Describe your hot flashes please

[clementine]

I think I’ve had my first few within the past two days. What a weird feeling!! I’m 48 & in perimeno for a few years.

 

Can you describe yours? How often do you get them? How long do they last? Anything help you to stop them from happening? If you don’t get them anymore, how long did I t take for them to go away?

 

Thank you!

[Scarlett]

I think I’ve had my first few within the past two days. What a weird feeling!! I’m 48 & in perimeno for a few years.

 

Can you describe yours? How often do you get them? How long do they last? Anything help you to stop them from happening? If you don’t get them anymore, how long did I t take for them to go away?

 

Thank you!

Feeling hot from the inside out. That is the best way I can describe it.

[PrincessMommy]

suddenly feeling very overheated and that I need to remove as much clothing as possible. It's more than just "Boy, it's getting warm in here"  and more like: "Oh my God, I'm SO hot I can't stand it!". 

 

I also notice at night that I wake up about a minute or two before one comes on.

 

Mine started late into menopause (but I was on HRT), stopped for many months, and now have started up again.  I don't know what's up with that, but I am not amused.

[Melissa in Australia]

getting hotter and hotter  then start sweating ,even my scalp sweating. Then my heart starts racing at around 120 beats per minute. If I am asleep I wake up.

 

 

Edited to add,

 

on reflection  I am not sure if my heart starts racing first or after

Edited February 4, 2018 by Melissa in Australia

[gardenmom5]

yoga has helped.   (when I'm consistent, hot flashes disappear.   when I haven't been doing it - injury/illness - they come back.)

 

it can be my face, my thighs, it isn't always my whole body.

just a feeling of increasing heat.  sometimes they can be brief, other times longer.  I was in a really cold building - and annoyed they weren't helping me stay warm . . . . :glare:

[CAJinBE]

All of the above. Seems to be triggered by the slightest anxious thought. I could be watching a volleyball game and suddenly think of something I forgot to do and then whoosh I'm overheated from head to toe and perspiring everywhere whereas a second before I was thinking boy it's cold in this gym. Reducing anxiety helps but can't be avoided altogether. 

[FriedClams]

Since starting WW mine have become minimal. I eat almost no refined sugar, and I eat a lot of fruit and veg. I eat non fat Greek yogurt and almond milk, but very little other dairy. I eat some bread and oatmeal in my overnight oats every day, but otherwise not a lot of refined carbs. And, almost no processed foods. It's been amazing how much the hot flashes disappeared. I have no idea if it's diet or weight loss but I'm glad they're mostly gone.

[Pawz4me]

I'm 55 and finally over the worst. I hope. ;) I still have temperature regulation problems but very few true hot flashes (and the regulation issue could be from my hypothyroidism). Mine started in my late 40's and I really noticed them tapering off last year. So I'd say they lasted for about six or seven years.

 

Mine felt like I was going to spontaneously combust from the inside out. If you live in a hot climate then you know what it's like to step outside during the afternoon on a HOT day (not nice 80's or low 90's days--I do mean HOT) and have the heat surround you. A hot flash for me was similar to that feeling, except the heat was coming from inside me and developed very quickly. I would of course get sweaty all over, but around my head and face were the worst (and of course the hardest to hide).

 

They could last from less than a minute to several minutes. The residual feeling of being hot could take awhile to dissipate, especially during the summer. During the winter I could go from cold to HOT in an instant. After the hot flash was over I'd go back to being cold pretty quickly. 

 

I took Brisdelle for several years. It didn't make them go away but did lessen the frequency and severity. Due to some past health issues the doctors I spoke with were hesitant to prescribe hormones. I think I would have taken any risks and used them had someone been willing to prescribe.

 

The slightest anxiety could trigger one, but I got them a lot even when I was totally relaxed at home.

 

 

[MooCow]

suddenly feeling very overheated and that I need to remove as much clothing as possible. It's more than just "Boy, it's getting warm in here" and more like: "Oh my God, I'm SO hot I can't stand it!".

.

This. Plus I noticed my deodorant wasn't working as well as it used too, so I had to switch.

[MooCow]

They could last from less than a minute to several minutes. The residual feeling of being hot could take awhile to dissipate, especially during the summer. During the winter I could go from cold to HOT in an instant. After the hot flash was over I'd go back to being cold pretty quickly.

.

This exactly describes my current ones.

[Jenny in GA]

I went through menopause at 38. Ten years later, I'm still waiting for hot flashes to start. I don't know if I was lucky enough to bypass them because I was so young, or if they'll be kicking in soon ...

[gingersmom]

My first one I felt hot from my head to my toes. It was so strange. Now I think nothing of them.

 

They are super annoying and evil.

 

I haven't worn pajamas to bed in months. I'm hot, I'm cold, I'm hot I'm cold.

 

I normally run cold, so when I'm cold I'm freezing, then take everything off, put everything back on.

 

I'm learning to dress in light layers, it's easier.

