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[Lynda07]

Hi ladies

Hot flushes have been one of my main symptoms of the menopause and I've had them for 7 years now

I just wondered if any of you get a racing heart when you get a hot flush? My heartbeat can go up by around 10-15 beats per minute during one, most days I'm ok with it but some days - like today - I panic and think is that "normal".

My heart rate does go down as quickly as it goes up after the flush - it sounds daft but I just feel so scared and alone with it today.

Lynda x

[Wrensong]

Yes Lynda07, been having them 16 years now, heart rate does go up with mine & settles again afterwards.  Agree it can be unnerving. I don't worry about it now postmenopause, but it was way worse in perimenopause when ectopics (scary feeling rhythm irregularity) added to the worry.  There are lots of threads on here about palpitations it you'd like to search, for more reassurance.
Wx

[Lynda07]

Thanks so much for your quick reply Wrensong. I appreciate your reassurance and never thought to search ‘palpitations’ despite often searching the forum for various things.

So you have had hot sweats for 16 years? I honestly think that will be me too, they show absolutely no sign of easing off. I actually feel they are just part of my life now, I can’t remember life without them.

x

[Wrensong]

Yes Lynda, 16 years since peri began.   Didn't start HRT until 3 years postmenopause when symptoms were showing no sign of stopping & I was a decade in & had had my fill of it all.  My HRT is still a work in progress as I've had to have some breaks & balancing it with a thyroid condition complicates matters, but my daytime flushing is minimal now & way better than it was in perimenopause & in the 3 years post before I started HRT.  Night time is unfortunately another matter entirely, as I still overheat terribly so it's very disruptive to sleep.  I remember my Mum flushing in the evenings well into her 60s & possibly beyond that & she was postmenopause at 46, so for some women it does go on & on. 

The first menopause specialist I saw more than a decade after symptoms began, told me she'd previously worked in Cardiology & during her time there many women had presented with unexplained palpitations.  They were given the whole range of cardiac tests only for no abnormality to be found, though what they had in common she said, was menopause.  It would have been so reassuring to know that when mine first started.  I'd been thoroughly investigated & told I had "harmless" ectopics, but no-one seemed sure of the cause & as they persisted for many years & I was worried they might be related to my thyroid condition, I'd found the experience very frightening.  But lots of us on here have been through the same.  I didn't have access to MM to know that until I was several years postmenopause & as it's understandably one of the symptoms that scares women most it comes up on here again & again.

Can I ask are you postmenopause?  And do you use HRT?
Wx

[Taz2]

Yes a rapid heart beat with each hot flush is what used to happen to me too before I began HRT. It's caused by the release of adrenaline I believe.

Taz x

[Lynda07]

Thank you Taz, I guess that does make sense, I must have had a bad day today as it’s made me so anxious (which won’t help).

Wrensong I totally understand why you found the whole experience so frightening.

I have night sweats too, the sleep disruption is awful. I used to be a very early morning person and that’s changed totally now as I just get so little sleep.

I’m 57 and no periods for around 7 years - roughly the time that the flushes started. I don’t take HRT as I had a bad experience with it, my blood pressure shot up and given I have really bad health anxiety and am scared of tablets, I’ve never pursued different types.

I never expected this to be such a miserable time for me if I’m honest (not self pity, I just feel as if the old me is sooooo long gone)

xx

[Wrensong]

Bless you Lynda  .  I completely agree about the sleep disruption.  I understand your feelings about HRT & I'm sorry you had a bad experience with it.  I had really wanted to avoid it & for several reasons, not least because my Mum had had breast cancer, but I got to the point where I felt I had to do whatever I could to try to get a better QOL.  I got good advice & support from consultants of 2 different specialties relevant to my situation & that helped me take the plunge.

I never expected this to be such a miserable time for me if I’m honest (not self pity, I just feel as if the old me is sooooo long gone)

  I agree it can be a terrible shock to the system & like you I had little idea of what was coming.  So many women come here saying the same.

I won't try to persuade you to do anything you feel is wrong for you, all I would say is there is quite a range of HRT types & you will get a lot of support from the lovely women on here if you do decide you want to try again.  And of course, if you don't!

