Hot flashes/night sweats

[nicolewi]

I am closing in on 50. In the past couple of months, I suddenly started having some hot flashes at night, out of nowhere. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I still was. So far it has been a couple months but not every month.

So now what??? Does this just go on for years, possibly??? If it becomes regular and gets worse I am going to get HRT. My mom had terrible hot flashes for years and I feel bad for not having more sympathy. This isn’t bad yet but I’m worried about what’s in the store.

I usually sleep like a champion and now I’m waking up hot a couple times a night, throwing all the covers off.

[formerlyak]

I started HRT about a month and a half ago and it’s a game changer. You can ask your ObGyn to test your hormone levels to see where they are at and then talk about HRT. My hormone levels were in the post-menopausal range when I was tested this past summer right around my 49th birthday.

[thebreakfastclub]

I'm 48 and haven't had a period in a year so officially in menopause.

I had some hot flashes at night for a few months. I got cooling sheets and a cooling blanket and a small fan. Regular exercise also helped reduce them.

They went away after a few months.

[mrsukyankee]

HRT has been the one thing that has helped with these more than anything else.

[wanderingback]

There are medical treatments. HRT or other options. Definitely talk to your doctor. Yes they can go on for years. No need to suffer unnecessarily.

[wanderingback]

Nov 17, 2024 10:08:31 GMT -5 formerlyak said:

I started HRT about a month and a half ago and it’s a game changer. You can ask your ObGyn to test your hormone levels to see where they are at and then talk about HRT. My hormone levels were in the post-menopausal range when I was tested this past summer right around my 49th birthday.

Yes seeing a doctor is a good idea!
And fyi you don’t need any blood tests or hormone tests (unless they are specifically trying to rule something else out like thyroid abnormalities for example). We can and should treat perimenopause symtpoms based on the clinical picture and patient response. Blood work doesn’t give the answers.
Hope HRT is making you feel better!

[dirtyred]

Alcohol, caffeine, and spicy foods make hot flashes worse.

I can't take HRT, and I appear to be one of those women for whom hot flashes never go away.  Here are some of my tips:

A Chillow. Keep it in the refrigerator and put it under your pillow at night.  If you wake up feeling warm, you can turn your pillow over and it will be nice and cold. You can pull the Chillow out and lay on it-- the big area of cold on your back will help immensely. 

Keep a wet dish towel in the refrigerator.  When a flash strikes, take it out and wrap it around your neck.

Keep plenty of cold drinks in the fridge. Both holding a cold can/ bottle and drinking the cold liquid will help.

[scout8]

I also can't take HRT. Sleeping in sweat wicking pj's or workout clothes is a game changer for me.

[Gato]

HRT got rid of my hot flashes. I sleep so much better, too.

[stemmie]

Mine did tail off as I became menopausal. I like the Soma "Cool Nights" sleepwear and need a cooling blanket in warmer weather.

I stayed on low-dose OCs through perimenopause which helped a lot.

[dutchgirl678]

I started getting hot flashes last September. I got on HRT in December (estrogen-patch only needed for me) and it got rid of them in 99% of the cases. I highly recommend it!

[sunnysally]

I was having horrible hot flashes and other symptoms. I can't take HRT, but my doctor prescribed gabapentin. Since starting a few months ago most of my symptoms have disappeared.

[mlkgls]

Commiseration. I’ve been 50 less than a month and hot flashes are evidently my body’s way of ringing in the next decade. I am not a fan, especially waking up hot and sweaty. It’s on my list of topics to discuss at my next appointment, but it’s been a rude awakening to how old I really am. I don’t feel that old.

[momin2013]

I’m closing in on 49 and am still on the BCP. I don’t have any symptoms at all which I’m sure the pill is helping with; the week I take the placebo pills I do get night sweats a few times and it is not enjoyable at all. Now I’m afraid of going off the pill, which I’m sure my doc will recommend at some point…

[noodleoo]

Nov 17, 2024 11:36:01 GMT -5 dirtyred said:

Alcohol, caffeine, and spicy foods make hot flashes worse.

I can't take HRT, and I appear to be one of those women for whom hot flashes never go away.  Here are some of my tips:

A Chillow. Keep it in the refrigerator and put it under your pillow at night.  If you wake up feeling warm, you can turn your pillow over and it will be nice and cold. You can pull the Chillow out and lay on it-- the big area of cold on your back will help immensely. 

Keep a wet dish towel in the refrigerator.  When a flash strikes, take it out and wrap it around your neck.

Keep plenty of cold drinks in the fridge. Both holding a cold can/ bottle and drinking the cold liquid will help.

It may be worth asking your doctor about this. This is from a newsletter called Hot Flash all about menopause/perimenopause by Gillian Goddard. I’ve found it very helpful, so much good information. No one should have to suffer, definitely talk to your doctor.

The advent of Veozah
In May 2023, the FDA approved the first non-hormonal treatment specifically indicated to treat hot flushes and night sweats, called Veozah (fezolinetant). It is a single-dose once-daily pill.

To understand how the new drug works, it’s useful to know that estrogen binds to receptors in the brain that help regulate body temperature. When estrogen levels fall, there is no estrogen to act in those receptors. As a result, our brain becomes much more sensitive to small changes in core body temperature. We experience this sensitivity as hot flushes and night sweats.

