Hot Flashes....not Good For Pots

[Maxine]

Help!

I've had these before----the hot flashes, and I kind of bragged on how mild they were. NOT NOW! I had them before, after my period stopped for a while, then my period started back up. Now the period has stopped for about a year and now really bad hot flashes. how long does this go on. My gynochologist blew me off when I talked about checking my hormone levels. My endocrinologist checked them but blew me off as well, saying these levels weren't bad. He said I still had some estrogen, but most likely because I had gained weight, not a lot----I don't appear heavy. I don't get it.

I get so hot it makes me feel like I'm going to collapse. With 90 + temperatures this isn't fun. I'm a prisoner in my house!

Any advice on what to do would sure be appreciated....

Maxine :0)

[Jan]

I'm in the same boat. I get about one an hour, it lasts about two minutes, after which I am completely drenched in sweat. When they start to come on I feel sick, like the flu. I get them more when I am do anything that resembles exercise, like walking up stairs.

When I read, and I get one, my glasses fog up.

What really helps is in the Minnesota winter to stand outside with no coat. Feels great. Unfortunately it is almost 100 degrees here this week with high humidity. Going outside is like a hot flash.

When I ask female friends how long hot flashes last, someone always has a story of a grandma or someone who had them until the day they died. Like the nasty child birth story someone will tell you when you are pregnant.

I guess it varies, I have been having them for 18 months since I went off the pill. Lots of women tell me they can get better, then come back again.

The good news is I don't get as many migraines. I will take the hot flashes over migraines. The other thing is hot flashes are normal, unlike POTS, so if you want to complain about them, most women over 50 will sympathize.

My only advice, is when it starts to come on, sit in front of a fan. That way the sweat cools you off.

[Maxine]

THANKS Jan!

LOL-----I like the grandma story. My mother barely had them. I have blood pooling with POTS----so when the hotflashes happen it feels like my blood pools more quickly, as if it doesn't alrady--- .

The problem is that I don't sweat much, but get very hot----it's terrible! My arm pits get sweaty when they didn't before. I had to get a different antiperspirant-deodorant.

Maxine :0)

[juliegee]

Maxine, Honey- my hearts is breaking for you. Not for the faint of heart, huh? I started early because I had a uterine fibroid embolization and it just hastened the process for me. At the worst I was having 10-12 an hour. At first when they occurred, I thought I was going to faint..... then, maybe I had low blood sugar.....finally, I frantically searched for my epi-pen ; then I figured it out HOT FLASHES. They are that and so much more.

I use a small clear adhesive patch called Combi-Patch 50/140. It is a bio-identical combo of estrogen & progesterone. I started with a half patch. It is considered best to use the smallest amount of HRT to handle symptoms. Within a few days, it helped tremendously. A few months later, I came down with a virus & the hot flashes were back with a vengeance. My gyno upped me to 3/4 of a patch. For the most part, it really helps. I only have 1-2 a day now and they are fairly mild.

Eliminating all sugar, caffeine, alcohol, processed food and white flour really helps. My mother at 73 still has them daily & my granny at 92 gets a few a week. I'm settling in for the long haul . I hope you're luckier.

Gentle Cooling Breezes sent your way-

Julie

[issie]

Had to have a complete hysterectomy at age 36 and wasn't allowed to go on hormones for 5 months. Tried everything available. The final thing settled on is bio-identical estriol and (if you still have your utereus you must use bio identical progesterone cream.) The other great helps are Vitamin E and Red Clover. Red Clover is a mild plant estrogen. Estriol can actually prevent breast cancer. It's one of the 3 estrogens. The best books I've read are:

What you Dr. may not have told you about Pre-menopause

What your Dr. may not have told you about Menopause

And a book by Dr. Wright about how to use bio-identical hormones - can't remember the name, but he's recently written a new one.

A doctor at Mayo actually told me about the Red Clover.

I was told that my body would continue to have flashes as long as it was supposed to. So, I've been dealing with it for 14 years. Starting to settle out now. I have found though that allot of my hot flashes are related to POTS, not hormonal at all. Also, when I eat something I'm sensitive to it will bring on a flash. Here's hoping it will settle out for you real, real soon. It is sooooooo miserable.

[Maxine]

Thank you for the information and support!

They are miserable, and it does make me feel like I'm going to pass out some times. WOW----they can go on for years? I can't imagine that!

My gyno blows the whole thing off. Maybe when she gets them she'll understand. Time to change gynos. I don't have time for more misery on top of the misery I have.

Thanks again Ladies.................

[comfortzone]

I've gone to every four months a monthly cycle - and in January had what may have been hot flashes - my first ever at 53. But at the same time a lot of ANS type symptoms. So I don't know what's what. Anyway they went away till about two months ago and I had a few weeks of multiple times a day hot flashes. I guess I'm lucky because they didn't really bug me. They were there, they were warming for sure - but I guess I live in such a cold part of California they felt good! Seriously where I live I put my heat on all summer long. Then out of the blue they are gone again for a month - and now they are back again - but only one every few days.

When I told my gyn doc - he said he wanted to do a pelvic ultrasound to make sure everything is 'thinning' as it's supposed to - if not he said he'll do a biopsy. He listed some herbs to help and then went on to say an off-label use for Effexor is for hot flashes (at a low low dose)..... So since mine aren't disabling - well hopefully they never will be - I haven't considered any treatment options. But it sounds like there are definitely nice doctors that will try and make your quality of life much better while you endure those hot flashes -- best wishes to you!

[PotsMom]

Our experience has been that hot flashes go with dysautonomia with or without reason for them otherwise, e.g. menopause, etc. My teen kids both have had a lot of problems with hot flashes with POTS. My son will often use a cold pack from the freezer to put on his head when he is having a siege of them and finds that somewhat helpful. When my daughter was quite acute, she would get sieges of hot flashes every evening, one after another. My son's seem to come more irregularly but it is usually in the evening.

[Troy]

Clonidine acts on the area of the brain to reduce the effects of hot flashes. Use that together with a spray pump bottle filled with water and put in the fridge to cool down, buy a held hand fan and whenever you feel hot spray the worst effected areas of your body with the water and then turn on the fan for an added cooling effect.