I don't belong here, but: hot flash question?

[Captain Catnip]

I had an abdominal hysterectomy this past week and kept one ovary. I am experiencing hot flashes like crazy that stayed last night. I looked it up online and apparently even though I kept one ovary, hormones are all screwed up and it gets confused and forgets to work for a while possibly, causing menopausal symptoms for a few weeks to a few months.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to manage these for now? I'm already not sleeping and have insomnia since I came home, now when I do fall asleep I wake up roasting.

[drloretta]

I'd talk to your Dr about remedies. Mine are manageable, but my Dr said I have options if they get unbearable

[mrsukyankee]

There are also cooling sheets/pillows and the like.

Other than sleeping - wear layers.

[Deleted]

I think low estrogen is what causes hot flashes?? you could try some OTC estrogen cream to see if that helps. I use it daily but I'm perimenopause - main problem was insomnia (Smoky Mountain Naturals is what I use).

[Mrs.Rad888]

I'm currently in the middle of peri-menopause, but luckily my hot flashes have mostly been tolerable. The one thing that has helped me the most is a cooling gel pad that I use either in my pillowcase or under my feet. This is the one I use, which has worked well because it doesn't have to go back into the fridge to cool, just being out at room temp takes care of that.

[Captain Catnip]

Aug 26, 2016 19:52:21 GMT -5 Mrs.Rad888 said:

I'm currently in the middle of peri-menopause, but luckily my hot flashes have mostly been tolerable. The one thing that has helped me the most is a cooling gel pad that I use either in my pillowcase or under my feet. This is the one I use, which has worked well because it doesn't have to go back into the fridge to cool, just being out at room temp takes care of that.

That looks perfect since this shouldn't be a permanent thing for me for quite a while. Hopefully only a few months and things will even out and my one lone ovary with pick up the pace. Thanks!!

[dirtyred]

Caffeine, alcohol, and spicy food all make hot flashes worse (I had curry for dinner once and thought I was going to spontaneously combust later that night). A Chillow (put it in the refrigerator and it will stay cold all night) was a life saver for me; I put it under my pillow and then when I had a flash at night I would pull it out and lay on it.  A small fan clipped to your nightstand that you can turn on when you have a flash can help, as will keeping a container of ice water at your bedside (I recommend a Yeti or similar cup to keep it cold).

[treedimensional]

Please see your doctor. Do not suffer. Hot flashes are horrible, HRT saved my life.

[Captain Catnip]

Aug 28, 2016 20:42:28 GMT -5 treedimensional said:

Please see your doctor. Do not suffer. Hot flashes are horrible, HRT saved my life.

I've talked to her, seeing her Tuesday. This should be temporary though so we aren't trying hrt yet. If I still have issues in 6 months or so we will reevaluate.

[lilmissladybug]

I know this is a couple weeks old but I had a total hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy 3yrs ago so I went on HRT. I'm still trying to find the happy medium and went off estrogen for awhile. I could be wrong but I thought progesterone was recommended if you keep one /both ovaries. A cooling pillow has really helped me at night and sleeping in layers so I can strip down.

[phoenixrising]

I just want to say that I did not know those cooling pillows were a thing, and I am ordering one. I am perimenopausal and have hot flashes like crazy, and I could definitely use such a thing! Thanks so much for the info!

[Mrs.Rad888]

I know this thread is crazy old, but I wanted to tell you guys about the bed fan I've been using. I don't have much of an issue with hot flashes, but my overall temperature seems to be higher than before menopause, and when I'm trying to sleep my feet get hot and prickly which really messes with my sleep. The cooling pads helped some, but they eventually absorb enough heat to where they aren't cool any more, then I'm back where I started.

I bought this fan from Brookstone months ago, and it's been worth its weight in gold. I originally ordered one from Amazon because it was a bit cheaper, but it seems to have gotten damaged in shipment, which made the fan loud. I called Brookstone, and since they were the ones who had fulfilled the order (it wasn't Amazon prime), they were able to e-mail me a mailing label so I could return it free of charge. I also had the option to exchange it, but at that time Brookstone had them on sale for $75.00, so I just ordered a new one and saved $25.

Seriously, if hot flashes are affecting your sleep, this fan is a life-saver.

[Captain Catnip]

Sept 12, 2016 23:51:29 GMT -5 lilmissladybug said:

I know this is a couple weeks old but I had a total hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy 3yrs ago so I went on HRT. I'm still trying to find the happy medium and went off estrogen for awhile. I could be wrong but I thought progesterone was recommended if you keep one /both ovaries. A cooling pillow has really helped me at night and sleeping in layers so I can strip down.

Super old thread of mine, I know, but I just saw a specialist due to issues I was having and he said this same thing. I am beyond this now, I just had my right ovary removed (left was removed with the hyst) but he was PISSED that my Dr didn't give me anything. Apparently this was all due to endometriosis, which is another reason I should have been on something, to hinder it from returning, but I was never even told the diagnosis, let alone given anything. 

I haven't had any hot flashes yet, but last night I woke up 2-3x with night sweats followed by chills. dirtyred said that spicy foods and alcohol can make it worse and I had curry with hard cider at dinner. :S 

[Pom]

Captain Catnip, I hope things are better for you now. I was originally put on 2mg of Estradiol post hysterectomy and now down to 1.5mg. They told me they'd cut dosage again and I will be weened off it completely after decreasing doses. I had both ovaries out but kept my cervix.

I've been pretty lucky but dread the hot flashes.