'm a will writer). I could feel myself going beetroot, hot ears, the lot.

Hope they didn't think I was blushing because I was lying/nervous

crazynana - I have noticed recently that I have suddenly gone very cold - almost like the opposite of a hot flush! but definitely not an orgasm

yy BIWI...like a shiver that goes down the body from head to toe.

I looked it up..and it is one of the more unusual symptoms of the Menopause.

Not nice...is it?

I don't know how I feel about it - but it's odd when you're all tucked up in bed underneath a lovely, cosy duvet to feel it happen!

I've been getting hot flushes and night sweats for at least a couple of years (I'm 54). At its worst I reckoned it was about every 2 or 3 hours during the day. Also had a migraine for a few days every month. HRT has got rid of the flushes and the migraines are far, far less intense.

im like you woollylamb.My migraines started several years ago.
im now of the opinion that my migraines and hot flushes have been in some way connected.migraines when my head has been cold, and hot flushes when my body has got hot and overheated.
it is like my body has to stay between a certain narrow temperature range to be comfortable.

I too get the odd temperature fluctuations - almost like an inability to regulate my temp. properly - either very hot (literally soaking my clothes with sweat) or cold and wrapping myself in blankets.

I find the most horrible part is the sense of panic, - does anyone else have that? - its not just being hot and sweating, its like a feeling of claustrophobia, - wanting to pull all your clothes off and run out of the building. (OK I'm sounding mad now aren't I? )

Don't laugh atmne but boots sell a magnet you clip onto your knickers and i t can help a lot with hot flushes. Me and three friends have found it benifical

There were no knicker magnets when I started flushing, but am glad I got Evening Primrose capsules and HRT patches from GP (after hysterectomy) - no problems.

knicker magnet on my shopping list too.You are not joking are you cocolepew?Im imaging going into Boots....
KurriKurri, no i dont have the panic, but I can see how you could.if they are anything like mine, they seem to arrive more or less all of a sudden, and well up very quickly
1944girl, mu mum didnt have them as bad as me, but she said hers always started with a very cold feeling first, so she knew when hers was coming.
I didnt realise until this thread that hot flushes were so different to each person.
My DH has got fed up with me talking about them.