Night sweats and hot flashes

Two years post op, retained ovaries but...

Started having night sweats about a year ago during the last week of my cycle (I have mini periods so its a no brainer to know that the ovaries are still cycling). Nothing real major, more of a kick off the sheets type problem. During the 8 weeks or so the night sweats have really gotten nasty, waking up completely drenched two or three times a night regardless of how much or how little I am wearing. Instead of a week of symptoms, I'm now having them at least two weeks at a time or longer (my cycle is typically around 21 days, so I'm hot more often than not) and occassional hot flashes have arrived during the day as well. I keep my bedroom at around 60F all the time.

I recently discovered that I obviously have some significant food allergies (carry epinephrine) so I'm a little leary of what to try OTC for relief. Should not be on HRT due to a personal history of DVT's and a family history of BC.

I'm confused with the fact that I'm still having very obvious cycles and yet my symptoms are so indicative of menapause. Any suggestions on what has worked for you, or ideas of what else might be causing this sudden heat wave?

Hi Lisa,

I am not a Doc, but I can tell you my experience. My menopause symptoms started long before my periods actually stopped. The time before our periods stop is called perimenopause. I had all the symptoms of menopause and periods for quite some time. We are not actually in menopause until one year from the end of periods.

As far as night sweats, mine never got past the throw off the blanket stage. But it did interfere with my sleep. I would get hot and sweaty, throw off the blanket only to start to freeze to death. I had to give up my cozy winter jammies even when it was freezing outside. I wore only cotton jammies. Synthetics can make you sweat more.

By the way, I was only about 38 when I started having the early symptoms. I was done by 44. I have since had a TAH/BSO and all of a sudden the hot flashes have started up again. Go figure.

I never took hormones. I did eat a lot more soy and drank soy milk. I know you said you had food allerigies. Is there a way the Doc can check to see if you are allergic to soy?

I hope you work things out. All in all menopause was not a big deal for me. I hope you do not have too hard of a time.


Sharon

Lisa,

Welcome to "peri-menopause" - for women with ovaries, the "shut-down" process can take anywhere from a year to a decade.

Some docs use low dose oral contraceptives, or progesterone to help with peri-menopausal symptoms, but it sounds like these are not an option for you.

Other ideas (given your health concerns - check with your doc)

--remifemin - a black cohosh preparation that some find reduces hot flashes

--SSRI antidepressants can work to reduce hot flashes as well.


I have also found that exercise helps. I don't think it actually reduces the hot flashes, but I do sleep through them. I also find that ANY alcohol - even a single glass of wine, will bring on the nite sweats.


I'm sorry there's no magic potion

otion:


Dorrie

I exercise at least 5 days a week, and am predominantly vegetarian so soy is already one of my best friends. SSRI meds really interfere with my ability to sleep, so I would be wide awake to really enjoy those hot flashes.

At least it sounds like I've been working along the same track as you have suggested.

My blood tests say my estrogen levels are normal... guess that goes to prove that "normal" isn't always enough.

BTW - estrogen levels aren't a good test for perimenopause - there's a test called FSH - follicle stimulating hormone that can clue your doc into your menopause.

Estrogen can bounce around quite a bit during this time - in fact some say it is the bouncing rather than the lack of estrogen that causes the

Dorrie

I also have night "heating" and now sleep with little on, the heat off, and no blankets for the most part...

I have just upped my dose of flax seed oil capsuls and what a difference that has made!

I slept with jammies on last night and one blanket! And a cuddly, hot three year old jammed up against me all night I slept and only got hot once.. gson was "spending the night".......

Just what seems to be working for me right now...I cant use soy much as I'm allergic to it. I can have it in small amounts in some foods, but not as milk, cereal, .... so I cant use it to help me

Hope things get better for you soon!

