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Help for hot flashes...natural preferred!


Twinmom
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Well, apparently it is time...I am having major hot flashes, just in time for my 46th birthday! Driving me crazy and keeping me up at night. I'm sure that's what it is because its the same as it was during my late 20s when I was put in temporary, artificial menopause to kill endometriosis...wow, did I have hot flashes! Uggh. What can I do? Seems kinda early to start dealing with hormone replacement, so I'm thinking something natural might help?

 

What ideas have worked for others? TIA!

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I'm still awake... :) I wish that I'd have better sleeping habits than I do have at this point.

 

I suffered from severe hot flashes in 2009 and I just turned 47, so that was when I was 4 years ago. I changed a lot of my bedding, I started sleeping on a 3" wool topper(which apparently cools in the summer and warms in the winter...fantastic) from "Cuddle Ewe". I covered the topper with a silk mattress topper from "Smartsilk". I also covered our pillows with Smartsilk pillow covers and we use a silk filled duvet....all of the silk bedding items are machine washable, a MUST for me. Additionally, all of our sheets/pillowcases are 100% cotton...so that means layers upon layers of moisture wicking(sp?) material. At least I wasn't being kicked out of bed by the hot flashes anymore.....I also happened to be diagnosed with Fibromyalgia around the same time which I decided to treat naturally via a Naturopath. For some reason the supplements she put me on also took away all of my hot flashes. Since I'm on quite a few supplements, I don't know which one did the job. So all my new bedding is still being used because they are soooo comfortable but I don't have to wash them as frequently anymore. :)

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BTW--- I'm only a couple of years behind you--- I did the shots in my 20's  for endo as well (didn't work-but made for some really big arguments with DH)

 

I know that there are some things at natural food stores, but I haven't had to research as yet.

 

**sigh**

I guess I will be lurking for future reference.

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Well, I have had horrible hot flashes ever since having my ovaries removed nearly 2 years ago. I have tried every single natural thing out there that I ever heard of, and absolutely nothing has helped. I currently alternate between Benadryl and Unisom so that I can at least halfway sleep. I have noticed, for me anyway, that the flashes seem to cycle. They will be really horrid for a few weeks, then almost seem to go away for a week or two, then back again with a vengeance. It makes me wonder if that is why some people who take the natural remedies think they work for a while and then stop.

 

Watching this thread in case anyone suggests anything I haven't heard of. Right now, I just wear as few clothes as possible and freeze everybody else I live with by having the a/c low and fans on, especially at night.

 

By the way, there are things that seem to trigger hot flashes and make them worse for me: coffee, hot dish water, blow drying my hair, doing anything to get warm when I am cold.  :glare:

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Anyone ever try any herbal remedies? I looked into a few tonight...

 

Susun Weed has the best info on herbal remedies.  She's aware, for example, that a tincture acts differently than a powdered capsule and/or an infusion (if I recall correctly, black cohosh isn't as effective as a capsule).  You can simply google her, or check out her book http://www.amazon.com/New-Menopausal-Years-Alternative-Approaches/dp/1888123036 -- I'm pretty sure most of the info in the book is available online.

 

Personally, I do best with a boatload of nettle infusion.  I'm pretty sure that's not typical, though.  

 

Also, I find the hot flashes sort of fascinating, so even though I'm suddenly drenched with sweat I'm not so much "woe is me" with hand wrining, but more "wow, I wonder what caused that to happen at that exact time".  I"ve become much more aware of my body's  daily rhythms.

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VaKim, I'm so glad I'm not the only one with the hair-dryer, I'm on fire problem.  I actually purchase a hair dryer with a cool-high speed option; it is amazing.  I thought I was going to have to go for the simply air-dried on my head look.

 

For now, I do only have the flashes with pms...and it seems unfair to suffer both at the same time :w00t: .

 

Good nutrition, a regular vitamin, Calcium w/ Vit. D, fish oil and no caffeine along with a fan seem to help a bit.  A good cool shower is often the only real relief.

 

 

Now, I think I need a purse fan and a cooler bra.  Anyone know of a cool-bra?

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I just purchased Ocean 3 Healthy Hormones but I haven't tried it yet. It's a omega 3 supplement with a herbal mix. I got it because it's supposed to help with sleep but the reviews I read talked a lot about how it relieves hot flashes. I bought it on Amazon after reading about it here. Vitacost also carries it.

