Hot flush help

[jimjack25]

Does anyone have any advice on dealing with hot flushes? Im 51 been period free for about 15 months (yay) and the hot flushes that started in my perimenopause in my early 40's have suddenly reappeared and they are hell! I am having probably 60-100 a day and i am boiling. Im doing the obvious wearing light clothes , summer duvet, taking meno vitamins. Dont want to ho on hrt as this is now the only symptom. Beginning to wonder if i should get a blood test to rule out thyroid issues.
any suggestions appreciated

Honestly hrt was what fixed it for me.

the hot flushes were what drove me to the doctor I just couldn’t cope with all the laundry.

can recommend a Japanese negative tog blanket and open window when sleeping though

If you don't want to take hrt, 2 recommendations. Sage complex supplements. Take a couple of months to kick in, so you have to take a leap of faith but it knocks them right on the head. The other is to practice breathing through the flush. Getting agitated and upset makes it worse. Accept in the moment that it's happening, close your eyes, let the flush roll through you and breathe through it. Sounds like hocus pocus nonsense I know but both helped me enormously.

May I ask you where you brought your supplements?
Thanks

@jimjack25 That sounds horrendous- 100 a day! That's one every 15 mins day and night? Mine once an hour were bad enough.

The only treatment that is shown to work is hrt.
Other things like sage work for some women but it's very hit and miss- there is medical research on all of these supplements and there is a paper on it written by the British Menopause Society .The placebo effect is around 40% anyway so the number of women that benefit is very low.
Other herbs like black cohosh are sometimes worth a go but they can have side effects.

Is there a specific reason why you don't want HRT? It's worth updating yourself on the benefits and the minimal risks, if you're making a decision because the recent research is very different to what was around 20 years ago.

The most used types have no breast cancer risk for at least 5 years and maybe not even after that.

There is a new drug that is NOT HRT which is used for flushes but you need to see your GP for it.

You can get it anywhere- online and shops.
Mostly it's sage tincture (liquid) or tablets.)

As a PP said, roll with it. Don’t try to mentally fight the flush, just let it flow over you. Flushes can be so overwhelming, and feel like they last forever. In reality they rarely last more than 3-4 minutes. Remember that. When you get a flush you can remind yourself that it will soon be over.

Dress in layers (I now understand why cardigans are so popular among women at a certain point!), natural fibres, open windows etc. I always have a collapsible fan in my pocket to help me through a flush.

If you don’t exercise much, increasing exercise can help. Even just being more mobile.

I have heard of low-dose Prozac being prescribed for flushes. My friend found it very effective, until more menopause symptoms appeared. But if you’re past the other stuff, and this is the only symptom bothering you?

HRT really is the best thing for menopause symptoms. Why don’t you want to take it? It helps with aspects of menopause that you may not even notice happening in your body, such as weakening bones, vaginal atrophy, and irritable bladder, until they get bad enough to affect your life, by which time they are no longer fully reversible.

Prozac is very dated and it's not given for hot flushes.

Some SSRIs are but ONLY for women who cannot take HRT because of other illnesses where HRT is contraindicated.

The OP is having a flush every 15 minutes- 100 a day! No one can just 'roll' with that- it's horrendous.

If this is happening at night too OP, your sleep will suffer and my gynaecologist says (quite rightly) that lack of sleep is a major health risk (it can affect the heart, brain and contribute to many other illnesses.)

My only symptom was night sweats. I bought sage tablets and the sweats disappeared straight away.

Sage complex from Victoria Health.

Yeah, a 100 a day is brutal. I'm not advocating that any woman simply has to grin and bear it. I was merely offering advice on how to actually deal with a flush when one hits. Getting agitated makes them worse. I guess it's akin to labour contractions. Some women want all the drugs and to feel nothing, some want to let them come and they get advice on how best to manage through them. Neither is wrong.

Same here. I’ve experienced having flushes multiple times every hour and it is draining. I was also thinking about coping with labour when I made my suggestion. Knowing that something unpleasant will end is grounding - even while knowing that it will start again.

Hi op and everyone else
Can you try if you can explain the hot flush.
Like is just bang feeling really hot.
Or on fire, dose it start at the top like someone as put a hot coat on you.
I just want to educate myself on it.

@JinglingSpringbells Thanks.

@Ebok1990 Thank you too.

@Misscoffee I think mine are flushes. I feel hot and flustered on my forehead and face. It lasts about one or two minutes and is not constant. Some sweats. I experience this a lot during the day and less at night.

I carry a small battery fan in my bag, as soon as a get warm I use it and because it's so small it doesn't draw attention. Cools me right down.

I’ve had lots of peri symptoms but no hot flushes until about a fortnight ago. Since then I have several per hour during the day and a few at night that wake me. They are horrendous! I’m trying sage but I haven’t noticed any positive effect yet. I can’t take HRT as my mum has had three different types of hormone-receptive breast cancer and 2/3rds of my female relatives have had it.

For the poster asking what it feels like, to me it is the burning up feeling like when you have a high fever and is accompanied by panicky feelings and brain fog. But it passes in a minute or two (and I agree with the poster who suggested telling yourself it will be over soon helps). I also have a mini fan - that helps a bit. Afterwards you can get chills, particularly if you have sweated. They are pretty bloody awful!

I mostly get night sweats. A sudden feeling of overwhelming heat, top to bottom, followed by sweating. Not at all the same as just being warm on a hot summers day. Throw the covers off and it goes really quickly, but then I get really cold, and need to get up for a wee. My sleep at the moment is horrendous. I am waiting to go back on HRT after a year's break, as I can't stand it for much longer!