God Bless,
Elaine

I'm almost a year post-op. My hysterectomy was because of fibroids (14), but I kept my ovaries in hopes of a more gradual menopause. The drips-off-the-bridge-of-my-nose-noise-woke -me-up hot flases started three days post op. I Still have drenching hot flashes daytime and night sweats every two hours most nights, with occasionally a four hour stretch of sleep. Can this go on for years? Estrogen made my head fuzzy, so I quit it and tried red clover, black cohosh, soy, flax seed, and exercise. There was a time last fall when I ws exerciseing an hour and a half a day and that seemed to help. I'm having trouble getting that much time in to try it again. Anyone else find that extreme amounts of exercise helps? Encouragement welcome. Thanks.
Kerry

Dear Lisa C and all my fellow Hyster Sisters:

I will be 3 years post-op in October; kept ovaries, but not having mini cycles or anything like that. At least, I don't have symptoms. Just the usual p.m.s., so to speak.

This is what's been going on: Soon after surgery, hot flashes began. They subsided on their own. About a year later, they came back, and I found a supplement called Profema from Pure Essentials. It is based on the herb, Kudzu, not soy, and has no estrogen. I want to avoid HRT at all costs. Just don't feel it's right for me for many reasons. Anyway, the Profema worked wonders, but it came with unpleasant side effects, that no one had ever heard of. It really messed up how food smells and tastes, especially anything that was toasted, or fried, french fries, hamburgers, bacon, even chocolate tastes strange, and coffee, which has always been a wonderful smell for me, is not the same. It's really strange. Also, perfumes, and the smells of shampoos, shower gels, etc. all made me naseaous. Even the smell of certain plastic containers that these items come in. I stopped the Profema after about a year. Maybe it was the Kudzu in it. I don't have any idea. I also stopped taking Allegra for allergies I have, thinking maybe that was doing it, or a combinaton of the Profema and Allegra. I tried dropping one and using the other. Made no difference. After dropping both of them, I've noticed that my sense of smell and taste are slowly getting back to normal. Things are not quite there yet, but at least I don't get naseauous any longer. Shortly after I stopped the Profema the hot flashes came back, but they were tolerable. I didn't have night sweats until about 2 months ago. They aren't as bad and the hot flashes - I keep a small fan next to my computer at work, and at home I keep the heat down, but I'm constantly going back and forth between being hot or really chilled. I can't move fast, for example, when I'm cleaning house, I have to take several breaks because I get terrible hot flashes, and they just wipe me out. Also, about 1 month ago, I started having symptoms of a really bad cold, which was actually walking pneumonia. Thought I was over that, but the cough has come back, and the sweating, which I think might add to the night sweats. The night sweats are not so bad that I'm drenched, but I do sweat profusely on my face, and my chest, and under my arms, and I have to throw the covers off. I also get terrible headaches from both the hot flashes and night sweats. I keep the heat down at night, use a ceiling fan, use an electric blanket. and am constantly switching from throwing off the covers until it subsides, to being totally chilled afterwards from the clamminess it causes. For the past 2 weeks, at least, I've woken up every morning after having 4 or 5 of these episodes throughout the night and early morning hours, just totally exhausted. Both me and my husband are losing sleep.

I decided I had to do something. So I am trying Estroven, and Celestial Seasongs Wellness Tea - Menopause Day and Menopause Night. The Estroven has no hormones in it, lots of vitamins (B, E, calcium, etc.), natural plant estrogens. You take 2 in the morning, and you can take other supplements with it - I also take a daily multivitamin. Regarding the tea, the daytime formula has black cohosh and soy, and other herbs; the nighttime forumula has valerian which helps you sleep. I've only been on these things for 3 days, and it might take a week to several months to really feel relief, but I'm hopeful.

Maybe you should try Estroven and the teas. It can't hurt.

I recently bought a treadmill so now I am getting the exercise I need. I will see if exercising at night before going to bed helps or hinders the progress in alleviating the night sweats and hot flashes. I know I feel much better having exercised. Also, I agree with another post I read, that alcohol is not good at night.

I hope you really do find the answer, and if there's something that works for you and you think it might help your fellow Hyster Sisters, please let us know!

Jeannine