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My naturopath recommended a supplement for another problem I was having. surprisingly enough, when I started taking it, I stopped having hot flashes. It helped the other situation, but only mildly, so I gradually discontinued taking it. However, if I feel the hot flashes are cropping back up, I take some more and they go away. Only, coincidental, and only anecdotal, but it worked for me.

 

I used Garden of Life Perfect Food Original Super Green Formula.  I use approximately 1 heaping tablespoon of the powder in a fruit smoothie, once a day. It has various things like barley grass, vegetables, spirulina, kelp, etc. in it. I assume you could look up the ingredients online to check for possible allergens. I thought it was kind of expensive - around $50 for a large container, but that has lasted me a lot longer than I thought it would, so I guess I shouldn't complain. HTH

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... I often wake up HOT, but never drenched in sweat, so perhaps my hot flashes weren't full-blown?

 

This is how it is for me. I've been wondering if this is a hot flash or not. I'll wake up, and often I'll be cold, then I'll roll over, and all of a sudden, I'm so incredibly hot that I have to kick all the covers off and lie there with no clothes on for several minutes to half an hour or longer. Other times, I'll just wake up and be miserably hot and overheated and have to kick all the covers off. Our bedroom is really cool at night except in the summer, so that helps. Still, I'm amazed at how long I can lie naked in a 58 degree room and still be hot. I'm never drenched in sweat, though, so I don't know if these can be hot flashes. Does anyone know?

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This is how it is for me. I've been wondering if this is a hot flash or not. I'll wake up, and often I'll be cold, then I'll roll over, and all of a sudden, I'm so incredibly hot that I have to kick all the covers off and lie there with no clothes on for several minutes to half an hour or longer. Other times, I'll just wake up and be miserably hot and overheated and have to kick all the covers off. Our bedroom is really cool at night except in the summer, so that helps. Still, I'm amazed at how long I can lie naked in a 58 degree room and still be hot. I'm never drenched in sweat, though, so I don't know if these can be hot flashes. Does anyone know?

Yep, I'd say that is a hot flash. Most of the time I don't sweat either. Only do the night sweats occasionally. I figure maybe that is when I don't wake up and uncover right away??

Anyhow, something you said about rolling over... that is something I have noticed too - when I roll over on my right side, it will trigger a hot flash. I remember my cousin saying something like that long ago, and I thought she was imagining it.

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I'm 51, on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and didn't expect to have hot flashes-surprise! The drenching hot flashes are coming one right after another all day and night for the past month.

 

Keto 7 DHEA has helped enormously, but I'm not really sure why, I started taking it for something else and noticed the hot flashes were reduced in number and intensity.

 

I have also just started taking Maca root, but have not noticed any changes.

 

Some people swear by soy isoflavones (Estroven), but soy is not recommended for people with thyroid issues.

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Just be very careful about hormones and anything acting like hormones.  If there is a history of thrombosis in your family, please talk to a doctor first.  A number of the blood clotting factors are hereditary but until certain things happen- long plane flight, long car ride, broken leg, adding hormones, etc- you never have a problem.  Age increases the risk of having a problem so having been on hormones at 20 and not having problems doesn't necessarily mean you are home free at all.

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Has anyone looked into natural progesterone cream?  I've been using some that I bought from Amazon, and it has made a huge difference for me in several areas.... hot flashes included.  Curious if anyone else has tried this...?

I actually do use this. Have used it for a couple years. At first, it seemed to be helping, but not anymore. I still use it for all the other benefits though.

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While you are researching, you may want to look at essential oils.  I started using them a few months ago and am hooked.  I haven't used them for hot flashes but there are lots of sites that discuss that topic.  One I read recommends EndoFlex and Peppermint by Young Living.  I have found both of those oils to be effective for other uses so they might work. Good luck.  And when you figure out what works, will you come back and share, please?  I'm teetering on the edge of that time and would sure love to know what natural remedy worked for you.

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Yep, I'd say that is a hot flash. Most of the time I don't sweat either. Only do the night sweats occasionally. I figure maybe that is when I don't wake up and uncover right away??

Anyhow, something you said about rolling over... that is something I have noticed too - when I roll over on my right side, it will trigger a hot flash. I remember my cousin saying something like that long ago, and I thought she was imagining it.

 

It's kind of nice to hear this happens to other people.  I wasn't sure if I was rolling over because I felt a hot flash coming on, or it seemed to happen after rolling over.  It seemed like rolling over was triggering a hot flash for me, but I never heard anyone else say they had the same issue so I thought maybe it was my imagination.  No good recommendations for me.  Nothing seems to help.

