Hot flushes have kicked in with a vengeance, can I ride them out without HRT?

[JulietteHasAGun]

Last period just over a year ago. Was literally smugly thinking only a week ago that I was having no menopause symptoms and this was a breeze. And now for the last week I am having bad hot flushes a few times a day and waking me up in the early hours.

Only seems to be the night one which makes me sweat so far.

i feel really cold after it which is as bad as feeling hot during the flush.

i e tried HRT twice before. First the patches, the next time i tried gel and tablet combo. Both times i put on 2-3kg in 2 weeks and then stopped. I do think im prone to weight gain with oestrogen. When younger and on the pill I went up a dress size or two. When I stopped taking the hrt the weight came off so I don’t think it was due to age and normally my weight is steady (with effort).

so is there anything else more natural I can take? If I just put up with it how long might it last for? Or is there any type of hrt which is less likely to cause weight gain….the gel and tablet combo was bio identical.

I only had hot flushes during menopause and didn't take HRT. Yes they can be very intense! It was bad for around 2 years but mercifully I didn't have them whilst asleep. I think hot sweats at night would have been awful. I did discover that wheat/gluten was making things far worse and the flushes disappeared when I gave up wheat and became gluten free. Worth trying I'd say!

No advice I’m afraid, I’m just stopping by to say I feel your pain.
All my life I’ve felt cold. I’ve always shuddered when hearing people say they have to sleep with the window open.
Then menopause hit. My God.
I’m trying to avoid artificial hormones, I’ve heard black cohosh is very good so that might be worth a try?
And a fan plugged in in the bedroom and a cold flannel both together it’s bliss!
Good luck.

I had dreadful hot flushes and no hrt. There are all kinds of "alternative" remedies but I didn't try those either.
The nighttime ones were difficult because although you wake up in a furnace you then get cold. I used to wear a thin nightie I could peel off, a cotton sheet and a thin duvet. So layers. Switched to two single quilts so DH could have a warmer one.

It was very bad for about a year after my last period and then gradually improved over the next year though I would say that my thermostat never completely went back to normal.

I don’t take HRT, DP calls me his 3 bar fire. Or his personal volcano. The hardest part for me is actually trying to keep to my side of the bed all the time so I don’t wake him with my heat. I miss being able to be closer. The cooling pads you can get for migraines can be quite nice, or a cold hot water bottle for your feet, or eating frozen peas/grapes/lollies.

Thanks all. Have ordered some black coshosh. Already have separate duvets. Will look at cooling pads and fans.

If you don’t have oestrogen which the body needs then expect to have your body react - hormones are the building blocks for our bodies and without them we fall apart and end up with many other medical conditions

also bio identical tablets are higher risk for cancer than the normal ones I was told by the menopause specialists. I use the body spray and vaginal pessaries

A word of warning about black cohosh - it caused damage to my liver...!

I was under investigation for something else and having routine tests so it was picked up, and as I'd read about liver damage as a potential side effect for some people I asked for a repeat test a month later and chucked the lot in the meantime... My liver results improved significantly but the next test.

TBF it did stop the hot flashes though 🤔😂

I do take hrt but I discovered by accident that omega 3, 6, 9 supplements (i take the flaxseed ones) help me witj this specifically.

Mine went on for about 10 years but weren’t as bad as they could have been I suspect due to the fact I was on Prozac at the time (should have been put on HRT in my mid 30’s but wasn’t considered at that age).
Ironically I started on HRT after the flushes had stopped as by then I was getting terrible brain fog and all manner of things were going wrong with my joints and tendons ( this after a lifetime of back issues)
I was already doing everything I could to keep fit and strong but it was like someone had suddenly nicked my engine oil and I was really starting to struggle with running my business.

The HRT made a noticeable difference inside three days, which I found astonishing and it really made me think about what I was using on my skin in terms of moisturisers etc.

I was recommended black cohosh and something else by my GP years ago when I first went in to menopause but I couldn’t really afford supplements at that point.
I’m interested in the poster who said she’d been told the bio identical hormones are more of a cancer risk as I was advised the exact opposite hence take Progesterone. I’m not going mad am I? Utrogestan is bio identical I thought?

I’m not sure whether I put in weight with the HRT as I was already on a different diet by that point as my partner wanted to reverse his diabetes, so I went keto with him and lost 2 stone, so I’m lighter now in my late 50’s than I was in my 30/40’s. (Not Keto any more but stick to fairly low carb and 16 hour fast which seems to keep things the right side of ok and I feel a lot better for it).
if you can’t tolerate HRT then all of what’s suggested is likely to help (I used to soak a beach wrap in cold water , wring it out and lay under it - fabulous!)and certainly changing your diet (look in to the Gut Microbiome stuff - this is key), exercising and generally really focusing on looking after yourself will make a huge difference in terms of how you are by the time the flushes have subsided.

Welcome to the maintenance years :-)

I think you have to ride it out or take the HRT really. I have put on a bit of weight but for me the HRT benefits were more important. I was struggling and I needed help. I tried all the supplements etc nothing helped me except HRT. It’s not a silver bullet I still get some symptoms popping up but it’s so much better. It just depends what matters more to you.

Menoforce tablets - they are basically sage - they worked for me. You can get cheaper sage but I have stuck with them. If I go a week without them I get a warning hot flush.

There are pillows and mattress toppers that are supposed to help with air flow or be cooling.

Hrt didn't work for me, but I was limited in what I could try medically. I kind of sailed through the hot flushes phase in a tired, slightly giddy, frizzy headed, baffled state really not able to focus on much else properly as they were coming on every hour or two, 24/7. It's such an odd phenomenon. I'm very lucky though. My time for this was quite small, but two friends had them over the course of a decade. I still get what I refer to as waves of warmth. That's very manageable.

What? That's the wrong way round.

Synthetic progestogens (in tablets or patches) have the highest risk for breast cancer.
Micronised progesterone is the lowest, used orally or vaginally.

Following
Can't take HRT and my oncologist now wants me to have chemical early menopause

I got through without HRT. For me the flushes weren't as bad as the side effects (rages) of Progesterone.

Veozah has been licensed in the UK for treating hot flushes without hormones, and may work for people who have medical reasons like @VividDeer.

My guess would be that the rapid weight gain Op describes is water and would probably level off. I'm not sure means of administration makes a difference to this.

Oral estrogen is higher risk for blood clots. You do need to take some form of progestogen if you still have a uterus - it's a bit of a mixed picture as micronised progesterone seems better for minimising breast cancer risk but progestins might offer better protection against endometrial cancer. Either way way the risks are pretty low and worth it for many women for the benefits for bone health and quality of life.

Be very wary of the menopause supplement industry, there are vast numbers of cowboys recommending supplements that have been no benefit or can actually be harmful like black cohosh.