HRT-free ways to lessen hot sweats at night

[Koolaidhighlights]

I have been in perimenopause for around 8 years and now at 53 I think I am entering the menopausal phase. I don't bleed due to a previous uterine ablation so not 100% sure if I am still in peri or not.

I also have endometriosis and adenomyosis and have tried various HRT methods and they have all made the pain worse so I am currently taking nothing. I am due a hysterectomy and excision surgery some time this year and will look at HRT post-surgery.

In the meantime, I am finding that I am getting very restless nights. I am a very cold person in general and have no issues during the day time or the winter months but I noticed last spring/summer I was suffering from very hot and disturbed nights and this is starting up again. I wake as I am restless and whilst not initially hot, within seconds I start heating up so I end up flipping covers off me only to then feel very chilly a minute or two later, then covers go back on and I heat up again and so it goes on. It's pissing me off now and I am dreading this weekend with temperatures predicted to become very high where I live.

What can I do? I don't take any supplements as I really don't know what to take as there are so many available. I am slim, I exercise, I drink only water so no caffeine in my diet or alcohol. I try to eat well but have IBS so I follow quite a restrictive diet (no diary, gluten/wheat and trigger foods etc).

Unfortunately, our house is a chalet bungalow style property so the bedrooms do get very hot in the summer, we do have fans but it's a battle with DH as he says they keep him awake and dry his throat out (he has asthma). I feel hot no matter what I wear and for some reason laying naked makes me feel hotter.

I don't really suffer from hot spells during the daytime as I remain quite chilly but I really need my sleep to be able to function well. What can I do? Any suggestions?

Can I ask what you were offered HRT wise considering you have endo? I had to fight to get what I wanted but I am curious as to what didn't work for you.

If fans help then a much quieter option which we have in all our bedrooms is a ceiling fan. Ours works well as the fan is right over the bed. They are much quieter than a pedestal fan but they are not the prettiest things.

I also wore bamboo nightwear which felt better than sleeping naked. I am now on HRT and that has almost stopped it all. Unlike you I only have endo, no adeno.

Sage complex supplements work for hot flushes. When it's really hot, get a bed sheet, soak it in cold water, wring it out and sleep under that. You'll be cool as anything! Put it in the fridge if you've got room for extra coolness.

I trialled the mini pill first because I was still having 'periods/cycle' but no bleeding due to the ablation and the pain from the trapped blood was awful but I had to stop after 8 months because I suffer from aura migraines and the mini pill was exacerbating them.

I then trialled utrogestan and oestrogen but I have IBS and functional dyspepsia, the utrogestan seemed to very much upset my gut. I did try it vaginally but the pain got worse again. I also tried a patch (can't remember the name) and that made the pain worse too. I was only diagnosed with endo and adeno 18 months ago at the age of 50 so have never had any excision surgery, I wonder if I had HRT may have worked better for me? I am hoping to try it again once I have had my hysterectomy and excision surgery.

I will look at bamboo nightwear, thank you.

Thank you, I will try that.

Thank you for responding. The hysterectomy and excision should help a lot with your symptoms for the endo/adeno. It sounds like you have been through the mill with it all and tried a number of combinations for the HRT.

My first appointment for HRT I was offered meds to chemically put me into menopause fully as I was and still am having periods. They wanted to try to treat the endo but to be honest it is the best it has ever been due to dropping oestrogen levels. I went for HRT because of the benefits as well as helping with symptoms of peri I was experiencing.

Decades ago when first diagnosed with endo I had already been through combined pill, progesterone only, chemical menopause and then surgery. In my notes it says I do not fully respond to medication and my endo is "aggressive" in nature.

The HRT oestrogel and utrogestan have helped with some of the peri but it is still early days and I am treading carefully re exacerbating my endo.

I forgot the wet sheet thing @Whyohwhy321 suggested (see brain fog) my friend did this although her Dh kept jolting awake accidently touching the cold wet sheet. Luckily he found it hilarious. They used the washing machine to both rinse and spin the sheet, saves your hands trying to wring it out.

I found a wool duvet really helped - i've got one that's a clip together summer and winter one. It helped to regulate my temperature. It's worth a try. My night sweats were appaling - changing the sheets 2 or 3 times a night.

Have you tried utrogestan on its own? Might have been the oestrogen affecting your gut. I'm on Ireland and utrogestan isn't usually prescribed here on its own but it is in the US. But you might tolerate a very small amount of oestrogen, half a 25 patch.

@Koolaidhighlights You may be able to be prescribed this from your GP.

https://www.nice.org.uk/news/articles/500-000-eligible-to-benefit-from-new-non-hormonal-treatment-for-hot-flushes-caused-by-menopause

You could also consider Tibolone which is an HRT that is synthetic and combines types of estrogen and progesterone. It doesn't stimulate the womb lining.