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I'm on Prometrium (bioidentical progesterone) for night sweats. It helps a ton. I only have them now during the week of my period (when I'm not taking Prometrium).

 

Stress/injury also triggers hot flashes -- something I realized when I cut my pinkie badly, and had to deal with hot flashes *and* pain. ;)

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I see a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner for acupuncture and Chinese herbs to deal with menopuase issues. I'm 47.

The herbs are two different blends and I don't think they can be purchased otc - only prescribed by/purchased from a practitioner. He tried one combo which had the hot flashes totally under control (few and not severe) then he changed up the herbs a bit to work on mood swings and the hot flashes came back. Still working on getting the fine tuning right, obviously, but I am on a good path here. Acu is very helpful for stress too! 

 

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Stress/injury also triggers hot flashes -- something I realized when I cut my pinkie badly, and had to deal with hot flashes *and* pain. ;)

 

I've noticed that -- when I'm stressed and then sit down or have a minute to relax BAM I get hit with a hot flash.  It's like my adrenals are whacked out.

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And just so you know, your body is a perpetually moving target during this time of life.

 

I began hot flashes 12 years ago, always a day before my period, sometimes more.  Using natural progesterone cut them back to maybe one or two the day before, and I was good with that for years.

 

Then two years ago I got more of them, and my doctor suggested fish oil for that and cholesterol issues.  And I went back to one or two the day before. I even discontinued the cream because I really didn't see a difference.

 

Then my cycle really went wacko, and I begged my doctor for help.  She put me back on the progesterone cream and an OTC supplement called "Estroven."  She recommended the weight management one because she felt like the soy and black cohosh is what I need.  BTW you do have to be careful with soy, but she felt like the amounts in that one and my overall history made it a reasonable choice. That was in late August, and I seem to be better.  I had three days of hot flashes before my cycle this time, but it was almost every day before that.

 

The hot flashes are really the only difficult aspect of this.  Sweating through my clothing any time of day or night is a bummer!

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Has anyone suggested Maca yet? I take 900mg per day - 2 capsules in the morning and one at night - 300 mg per capsule. I rarely have hot flashes, in fact I am not sure I ever had a real one. I was put on Maca by my naturopath right after a hysterectomy.

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OTHER TIPS

Sleep on right side. Sleeping on right side prompts relaxation and decreases blood pressure – which can help calm you during hormone-related symptoms such as hot flashes.

 

This is kinda funny, because it is when I turn on my right side that I have hot flashes the most. My cousin said the same thing happens to her. I have actually taken to doing that (taking advantage of the fact) when I am ready to get out of bed so I will be warm enough to get out from under the covers and put on my sweats, since I keep the house very cool at night. :-)

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Has anyone suggested Maca yet? I take 900mg per day - 2 capsules in the morning and one at night - 300 mg per capsule. I rarely have hot flashes, in fact I am not sure I ever had a real one. I was put on Maca by my naturopath right after a hysterectomy.

Any particular brand you can recommend? I'll try anything at this point! Well, almost.

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This is kinda funny, because it is when I turn on my right side that I have hot flashes the most. My cousin said the same thing happens to her. I have actually taken to doing that (taking advantage of the fact) when I am ready to get out of bed so I will be warm enough to get out from under the covers and put on my sweats, since I keep the house very cool at night. :-)

Interesting. I guess everyone is different. 

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  • 7 years later...

I find sleeping with little clothes and light sheet in a cool room degrees 68 and a Heating pad under my hips tricks my body into thinking that I am warm enough and don't need to produce heat.   It has made the difference from ten hot flashes waking up soaking wet 10 times a night to 1 or 2 wow such better results 

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12 minutes ago, Jennay said:

I didn't need this thread back in 2013 but it's timely now! The past few weeks have been horrible. I'm almost 48.

Well, check out the podcast I linked. I was so surprised that so many of my symptoms were peri menopause. I just hadn’t connected the dots. 

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I didn’t read all the way back to see what is mentioned.

I take a supplement to break down estrogen in a beneficial way because I have very little progesterone at this point. It’s called indole-3 carbonyl. My hot flashes were evening out a bit when I started it, so I don’t know for sure if it makes a big difference that way. I take it primarily to break down estrogen well. I have urinalysis pending to see if it’s working (Dutch test).

As I understand, cruciferous veggies help with this as well, but you can’t eat enough to balance out a serious estrogen dominance (though I never really liked cabbage and Brussels sprouts much in my earlier years, and I do now, so it might be my body appreciating their activity). 

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