Hot flashes have started [MASSIVE SAD FACE]. Any advice?

[Twistella]

My mum never suffered with hot flashes so I somehow thought I wouldn't either. I'm 52 this year and my last period was February.

I've been having very definite hot flashes - like a prickling feeling and as though I'm sitting in front of a radiator.

Not sweating hugely and not going red in the face, so its fairly discreet for now but its making me feel old and tired :-(

I've been going to bed with two ice packs which I literally cuddle! they have melted by about 3am though.

Hot water bottle frozen.

HRT

Welcome to the club! Mine have been on and off for years. You just have to fiddle round and find what works for you. I'm in the anti hrt camp but plenty advocate for it. I've had success with reflexology, a knicker magnet and supplements (sage complex from Victoria Health is fantastic).

You could 'fiddle around' for 20+ years! My mum still had flushes in her 80s. There is no knowing how long they can last.

The magnet (as discussed in another thread) is a placebo and appears to work during peri because hormones change all the time (hence being 'off and on all the time')

Sage has been researched and the RCOG can't find any evidence it works. (I tried it by making it with my own herbs and it did nothing.)

But each to their own- depends how much they bother you, if you work in an environment where they would impact on your role, if you lose sleep and then are more at risk from more serious illnesses from lack of sleep.

My mum swore by keeping a packet of wet wipes in the fridge then when she got hot she wiped her face, neck and anywhere else with them!!!!

Queen - exactly, each to their own. When I was in a senior management role, I found them totally debilitating and inconvenient but hrt still wasn't for me and I've done it my own way. Sneering at anything other than hrt isn't helpful.

sneering?

I can only see facts.
1 No one knows how long their flushes will last.
2 The magnet is a placebo- it's been refuted as an alternative by the RCOG- so i suppose they are 'sneering'?
3 Peri symptoms come and go hence some alternatives appear to work.
4 Personal experience of sage.

Worse, is suggesting there is something 'bad' about HRT and dissuading women (indirectly) when every bit of medical research shows it is effective, safe (for at least 5 years) ,relieves symptoms AND reduces overall mortality in women.

@Twistella if you want to read the research on alternatives by the RCOG it's here. You need to scroll right down to points 5.2.3 to find out about magnetism and herbs.
www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/scientific-impact-papers/sip_6.pdf

Good luck whatever you decide.

Welcome to the party.

I have been having hot flushes for a couple of years (last period was 3 years ago YAY!!). I am not on HRT as I have not felt the need. However, if things got worse I would consider it.

My techniques are:

1. A gel pillow insert to keep my head cool at night
2. a refreshing facial mist for when I get really hot and bothered
3. Electric fans EVERYWHERE!!!!
4. Accepting that this is just another life phase we have to go through. This too shall pass. If I get hot at work I just say it is a Mediterranean moment and reach for my desk fan.

L

HRT

Mine started at 52 at the same time periods became further apart. I had a Mirena coil so was hard to tell.
I chose not to take HRT.
The flashes peaked after a bout a year and at their worst I had them every half hour day and night. Still had a few long after periods ceased.
I wish I'd had one of these then but they are fantastic

In bed the best thing I did was to buy two single duvets. DH could be warm while I had a thin one. I also had a single cotton sheet under the duvet which is useful because often you throw the covers off when you are hot ..... and then you freeze. Also wearing a thin cotton nightie which could be changed if you got in a sweat. A fan on the bedside table.
Come to think of it all the stuff you do in a heatwave

HRT HRT and HRT again!

Absolutely no need to suffer - and then find years later you are still suffering, your mood has lowered, you can't find the right HRT or it's too late because you're too old or too long since menopause.

It's your quality of life NOW that matters. If you have no medical reason why you can't take HRT then no time to waste! There are also long term health consequences associated with oestrogen deficiency that some women may experience - bone loss leading to osteoporosis and cardio-vascular disease being amongst the chief culprits, not to mention vaginal atrophy and bladder problems (although local oestrogen applied per vag) can deal with this.

Really don't waste time or money on so-called alternatives - practical solutions such as fans and duvets etc are great - but dealing with the cause (through HRT) is the ultimate solution.

Make sure you go for one that is the most closely related to our own hormones eg Femoston tablets or separate oestrogen patches or gel and progesterone...

I'm quite happy to try HRT. I am planning to lose a bit of weight and get fitter all while taking vogel menopace tablets. If nothings changed by November its HRT for me I think.

I would have probably have lost my hobby & alienated all my family & friends without hrt.

I was so angry all the time

I have had some success with sage tea.

A chillow is my biggest recommendation.

If hot flashes were the only symptom I would be happy to have them for life!
Unfortunately it is only the start! Aches, insomnia, brain fog, risk for osteoporosis are my basic concerns and only hrt can prevent them. And of course it has risks as every drug we take!

I am not angry. A bit more intolerant but nothing new! No thin hair. Had terrible brain fog a couple of years ago and am now either not as bad or used to it!

Not sleeping well and I do have terribly aching feet. Generally feel a bit old and broken.

Oh and I've put a shit ton of weight on around my tummy

I would say hot flashes were my only symptom, though they were pretty bad. I think it's easy to fall into a trap of blaming every health issue on the menopause though.
Having said that my health went downhill quite a bit in my fifties.