His and Her Health

I am 60 years old and 10 years post menopausal. I have taken HRT for the full 10 years...that seemed to do the trick for my hot flashes etc. Within the last 6 months my hot flashes have come back with a furry...they are severe..I have to stop what I am doing and fan myself and do everything I can to "cool" down before proceeding with whatever activity I was doing.I sweat from the top of my head to my feet. I may have 10 a night and as many during the day. There are days where I think I have licked the problem and have only one or two but then that night I have them all night long. I am presently taking natural hormones in creme form but it does nothing for the hot flashes. At this point I am desperate to know what to do next. Otherwise I am in good health. I welcome whatever advice you can give me.

Diann, I don't have any advice, I just wanted to say that I feel for you. I haven't started hot flashes yet but hear they are terrible.

Good luck getting anyone to answer you on this forum. I posted something and weeks later, one person finally answered!

Diann I hope you have visited the links I put up for you on the other post, also if you use the search button at the top of this page and type Menopause. Click on( all open forums)you will get a list of 126 posts relating to menopause in some way.

First, and foremost, I hope you are under the care of a good menopause clinician. If you log onto www.menopause.org, the North American Menopause Society's website, you will find a list of clinicians in your geographical area.
Since you seem to be on an HT product already, you may want to try making lifestyle changes and see if this helps control your menopausal symptoms. Simple things like avoiding hot beverages, alcohol, spicy foods and caffeine sometimes does the trick. And, of course dressing in layers. And, hopefully, you are not smoking. Smoking causes a decline in estrogen, and, of course, increases your risk of developing heart disease, cancer, and is a risk factor for osteoporosis. Some alternative therapies some women try are acupuncture; eating foods which contain phytoestrogens (soy),and using black cohosh. Herbal remedies and dietary supplements are products which do not need FDA approval, so you must check with your clinician before using these products as they do have potential side effects and may be harmful.There are also other drugs used for menopausal symptoms, which are non hormonal and include: antidepressants, Gabapentin, Clonidine,as well as others. My advice is to discuss all options with your clinician and don't forget to exercise. Studies show that women who exercise have fewer hot flashes than those who are sedentary. Please let us know how you are doing and thank you for logging onto our bulletin board.

I live in Central America so there are limited resources here. I did go to a doctor yesterday and had an exam. He wants to take me off of the natural hormones I am taking now and put me on a drug called Tibonella. It is a drug manufactured in Columbia. He is also going to ultrasound my ovaries tomorrow to have a baseline.

I do not smoke or drink, I eat right, exercise every day and seem to be doing all the right things.

I spoke to a retired OB GYN here in my country who told me he would put me on Prempro if we were back in the states...

I will look at all of the sites you have mentioned..Thanks

I am also a member of The International Menopause Society and I would suggest you contact them and request a listing of menopause clinicians in your area. They recently held their annual meeting in Madrid and have released new information on their website which might be helpful to you. Here is the contact information:

To contact the International Menopause Society please use the details below:

International Menopause Society
Mrs Jean Wright
IMS Executive Director
PO Box 687
Wray
Lancaster
LA2 8WY
UK
Tel: +44 15242 21190
Fax: +44 15242 22596
E-mail: jwright.ims@btopenworld.com

Hope this information will be of help to you. Please keep us informed. Thank you.

Which of the following definitions of a hot flash do you most relate to:

The Red Hot Mamas' Definition:
When you don’t have to worry about being too hot, or too cold, because you know that in a flash it will change.

The Technical Definition:
A sudden sensation of heat centered on the face and upper chest and may be accompanied with profuse sweating, palpitations, chills and shivering; caused by rapid dilation of capillaries and associated with a hormone imbalance.

What kind of hot flasher are you? Depends who you ask. In the latest issue of The Menopause Minute newsletter we explore this very question in our article, Thunder, Lightning, Hot Flashes: http://www.redhotmamas.org/newsletters/newsletter_200811.htm#A1

What are your thoughts?

Hi there,
I feel hot during the day and have had some success with some of the exercise wicking products. Then at night I feel much cooler when I wear wicking pajamas. They seem to keep my body cooler. I can't take hormones because of a history of cancer, so this seems to work well for me. I found my PJ's online at a site called Cool-jams, but I know there are others . Good luck to you, I know how frustrating it can be.
Tina

Hot flashes are a symptom of the changing hormone levels that are considered to be characteristic of menopause. You may help alleviate hot flashes by avoiding caffeine, hot drinks, chocolate, spicy or hot foods and alcohol. Some evidence exists that regular exercise can reduce hot flashes and that yoga can help by teaching women to control their body's response to the stresses that can lead to bothersome hot flashes

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