 

I looked like a nut at the movies several weeks ago taking my fleece pullover on and off every few minutes. I was shivering cold to bursting into flames hot 😬😀

[clementine]

So far mine have been a hot flush from collar bone/ upper arm & shoulder to the top of my head. It lasts less than one minute, and is just heat without getting really sweaty.

 

Annoying, but not uncomfortable yet. Thank you everyone for your replies :)

[Seasider]

My first one I felt hot from my head to my toes. It was so strange. Now I think nothing of them.

 

They are super annoying and evil.

 

I haven't worn pajamas to bed in months. I'm hot, I'm cold, I'm hot I'm cold.

 

I normally run cold, so when I'm cold I'm freezing, then take everything off, put everything back on.

 

I'm learning to dress in light layers, it's easier.

 

I looked like a nut at the movies several weeks ago taking my fleece pullover on and off every few minutes. I was shivering cold to bursting into flames hot 😬😀

My cool weather clothes are 75% zip fronts! Much easier to strip off a layer.

 

Honestly, I'm not sure I'm getting serious hot flashes, more like occasional heat waves. I can feel my face flush, though, and sometimes it seems sunburned. I am not sure if this is hormonal or an undetermined food allergy.

 

My mom had a hysterectomy at 38 and doesn't remember ever having any hot flashes ever.

[KrissiK]

I get them mostly overnight. A previous poster said “hot from the inside out†which describes it perfectly. It lasts maybe 30 seconds (long enough to have to throw off the covers) and then goes away (so you have to pull up the covers.) The frequency comes in phases. Some months I have them a lot, and other months not at all. Not related to my cycle, though, because AF hasn’t been around since July.

[TravelingChris]

Mine happen only very occasionally (like maybe 5 times in all???) and only at night.  But yes, you want to take all of your clothes off and just are really hot and then go back to normal. 

[Jaybee]

Hmm...I don't guess I've ever had one then. I am over four years postmenopausal. There were times, usually during the night, when I would get kind of hot and sweaty, but nothing like you all are describing. I thought I just had very mild ones, but they were not like described above. My biggest issue was a huge uptick in anxiety for awhile.

[laundrycrisis]

First I feel nauseated and a little ill at ease. Then I start to feel panicked. I know it’s coming. I get as much space around me as possible and remove whatever I can. I get amazingly hot, sweat in all my clothes, and my face, neck and chest all turn alarmingly bright pink. I just wait it out. Water helps. I also have some folding fabric fans from Cost Plus World Market. They happen all day but more in the evening when they are at least hourly. They last about five minutes.

 

Adding how I deal mentally - I often feel quite panicked when I get hot and I am not always in a situation where I can remove enough clothing or move to an open space.  I find whatever sensation of cool that I can and focus on that - a finger on a cool surface, one earlobe catching a breeze, anything.  I imagine I'm sending all the heat to that point of coolness.  Also I have learned not to drive with a coat on, no matter how cold it is outside.  I warm my car up before I get into it and leave the coat on the empty seat.  If I am leaving the car, I get the coat on before I get out.  But wearing a coat or jacket while I drive ends up badly when I have a hot flash while I'm driving.  

Edited February 5, 2018 by laundrycrisis

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Mine last about 3-5 minutes.  Generally (not always), I'll get a slight wave of nausea.  Then, suddenly, I feel like someone just turned up the heat, and I start peeling off whatever layers I can.  After about a minute, I start sweating profusely from EVERYWHERE (including under my booKs, in my groin area, underarms (of course), head/neck, feet).  After I'm thoroughly damp, the heat gets turned off, and I'm left wet and cold.  I put back on all the clothes I removed, and I reach for a blanket.  They're more frequent in the evening.  I always get one when I'm falling asleep and as soon as I wake up.

 

I find that if I'm well hydrated, I don't get as many, or they're less pronounced, so I don't notice them as much.  

[Suzanne in ABQ]

All of the above. Seems to be triggered by the slightest anxious thought. I could be watching a volleyball game and suddenly think of something I forgot to do and then whoosh I'm overheated from head to toe and perspiring everywhere whereas a second before I was thinking boy it's cold in this gym. Reducing anxiety helps but can't be avoided altogether. 

 

 

I would wonder if perhaps the oncoming hot flash actually *caused* the anxious thought.  Perhaps your mind subconciously senses that something is "off", and tries to analyze what's wrong, and just grasps at the first random thing that might be bothering you a little bit.  

 

I would especially think this is the case if you have other random anxious thoughts that *don't* lead to a hot flash.  

 

(don't mind me.  I'm just analyzing your hot flashes, rather than ironing my daughter's dress shirt that she needs tomorrow)  

[Farrar]

Middle of the night, wakes me up, just feel weird and restless and wrong and too hot even though the temperature in the room is fine. It's like I know the temperature in the room is fine, but I still feel hot inside - especially my feet and head - like my top and bottom more than my middle. Usually lasts... ten minutes or so? I've never had one be super intense like some people describe. They're more annoying than anything else.