Describe you hot flushes/ night sweats

[Mummytron]

I'm in perimenopausal but the hot flushes are incredible. Worse before I'm due on but its like I'm boiling from the inside out. They make me feel pretty ill too. No flushing of my cheeks or anything but my whole body feels like it has a temperature. I thought you had to be in the menopause before these started happenings? X

Yup. Those are they.

Flushes started before my periods finished, mine don't affect my face but do affect the rest of my body. I've had to go on to HRT in order to try to control them as they were affecting my whole life including my sleep patterns and my short term memory (so much so that I dreaded going to Tesco as I knew I would not be able to find my car when I came out of the store).

Yes. I came on specifically to post about this but you beat me to it

I'm taking HRT I'm not so bad in the daytime, maybe because I'm awake and can take layers off but I wake up every night drenched in sweat.

I have no idea what to do about it, all tips would be welcome.

I felt as if I was in a tropical country and the aircon switched off; a raging fever & sweaty red face.
HRT has helped but I'm definitely more forgetful and have a poor sleeping pattern.

Mine started at 53 as soon as gaps appeared between periods. When I was having a cycle I was fine but when I missed a couple I'd have flushes. I only missed 2 periods then had a run of around 6 normal cycles, then missed around 4 in a row. By then I was 53 and the flushes began in earnest, once an hour. My face would go red from the neck upwards and last for about a minute or two with a sweaty upper lip. I also developed insomnia which meant the minute I got under the duvet I felt wide awake (usually slept within 2 minutes of hitting the pillow) and unable to sleep with constant waking all night. Sweat running down my chest but not dripping all over. I was doing everything 'right' already - lots of exercise daily, no alcohol (allergic to it) no caffeine, healthy diet, working pt to avoid stress at work - so went on HRT. I couldn't work otherwise- too embarrassing flushing in front of male colleagues in a 1:1 setting, and also not functioning from lack of sleep. HRT sorted it within a week.

Mummytron: When you say in menopause I'm not sure what you mean? Like the others have said, many women get flushes as soon as periods start to be skipped, or after you've gone through a few months of skipping some, and then they disappear with the arrival of another period. This can go on for several years. Some unfortunate women start flushing even while having regualr periods.
There are also other reasons for hot flushes such as thyroid issues so perhaps get checked out if you haven't had blood tests etc?

theredlion - if nothing else is amiss then your HRT dose could probably be increased, if your current dose/preparation is not eliminating your sweats and flushes. What dose/type are you on and where in menopause are you?

hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman haha re the tesco car thing - I'm like that and have been on HRT for quite a few years!

Bellaciao I'm taking Premique 0.625mg/5mg
I think it's a low dose?
There is a question mark about where I really am re the menopause as I've had some other gynae problems too but a laproscopy 'sorted' them a few months back and I'm still getting the sweats and other symptoms too including; palpitations, anxiety, utis, hair loss, unexplained weight gain and others so the GP has reluctantly kept me on the HRT for now.

After years of clockwork regularity my periods are all over the place, my latest cycle was 53 days, I'm in my early 40s so I'm definitely peri but blood tests have been inconclusive.

The HRT helps with most of them but these night sweats are just not funny.

How long have you been taking HRT theredlion? If you had not been without periods for less than a year prior to starting then you have been given the wrong type of HRT and no wonder your "periods" are all over the place. Was this a deliberate choice by the doc - ie to give you a continuous combined HRT (oestrogen and progestogen every day same dose) or ignorance?

Premique is for post-menopausal women - and it is medium dose - but it is the old fashioned type made from horse oestrogens also with a synthetic progestogen.

If you had started having irregular cycles before going onto HRT then you should have been given a cyclical type which gives a withdrawal bleed and can be vaguely "synced" with your own cycle.

Looks like you need to go back to the doc and get a different type of HRT - those for peri-menopausal women are listed here on the Menopause Matters website:
HRT treatements for peri-menopause

As you are so young you would benefit from a higher dose and especially to protect your heart and bones. You could switch to Femoston 2/10 or alternatively go for separate oestrogen ( gel or patch) with separate progesterone - which often means you can acheieve higher oestrogen levels. If your GP won't play do find a doc in your practice who understand HRT or else ask to be referred to a menopause clinic if there is one near you.

Thank you for your reply Bellaciao that is really useful.
My periods have been scant and erratic for a few years now, since my late 30s, my GP just told me to put up with it.
Then I saw the gynae consultant for the other problems I'd been having which led to the laproscopy, he said he would write to my GP to recommend HRT and I just took what the GP gave me, assuming it was correct.
I will ask about a GP with gynae specialism and/or a menopause clinic tomorrow.
That's really great advice

Just to add that some gynaes will give (try) continuous combined HRT even if a woman is not yet quite at menopause - if periods are very scant and occasional - this is sometimes OK but if it leads to breakthrough bleeding then cyclical HRT can be used as I said above. In your case as you are having bleeding then ie would say cyclical is more appropriate so yes do go back to your doc!