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"I have been having about 10-12 hot flashes a day.
They start around my neck or shoulders and creep up my face.
Before I know it I'm really hot!
What can I do to stop this heat?"
Hot flashes are a very common symptom
 in both perimenopause
and menopause. Over eighty percent
of women experience hot flashes. The exact cause is unknown. But scientists suspect it has
something to do with our changing hormone levels and our internal thermostat, the
hypothalamus, which is located in our brains.
There are a number of things you can do to reduce
or prevent hot flashes from occurring.
- Avoiding spicy, hot foods, caffeinated beverages and hot
drinks can cut down on the number of flashes.
- Exercise, avoiding overheated rooms, and reducing stress
reduce the number and intensity of hot flashes.
- A good stress reducer is meditation and breathing exercises.
Deep breathing during hot flashes helps women feel better and quiets the heat.
- It's a good idea to keep the air conditioner going in the
summer and keep the heat low in the winter. Your family may complain a bit but when you
explain to them how important this is for you they will understand.
- Wearing cotton bedwear helps when sleeping. During the day
wearing your clothes in layers is a good idea. You can take off what you need to at the
hint of a flash.
- Drinking plenty of cold water with ice also can combat the
flashes. You can leave a glass of ice water to sip on your bedtable at night for a quick
heat relief.
HotFlash FAQ:
HotFlashes and Breast
Cancer
What if you
can't take estrogen?
 
For women with breast cancer with hotflashes, taking estrogen
is not an acceptable form of therapy, because it can make the cancer worse. Loprinzi has
found Effexor to be the best non-hormonal therapy for women with hot flashes and breast
cancer. Not only did the participants in the study have less flashes, but they also
had a better sense of well-being and sleep better.
Find out more
There
are alternative therapies
for treating hot flashes
 Vitamin E
has helped women reduce the number of hot flashes. Generally this amount of
Vitamin E is not to exceed 800 International Units.
Dr. Judith Reichman, in her grounding breaking women's health book "I'm Too
Young To Get Old", cites a daily dose of 800 IUs ( International Units)
of Vitamin E can help reduce hot flashes. Acupuncture has also helped some women with
their hot flashes.
Estrogen and/or
progesterone/progestin products
(see
our HotFlash Therapies Guide) 
They work to decrease hot flashes and other symptoms of perimenopause. Today there are many prescription estrogen and
progesterone/progestin products available Ask your doctor what would be best for you. Over
the counter progesterone creams have helped many women.
There are non-hormonal
medications for women who can't take estrogen and/or progesterone/progestin.
Ask your doctor about these.
As is true with any therapy, be sure to contact your health care provider FIRST before you
start any treatment.
Meet the Author
"Menopause Made Easy"
by Dr.
Carolle Jean-Marat, MD
hosted by Sue Spataro
Interview & FREE Excerpt
  Today's woman must
educate herself about menopause and the risks and rewards of taking HRT, nutritional
supplements, and homeopathic therapies. With humor, candor, and plain non-technical
language, Dr. Jean-Murat discusses the current needs and concerns of midlife women,
empowering us to make the right decisions. In our interview, she discusses Selecting over the counter
products, Black
Cohosh, and Racial
Differences & Menopause and also features a FREE excerpt from her book, Stress and Depression.
If you have any questions, you can ask them on our HotFlash support group.
HotFlash FAQ:
How sweet it is!
The connection
between sugar & perimenopausal symptoms 
Reducing after-dinner sweets, specialty
coffees, and dinner wines, as comforting as they are, do not serve you well.
If you are already well into menopause, you may have noticed your favorite treats are not
as well tolerated as they were a few years ago.
Find out more about this.
Meet the author
Stephanie DeGraff Bender,
MA
Author of "Power of Perimenopause"
 She
has been in the forefront of women's hormonal health for the last 20 years. Her work in
unearthing the seemingly mysteries of PMS (premenstrual syndrome) has led to her current
expertise in perimenopause. The Power of Perimenopause has sold thousands of copies and is
a well respected women's health guide. Her appearances on Oprah, CBS Morning News, Donahue
have left no doubt that she is a women's advocate in the best sense of the word. |
HotFlash
Hillarity
"I don't have
hot flashes...
I have flashes of uncool."
--- Leigh Ann Jaseway
 
Interview with author
Linda Ojeda
 more Healthy
Living Books
Personal Massager
with Heat
more Spa
& Wellness
The Chocolate
Bible
more Chocolate
Books
more Dessert
Books
FREE Chocolate Recipes
FREE Candymaking Ideas
HotFlash Faq:
How can birth control pills help
symptoms of perimenopause?
There is a whole new group of BCPs like
Loestrin that were created especially for women over 35 years of age. Not only do
they function to help with the often disruptive symptoms of perimenopause, they work as an
effective means of birth control. They contain just enough estrogen and progesterone
to prevent pregnancies and help with perimenopause. Find out more.
Hormones, Hot
Flashes, and Mood Swings:
The Menopause Survival Guide
by Clark Gillespie, M.D.
 
The revised edition of this clear, informative, and essential book guides women
through premenopause, menopause, and postmenopause with timely advice on nutrition,
fitness, hormone replacement, and lifestyle habit changes that will help them lead
healthier and happier lives.
Meet the author:
Ruth S. Jacobowitz
 author of: "150
Most-Asked Questions about Midlife Sex, Love, and Intimacy"
Interview & FREE excerpt
hosted by Sue Spataro, RN, BSN
One of the strengths of this book is that it shares the contents of the
interviews that conducted with women about their sex lives at midlife and later, but not
their identities. It is explicit in detailing their desires and their
disappointments, their pleasure and their pain, their sexual needs and their search for
solutions. Find out more about the role of testosterone (a male hormone) in women and how
aging, intimacy and sexuality can be maintained and improved. Find out more. |
