I had a hysterectomy about 13 years ago and am now almost 51. I think I may be going through menopause as the hot flashes - which seem more like hot episodes - are gettin more frequent. Have any of you gone through this and found a remedy or help that does not involve hormones?

Sweating in Sandy

I think I'm in perimenopause. I get the night sweats. I guess those are considered hot flashes as well. I call them "power surges" (LOL) and get up in the middle of the night to change into a dry t-shirt & try to find a dry spot on the mattress. That's the only remedy I've come up with.

It seems like I've heard a lot about getting a lot of soy in your diet for this, but I'm extremely high-risk for breast cancer and cannot get too much estrogen in my system. Soy contains a lot of natural plant estrogens.

Dunno what to tell ya.

My TBM sister was going through this recently, and my ex-Mo father told her, "first thing you might want to do is stop wearing garments, since they probably make it worse." It went over about as well as dumping a five gallon bucket of water onto a cat.

Heck I don't wear my garments at night anymore and it's great. :-D

I think I might be hitting the perimenopausal stage of life, and I know that my adrenals are pretty sluggish, so I'm focusing on adrenal support and health right now and see how that goes. The adrenal glands pretty much keep all your hormones regulated and balanced, which could at least lessen the severity of the hot flashes.

Oh those garments--

I have had hot flashes for YEARS. Mine are better OFF Prozac, off diet coke (I do drink Crystal Light with caffeine), and when I eat fewer carbs. Hate to say this, but when I did the HCG diet (and yes I did and had great results and plan on doing it again)--but one of the reasons I will do the HCG diet again is because it completely put a stop to my hot flashes--completley. Might have been the drops--might have been the really low carbs. I have never felt better than I did on the HCG drops.

Anyway--I think low carbs and low caffeine have had the biggest impact on my hot flashes.

The secret to that diet is leaving out wheat and dairy. But nobody would buy into a diet like that(sounds too simple!), so they have to make it gimmicky. And then of course most people go back to wheat and dairy later.

Is mid thirties too early to start perimenopause? Because I've had night sweats for years, and now it's turning into bonafide hot flashes during the day. :(

I'm 54 now--and through menopause.

Part of the diet is that you do start reintroducing the wheat and dairy and in some verions, you can have cottage cheese for your protein. Even after I added these things in, I still felt good and I have kept most of the weight off for almost 2 years, gained very little back.

But now that I'm aware--I can tell immediately when I've had high carbs or a lot of caffeine--the hot flashes start up immediately. If I go off the caffeine or carbs--within a day, they've decreased.

You are certainly the exception then in my experience, good job keeping it off! :)

I work with a bunch of amazing expanding/shrinking women who go on and off this diet a couple times a year.
YoYoing is the worst thing possible for true weight control. So I have seen too much of the ridiculous side of this "diet".


I have been pondering the coffee in my diet for a while... But it is such a great EXmo symbol, that alone makes me reluctant to give it up.

I work at home and my sister told me some of her co-workers were doing it--so I don't have anyone to compare to. I had heard it was easy to gain it back, but I still haven't gained too much back. The reason I will go back on it is for how good I felt, mentally, emotionally, physically, etc.

And--luckily, I never developed a liking for coffee. I have a diet coke now and then and I had that habit for a good 25 years--so that was tough to let go.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2012 12:23PM by cl2.

*Oophorectomy Definition. Oophorectomy is the surgical removal of one or both ovaries. It is also called ovariectomy or ovarian ablation

Could it be that at age 37 or 38 the surgeon did a hysterectomy, but left your ovaries so that you would have horomones. The removal of the ovaries is called an oomphorectomy. Now that you are entereing what would be the age of menopause, those ovaries are shutting down, that is why you may now be experiencing the hot flashes when you did not after your surgery.

Diet, weight issues, and family history will all have a bearing on how your body adjusts to the changes of menopause. What works for one, will not work for another. Learn all that you can about menopause, and then you will have the knowledge to make an informed decision.

Good luck to you in your quest for relief from your symptoms.

Since my mother and grandmother both had hysterectomies, this is new territory for me. I have mild hot flashes and am hoping that they don't get any worse. My children bought me some black cohosh (sp?) tablets that are supposed to help with menopause but I haven't really felt the need to take them. Black cohosh does not have phytoestrogens from what I've read and I don't think they know why it is claimed to help women in menopause. Apparently flaxseed can reduce breast cancer risks, though.

http://women.webmd.com/managing-menopause-naturally-6/herbal-remedies

Also -- I take One A Day Menopause formula. My daughter in law swears it makes me much less irritable. :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2012 12:26PM by Rebeckah.

Power-surges!

At least that's what Beloved calls 'em.

Timothy



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2012 01:17PM by Timothy.