Do keep posting if it helps you feel less alone with any worries.  There are quite a few lovely, sympathetic members who don't take HRT.  I think it's invaluable to have a mix of experience from a wide range of women at this time in our lives.
Wx

[Lynda07]

Thank you so much again Wrensong. I really do appreciate that as I just feel so alone with it all, I don’t have many friends who are suffering - most seem to have sailed through it and whilst I am pleased for them, it reduces the number of people who understand. I don’t post on here enough actually- whenever I do though, the replies are always so supportive xx

[Wrensong]

I just feel so alone with it all, I don’t have many friends who are suffering - most seem to have sailed through it and whilst I am pleased for them, it reduces the number of people who understand.

  Yes, that's exactly it - none of my friends had got there when I was going through peri & even this far on only 1 has admitted to having any symptoms & hers have been nothing like mine.  It can feel so isolating & increases the fear & the sense of not being understood can be depressing, I think.  It was a relief to find this site & know I wasn't the oddity I'd come to believe.  As you say, none of us likes to know other women are suffering, but the solidarity & support here is wonderful to see in action.

Should have said earlier, though you've probably tried all the self help measures, but I find controlled breathing (counting breaths in & out in a rhythm that feels comfortable for you) can help bring heart rate down & calm the jitters/panic that can come with the horrible sweats/flushing package.  It also gives a sense of control that can bring back a little confidence at this time when we can otherwise feel helpless.  Not always easy when in company or needing to concentrate on other things, I know, but when night sweats strike & we have no demands on us, I do find it can help.
Wx

[Lynda07]

That’s good advice Wrensong as I can sometimes feel panicky with them, especially if my heart races in the night.
I get so embarrassed when I have the flushes in  front of people - no-one would know that as I laugh them off but inside I am just wishing they would go away, I go scarlet!
Yes, this site is wonderful!

[Wrensong]

Yes agreed, flushing can make us self conscious.  I remember too, forcing myself to go out alone when I was so scared by the weirdness of ectopics (rather than just the straightforward racing heart where rhythm stays regular).  Having an episode while I was doing a supermarket shop & trying my hardest to concentrate on what the checkout assistant was saying while my heart was doing a jig, thinking I've no idea what I just said to that woman but I bet it was gibberish!  And another flush with bells on in the middle of a very big, crowded, top floor, city centre cafe, having just been served lunch & wishing I could just get up, leave it & run out for some fresh air.  Worse still, a stifling flush with heart going nuts again, leaving me feeling trapped right up in the gods in a huge, packed concert hall.  And exactly the same happening in the cramped top tier of a hot theatre, (cheap tickets  ) at the ballet one winter with lights down, in those horribly insulating prickly velvet bucket seats, when I'd have had to disturb everyone & stumble around in the dark, down stairs to get out.  Nightmare scenario!  Still here to tell the tale, but at the time it knocks confidence so much I wasn't sure I'd make it through the next few minutes .  Thank goodness those days are past.

[Chrissyjo]

I get the same and it makes me panic too. I can handle the heat but the heart palpitations and adrenaline rushes make me scared 

[Mars62]

I used to feel like I would explode with mine at the start of meno, big rush of adrenaline, boiling hot and heart racing it was horrible also had palpitations and felt like my heart was missing a beat, got checked out twice at the hospital and heart was fine. Anytime I mentioned palpitations to the doctor they would send me for a heart trace I always said I was sure it was the menopause but  got sent to the hospital anyway,I guess they were just being thorough.
HRT stopped the flushes thank God as they were awful and I am intolerant to heat anyway.

[Lynda07]

Chrissyjo and Mars62, sorry to hear you have/do suffer too. As I’ve said previously, I never dreamed the menopause would be be so long and life changing. I wanted to be ‘fab in my 50’s’ lol, well that’s not happening any time soon xx

[Wrensong]

You can still be fab Lynda.  I'm aiming for stunning at 60.  Don't you dare laugh.

When you can't feel your heart beating is the time to worry 
Wx