Menopause Discussion > Personal Experiences

Tell us how you have coped with FLUSHES

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Hells-Bells:
Hi,
I started the menopause 3 years ago at age 45 after a having both ovaries and fallopian tubes removed, and immediately started with hot flushes. They were never extreme to the point where I would sweat profusely, but I would go quite red, and feel that uncomfortable tingle. They would disturb my sleep most nights, and would certainly make wearing make-up somewhat of a challenge.
I decided that HRT would not be for me, due to the fact that I had suffered from endometriosis, as the oestrogen in HRT would possibly cause that to return (amongst other considerations).
I decided to try and increase my levels of exercise (nothing mad, just a bit of yoga and walking mostly), and to also cut out caffeine completely, as well as trying to eat more healthily, and cut right down on alcohol.
I noticed a DRASTIC reduction in flashes immediately after cutting out the caffeine, almost to the point where they were non-existent, and still remain so to this day. I personally think this was the biggest
I eat less sugary foods, and fewer of the bad/starchy types of carbs (white bread, white pasta, potatoes etc - the ones that are more likely to spike blood sugar levels). Whenever I do have anything like this, about 30 mins to an hour afterwards, I can feel a slight flush coming on. The same goes for when I have alcohol, or very spicy food. So, I'm pretty sure that avoiding these things is definitely helping.
If ever I do have a few nights of disturbed sleep because of very light warm flushes, I have found that taking a Nytol Original tablet has helped massively (I take just one of the recommended does of two tablets, and this seem sto do the trick).
Has anyone else had any similar results, or tried the same?
Another question (which nobody seems to be bale to answer) is: How long does surgical menopause last for?
Thanks.

WearyTraveller:
I started with horrendous sweats and flushes almost exactly 2 years ago aged 50.  Worst at night, I would pour sweat and drench the bed through to the mattress and it would wake me up at least 5 and often more times per night.  As those of you who have been through this know, the lack of sleep turns you into a confused, exhausted, non-functioning wreck.  Then day times, flushes throughout the day and occasional break-outs in big sweats.  Whole face down to soles of feet up to 20 times a day.  I saw a highly-qualified Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor who prescribed herbs which worked perfectly for 2 months.  Then the sweats started coming back and the TCM doctor said he needed to change the prescription but he had moved to the south coast so it wasn't realistic for me to be commuting down there every 2 - 3 months as my body continued to change.

Getting through each day was like a marathon with a body that was completely haywire, so I went to the GP who prescribed Oestrogel which wasn't effective for me at 1 pump.  2 pumps covered so much of my body to apply that it wasn't practical and I was having to put it on my arms as well as legs which concerned me because close to breasts.  So I asked if there was an alternative.  He put me on Evorel patches which are quite large and these both didn't stick well on me and didn't stop the sweats completely even at a high dose.  I had been told that I needed Progesterone cover for cancer risk if going to continue with oestrogen and was told that I could get a Mirena coil which was low-dose, in the area needed and would bypass liver metabolism.  This seemed a safer route than oral progesterone so I booked an appointment to get one inserted.

I had had a Mirena previously for contraception, with no problems, but this time the insertion was long, violent, painful and bloody.  Apparently as we reach menopause, our cervix can harden making this process more difficult and he had a lot of difficulty getting it in and had to force a way through with instruments.  I went back for a follow-up scan to make sure it was in the right place and at that time the doctor suggested I try Estradot 100 if I was not getting good results from the Evorel.  The Estradot patches are smaller and stick well and gave me instant relief from the sweats and flushes.  Since it was working well, I experimented with dosing, moving down from 100 to 50 over the next few months and even at 50 with the Estradot, did not have any sweats or flushes which meant I had about 15 months without the vasomotor symptoms, up until 3 months ago.