Too bad we can't substitute all our power-surges into electricity; it would really slash the electric bill :-)

A very good diet and exersize (yes...moving around helps)At 54 years young-I do have occasional night sweats but they are minimal. Eating a diet free of processed foods & sodas-Eating lots of vegetables & fruits, dark green leafy, sweet potatoes, salads & some meat. Love Cottage cheese but have cut way down on other dairy products. I did add (3oz)wheat grass juice mixed with (6oz)carrot juice to drink every morning.
I feel better now then I did at 45!

> A very good diet and exersize (yes...moving around helps)

in germany many women practice hormone yoga. there are literally hundreds of articles and many books about this special form of yoga, but most of them only in german.
http://www.dinahrodrigues.com.br/yoga/en/menopause.htm
http://www.dinahrodrigues.com.br/yoga/en/results.htm
http://www.dinahrodrigues.com.br/yoga/en/factors-that-decrease-the-hormone-level.htm

just for the pictures/photos and for those who speak german:

http://yoga.gundelfisch.de/infohormonyoga.pdf
http://www.schirner.com/files/leseproben/0220_Leseprobe.pdf
http://www.cityyoga.de/cms/app/webroot//presse/hormonyoga_yoga_journal_12_09.pdf

I started with occasional power surges (snicker) in 2009, then mind-blowing hot flashes (honestly, couldn't think til I cooled down). My trauma hit with a bang in Jan. 2010, and I had my last period in July of that year. The hot flashes quit for about 6 months, then gradually have started up again, maybe to 3 a day - I can live with that, just dress in layers and try to keep cool, and I can still think when the sweat starts dripping off me! I take a lot of showers and do laundry frequently.

BUT - I drink very little alcohol and limit myself to one small cup of coffee a day, stay away from overly processed food & simple carbohydrates, eat plenty of fresh, preferably organic veggies, get regular sleep, and - this is key - plenty of heart-pumping exercise, which is great for treating mood problems too. When I get irritated, I get moving.

I did not figure this out by myself, but did a lot of internet searches and got good advice from a very wise nurse friend, as well as my mom and sister.

I greatly value the wise women in my life; they are jewels. The dumb bimbos help generate the desire for exercise!

Oh - tried the black cohosh, flaxseed, etc., but didn't notice anything. Some women claim those things help. Women's bodies respond quite differently, even between sisters.

I thought, big deal, I can handle this. Then came the hot flashes. For 2 years, I wore summer clothing (under a coat) to the office and kept a Tshirt in my desk. I thought I was done, but they have come back, a bit. I did have the HRT patches, but don't use them anymore. It all started about 6 years ago. I am still warmer than DH at night and just use 1 blanket; he uses at least 4 or 5 warm layers.

So, I guess I have nothing to add, except Good Luck!!

Prepare your clothing to just "go with it" -- somethings might help, but not always. Exercise? Diet? Hormones? Herbs? Try what you want. It's all up to you. They eventually stop. ahhhh!!!

Thanks for all your responses. It's nice to know I'm not alone in this. My ovaries were left in tact with my surgery so I'm sure they're trying to shut down now. I've done a little research and there seems to be a couple of things I can do. My doc suggested adding effexor and I may give that a go. It seems I am awake all night now - cover off, cover on, covers off, covers on. When they happen during the day, I want to run around nekkid int he snowy outdoors. Good grief!

This worked for me and continues to "work" -- Add additional micronutrients to the diet with green drink mixed with 2 Tablespoons flax meal. See the movie "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead." They have a website with the recipe and the protagonist got rid of not only his weight, BUT his mysterious blotchy red spots which had no cure.

If you do a cleanse and substitute this green drink for your meals for even just a week (tolerate some headaches first 3 days) you will know what you have been missing. It's micronutrients.

Thereafter, you can substitute green drink for even as little as one meal a day and appreciate better health plus weight loss. For me, my migraines went away and I began sleeping better.

Best of luck

Anagrammy

I had a total hysterectomy and oopherectomy 15 years ago and was on hormones for years but my husband lost his job so we lost our insurance and we flat-out cannot afford them now.The hot flashes are back with a vengeance.

I have tried every over-the-counter thing I've seen. NONE of them help me at all.

What's awful is that I am one of those naturally cold people so I get horrendous hot flashes several times a day- roasting hot, dripping and feeling icky, all that. Then it abruptly departs, leaving me soaking wet and shivering, ice cold!

My doctor is considering Effexor.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2012 02:42PM by Doxi.

It's like your body can't make up its mind what temperature it wants to be. All night long, it's blanket on, blanket off. Too hot, too cold. Arrgh!

The worst part of it for me lasted six months. In total, it was about a year and a half. The good news is that the other side is fantastic. :-)

Talk to your M.D. She might have some ideas for you. I put up with it, but for some women, it's unbearable.