Veozah is a new kind of drug that binds to the same receptors in the temperature center in the brain as estrogen and acts like estrogen, but only at those particular receptors. In clinical trials, it was shown to reduce the frequency and severity of hot flushes and night sweats by more than 60%. After 12 weeks on Veozah, 60% of the study participants receiving the highest dose of the drug — that is, the dose that is available by prescription — saw at least a 50% reduction in the frequency of their hot flushes. Participants saw a reduction in symptoms after just one week of taking the medication.
Despite the fact that Veozah is targeted specifically at the temperature center in the brain, many women also reported significant improvement in sleep. This is likely because their sleep disruption was driven at least in part by their night sweats, so reducing their night sweats also resulted in improved sleep.
Veozah is quite well tolerated. In rare cases, it can cause an elevation in enzymes on liver tests, but the values return to normal when the medication is stopped. It is recommended that a woman’s liver is monitored while she is taking the medication, but this is done via a simple, inexpensive blood test.

Veozah is currently widely available with a doctor’s prescription. The feedback I have received from my patients so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

[wanderingback]

Nov 17, 2024 11:36:01 GMT -5 dirtyred said:

Alcohol, caffeine, and spicy foods make hot flashes worse.

I can't take HRT, and I appear to be one of those women for whom hot flashes never go away.  Here are some of my tips:

A Chillow. Keep it in the refrigerator and put it under your pillow at night.  If you wake up feeling warm, you can turn your pillow over and it will be nice and cold. You can pull the Chillow out and lay on it-- the big area of cold on your back will help immensely. 

Keep a wet dish towel in the refrigerator.  When a flash strikes, take it out and wrap it around your neck.

Keep plenty of cold drinks in the fridge. Both holding a cold can/ bottle and drinking the cold liquid will help.

There are other meds besides HRT for hot flashes. Might be worth exploring with your doctor if they are bothersome.

[nicolewi]

Nov 17, 2024 18:12:13 GMT -5 mlkgls said:

Commiseration. I’ve been 50 less than a month and hot flashes are evidently my body’s way of ringing in the next decade. I am not a fan, especially waking up hot and sweaty. It’s on my list of topics to discuss at my next appointment, but it’s been a rude awakening to how old I really am. I don’t feel that old.

EXACTLY. This is exactly how I feel about the aging part of this! 

[caddywompus]

My Dr recommended taking Evening Primrose capsules, and it really helped me a lot!

[intheden]

47 and medically induced menopause due to breast cancer. Hot flashes were unbearable. 3-4x an hour all day. Nights were awful. My doc put me on Veozah and it's been life changing.  I still get some, but they are not as often or as intense. 

[TR]

Nov 17, 2024 18:27:42 GMT -5 momin2013 said:

I’m closing in on 49 and am still on the BCP. I don’t have any symptoms at all which I’m sure the pill is helping with; the week I take the placebo pills I do get night sweats a few times and it is not enjoyable at all. Now I’m afraid of going off the pill, which I’m sure my doc will recommend at some point…

Have you talked to your Dr about skipping the placebo pills? I’ve been doing that for a few years now and it’s awesome. I’m 41, for reference. I told my GYN I plan to ride these into menopause and she said there’s no reason so far that I couldn’t.

[wanderingback]

Nov 17, 2024 18:27:42 GMT -5 momin2013 said:

I’m closing in on 49 and am still on the BCP. I don’t have any symptoms at all which I’m sure the pill is helping with; the week I take the placebo pills I do get night sweats a few times and it is not enjoyable at all. Now I’m afraid of going off the pill, which I’m sure my doc will recommend at some point…

Unless you have other contraindications it’s ok to stay on hormonal birth control through menopause. I usually discuss with people around age 52-53 to come off. I have one patient who is 53 and is clinging to her hormonal birth control lol. She’s so afraid of getting a period again and any perimenopause or menopause symptoms. I’ve slowly been preparing her for what’s next

[momin2013]

Nov 19, 2024 9:03:04 GMT -5 TR said:

Nov 17, 2024 18:27:42 GMT -5 momin2013 said:

I’m closing in on 49 and am still on the BCP. I don’t have any symptoms at all which I’m sure the pill is helping with; the week I take the placebo pills I do get night sweats a few times and it is not enjoyable at all. Now I’m afraid of going off the pill, which I’m sure my doc will recommend at some point…

Have you talked to your Dr about skipping the placebo pills?

I haven’t but maybe I should - she’s said before that she can only write an Rx for 12 packs at a time (even though 28 days x12 is only 11 months); it would mean needing to get a new prescription more often…

[momin2013]

Nov 19, 2024 9:17:05 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Nov 17, 2024 18:27:42 GMT -5 momin2013 said:

I’m closing in on 49 and am still on the BCP. I don’t have any symptoms at all which I’m sure the pill is helping with; the week I take the placebo pills I do get night sweats a few times and it is not enjoyable at all. Now I’m afraid of going off the pill, which I’m sure my doc will recommend at some point…

I have one patient who is 53 and is clinging to her hormonal birth control lol.)

I suspect this will end up being me - lol!

[TR]

Nov 19, 2024 11:04:44 GMT -5 momin2013 said:

Nov 19, 2024 9:03:04 GMT -5 TR said:

Have you talked to your Dr about skipping the placebo pills?

I haven’t but maybe I should - she’s said before that she can only write an Rx for 12 packs at a time (even though 28 days x12 is only 11 months); it would mean needing to get a new prescription more often…

worth it, trust me lol