Other things I noticed about perimenopause/menopause was that even after sweats had stopped, I was having very broken and poor quality sleep.  I also needed to get up to pee twice a night.
My thinking is and was confused and I was unable to remember things and cope with any conflict, normal sorts of things like work or builders that I would normally handle fine. 
After over a year of feeling completely unable to cope and useless, I spoke with a friend who is slightly older and she said it sounded like I was depressed and that could also happen in menopause.  I looked back and realised that I had had low mood and felt despondent and also inexplicably fearful for over a year.  I was really shocked.  I had no idea menopause could cause increased anxiety and depression.  It was a huge relief in a way, as I thought there was something wrong with me and I was cracking up but had so many more pressing things to try to sort that hadn't focused on the effect this state of mind was having.  I feel deeply sorry for the billions of women who have had similar experiences and had to go through this without information and support, who will have been labelled bonkers, bad-tempered, losing-it, etc.  Even with the internet and today, there is just not enough solid, reliable and detailed information out there including through GPs.

I also had spotting after the Mirena was inserted, which stopped after about 5 months, but then about a year in, I started regular bleeding, sometimes light and sometimes heavy, but almost constant. I also had stomach pain.  The stomach pains became extreme and the bleeding became constant and very heavy for about 4 months so I had an ultrasound which showed the Mirena to be in the correct place but they noticed that the removal cord which should be at least 2cm long exposed, had almost disappeared and they could just see about 1mm.  So likelihood the Mirena had moved and would not be able to be removed normally.

I asked for it to be removed as I had been in such pain and was concerned it might be doing damage because of the bleeding, but the Family Planning and Sexual Health service who did the scan and follow-up said they didn't remove them and I would need to go back to the GP to arrange this. There was no urgency as they could not see it had perforated anything from the scan.
I booked to see the GP and the day I went to see her, I was in agony and bleeding heavily.  She took some swabs and bloods and referred me for another scan which is finally happening next week - only 5 months wait.  Personally I think the coil has moved and is doing damage because I now have achey pains in my lower back, dull pain down the back of one leg, during sex and twinges.  I also get occasional lower abdominal cramps which are like seizures, not like menstrual cramps.  I will update when I get results from my new scan next week, but I have been cleared for everything else so I can only think this is complications with the Mirena.  Even after having had a very good experience with a Mirena for 6 years for contraception earlier in life, I would urge caution on anyone considering one after 50 and to do your research and ask questions, including who will take it out as the NHS does not seem to have sorted this.  I was also not informed of the risk of it moving when it was inserted but once you start researching, it isn't that rare and the doctors are meant to tell you beforehand.

In the meantime, in January this year I started getting flushes and sweats again.  Maybe 10 a day, 3-4 per night, so not quite as severe as originally. Still on Estradot 50 and with the Mirena which had both been working to prevent these symptoms previously.  I don't know why they stopped working but I was sent to a menopause clinic where I was prescribed Northisterone which had the benefit of very quickly stopping the bleeding.  I was prescribed 10mg per day and started on 5mg and then moved up to 10mg after about 10 days.  At 5mg and 10mg, my sweats are no better.  The only changes I have noticed are that I am able to fall asleep quicker most of the time, even though I wake up with a major sweat 1 -2  hours later and then again another 2 hours later.  I feel marginally more positive about life in general and slightly better able to cope since starting the noresthisterone but my libido has completely disappeared and I get irritated when touched which is the first time in my life that I have experienced this.  I don't know if this is the norethisterone or that the norestisterone has meant that the balance with my oestrogen is now off.

So now my plan is to experiment over the next month with adjusting the levels of my oestrogen and my progesterone which will take many months.   For the next 2 weeks, I am going to raise my Estradot from 50 to 75 to see what this does.  If that doesn't work, I will try reducing back to 50 for a week, and then try cutting in half and using 37.5 for 2 weeks.  I don't know if this is advisable but have to try something.  I have tried to research this on the web and asked the GP and menopause clinic nurse, but am not getting clear or consistent answers.  Most people say increasing oestrogen will address the sweats, some people say progesterone alone or in combination with low-dose oestrogen should also do it and be safer with less risk of blood clots, etc.  Most websites (including the NICE Guidelines) and articles are incredibly vague and unhelpful saying only that "HRT" can improve various symptoms, not what kinds for what.  What would be most helpful is a clear explanation of what symptoms each hormone addresses, and what relative imbalances can cause. 

I'm thrilled to find this website and plan to read as much as possible to find any more specific advice on how to balance your hormones based on symptoms.  Right now, I have pouring sweats, hot flushes, poor sleep, low mood, mental fog, urinary frequency and scary active dislike of sex.   Am so tired of all this and would be grateful for any advice and experiences from anyone who has had similar.  If you have any links to really helpful info bookmarked, please pass those on.  Thanks!

Otherwise, just wishing everyone else who has been having a bad menopause lot of luck and will post any specific and solid info I find helpful on here.

WearyTraveller:
Hi Lorna

I'm going through a similar hell of sweats and flushes and totally sympathise with what you describe.  So clearly I don't have all the answers either!

I just wanted to say that I had very different results from different types of oestrogen supplements.  I did not find Oestrogel effective but my best friend swears by it and she had tried all the patches previously.  So it seems strange but some things seem to work better for some people.
I did not find the Evorel patches effective.  I have found the Estradot patches effective, for about a year and a half had no sweats at all.  Unfortunately, they have come back and not clear whether this is dosage because my own oestrogen has fallen further, or a bad batch of patches, or need for another hormone, or what!  Trying to work this out for myself.

It is a pain but maybe you can ask your doctor to try you on another method of supplementing oestrogen as it doesn't seem there is one "best" one but there may be one that suits you better and this is much less drastic than giving up oestrogen entirely and taking natural supplements when you're already suffering so badly.  I know I feel much too much on the edge to go natural even though I would much prefer to.   I note that someone else on this same page has had some luck with another brand of HRT so there are lots of options.   

I guess I'm just saying if it's not working, maybe experiment with the varieties that are out there. It's hard to work out equivalents because they tend to contain different forms of oestrogen but the GP should give you at least the equivalent to what you've been on to start and you'll quickly notice if something is having a bigger effect.   Good luck

Foxylady:
Hi all, I am new to the forum, decided to join as I had found it so useful reading the posts I was able to access prior to joining. I started 3 years ago with hot flushes, night sweats and being unable to sleep. I had changed job and started studying at the same time (aged 37 years then), I also had feelings of being overwhelmed, anxiety, lack of concentration, brain fog and thought I was losing the plot and it was the stress of studying that was causing my symptoms as the GP told me it wasn't the menopause (which I thought it was initially) as my LH & FSH were normal. I had/have tried so many different things to try and combat the symptoms. I was started on Fluoxetine approx 3 months ago for the hot flushes, it seems to have helped a bit, still having sleepless nights, the biggest difference has been to my mood though. I have more energy and don't feel quite as 'flat' as I was, although still far from my normal self. I have been on HRT for 8+ weeks now, no noticeable improvement but I know it's early days.
I have started taking Flaxseed mixed with yoghurt (was full fat greek yoghurt until last week, started Alpro soya unsweetened) following recommendations on the forum, again probably too soon to see a difference.
Spent a fortune around 2 years ago on woollen bedding which did help initially, the pools of sweat did reduce. Sleep with the windows open even in the winter. I don't know if anyone else has found this (it may be down to my underactive thyroid) but during the day I used to be really cold (I have a fleece blanket in a drawer at work I used to wrap around me in the office, I also have one beside my chair in the living room for same reason!!) and my hands are always cold whereas at night the opposite extreme. Over the last 2 months maybe not having the extreme's of cold.
Any other tips or ideas would be welcome.

Jaynie Brown:
I've been suffering from hot flushes and night sweats,insomnia, headaches I don't know what to do any advice

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