Hello...so glad to have found this site..Don't know if i am peri or not..today I had what I think was my second hot flash..it came on from no-where...felt hot..not sweaty..and very very shaky and sick..my heart raced and I had a lot of acid reflux . that was 2 hours ago and I still feel really really really hot, and a bit shakey and sick..my back and shoulders ache and I feel butterfly sensation in my chest/insides...my heart is still going a bit fast and can't relax...feel scared!!! Can't eat and feel funny swallowing too. I just wish the anxious feeling would go away!!!! also has effected my digestive system feel constant need to empty bowels...Is this a hot flash?...does it usually last this long? please tell me something that shows i am not going mad....thankyou

Hi there,

You aren't alone, that's for sure. I recently went into perimenopause and started to get hot flushes that lasted anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes, and sometimes longer. Indigestion, IBS, anxiety attacks, heart palps, you name it, can all be part of the meno transition.

Have you heard of Dr John R Lee? He's written a book that has been a lifesaver for me and many other women, and he explains absolutely everything there is to know about fluctuating hormomes, what happens during peri and meno and all sorts of other things. The book is called: "What your doctor may NOT tell you about menopause".

I read this book and I followed Dr Lee's suggestions about diet, nutritional supplements, and most important - the use of natural progesterone cream - and I can happily report that my flushes are almost down to zero; I am no longer moody and have no anxiety or panic attacks, I sleep better and I am happier. My heart palps are still there, but I can tell they are due to fluctuating hormones so I'm not worried.

If you can read this book I highly recommend it as it will answer a lot of your questions and will help you to balance yourself. Hope this helps. RP

Thankyou so much for taking the trouble to reply. Sorry took a long while to answer..in UK different time zone obviously:)
I will definitely try to get hold of recommended book..thankyou for that. Feel a bit better at mo. Read that most attacks happen between 6am-8am and 8pm-10pm..don't know if that is true but I am dreading this evening as both my attacks happened around 9pm. Still feeling a bit sick and oddly been getting pain in varicose veins in thighs today..lol...hypochondria do you reckon? (Doesn't help the confusion by the fact I have suffered from M.E and IBS for past 15 years too!) Anyway all the best and thanx so much again, it is really appreciated. This site is a god send.

Take care..

This sounds like many of my symptoms.

When I get the flush feeling, I realize that I get very tired and somewhat spacey feeling. I too feel the urge to have an ibs type feeling. I get shakey too. I just feel 'unwell' for a while.

I have spurts of feeling fine and then it hits. My heat rushes through my legs too.

Coffee makes it all worse for me. I had a large cup this morning after having very little for a long time. I paid the price a few hours later. I won't be doing that again for some time.

Hi, try not to worry about the flashes so much; they're worse if you focus on them. Mine used to come at any time, morning, afternoon, evening, during the night, etc. Hope the book helps to shed some light - I'm sure it will. Take care, RP

quote name=Simba 2 date=June 10th 2007
I have felt 'so alone' with my symptoms today but reading your posts has brought me such comfort. These dreadful flushes have been going on for two and a half years and I told God tonight that something would have to be done, I am so sick of it. It was a cry of desperation really because I have never felt so sick and tired. Today, here in the North West of England it has been very uncomfortable weatherwise, like being in a cooker. When the flushing came on this evening I felt really nauseous and I too have the feeling I need to empty my bowels. I came on here after shouting at God and I read your posts and didn't feel so alone any more. I dearly hope the weather will freshen up as it has been so stiffling today and I think it makes everything feel worse. Thanks ladies.

It sounds like when you get your flash you also get an "adrenal rush", which basically gives you the "fight/flight" response, meaning you get sick to the stomach, you feels like you need to move your bowels, you might even get a kind of weak feeling in your limbs? Anyway, to me it sounds like an adrenal rush. Maybe your adrenals are exhausted and that doesn't help when you're also trying to cope with flushes. I used to get lots of adrenal rushes in the past (and sometimes still do). I found a lot of help from a naturopath who prescribed a concoction made of licorice (the real kind, not the licorice you get in candy stores) and this helped a lot. But I must say that the natural progesterone cream helped the most. RP

Hi All-

I get these adrenal rushes too. Not exactly a hot flush but a rush of energy. I usually have to head for the bathroom and I too feel physically sick and weak for some time after.

My digestive system has been screwed up for a year now (I think it is IBS). My doctor said it could well be related to hormonal changes. I actually have intestinal spams and the worst gassy stomach. I had an endoscopy and they found nothiing. He recommended Pepcid AC but that did not relieve the gas. That is my worst symptom and when this stuff kicks in it is horrible.

I get these attacks of gas, bloating and intestinal cramps around my period but once it starts it takes awhile to settle down. I had 3 periods this month and I have been feeling awful. I never know what I will or will not be able to eat. You would think I would lose weight but I have a difficult time dropping any weight even though I have cleaned up my diet in response to this (no soda, choclate, hardly any ice tea (my favorite) no coffee, no sweets, and I do not eat allot as my stomach feels better empty.

By the way, I used to be able to eat pretty much anything and never had stomach issues or gas until last year.

It is a drag isn't it.

40

quote name Simba 2 June 13th 2007

Dear 40 Something and R.P.

Read with great interest your posts. I am sure the flushes do trigger this primitive 'fight or flight' response as I do have this tremendous urge to escape when they hit, it is the pits. Also I can identify with the gas issue 100%. This is troubling me at present, especially since I quit HRT a few months ago because of side-effects. I only tolerated that product for two months but coming off seems to throw your body back obviously to the start of symptoms or even worse! I have had lots of gas and flatulance, my intestines are churning and it's like I feel my period is coming but never does. Hope all of this will settle down it is pretty scary.

what exactly is adrenalrush?? Is that what I am experiencing when I get a hot flash and sweat with my heart pounding really fast?? I saw where you mentioned adrenal rush, but not sure what it is....can you explain it to me so I know if that is what I am having?? thanks, and hugs, Teri

another stupid question from me, I get get the palps, start sweating, but skin is cool and clammy. even without the palps I still get sweaty and hot feeling on the inside, but the outside is cool and clammy....is this part of peri?? This month my period was hardly nothing for the first time. I am in desperate need to get feed back on anyone who gets hot, sweats, but cool and clammy feeling skin. I swear with all this sweating I should have lost 100 pounds, haha. But oh no.....thats my luck. Please advice, and thanks so much for those of you who always reply and give insight. Hugs, Teri

Hey Resam,

I definitely get the cold and clammy, alone or simultaneously with a hot flash! How in the world can we have both at the same time??? For me, it's definitely worse either before I have a period or when I start taking the progesterone. The symptoms go crazy - mostly at night when I'm trying to relax to sleep. The ONLY thing that works for me is a warm bath which takes care of the clammy, but doesn't seem to make the flashes any worse. If I start to get the problems and don't get up and take a bath, I'll never get to sleep. Weird, huh? And oh yeah, I am really sensitive to cold when this is going on. Hang in there. We're all going through our own crud. And I think it's so individualized because we all have different hormone fluctuations at different times. Just keep saying "I'M NOT LOSING MY MIND, I'M NOT LOSING MY MIND......
Adair

for everyone suffering from digestive symptoms during the transition, a great resource is a site called help for ibs (or heather's help for ibs). i've had ibs since puberty & it is not uncommon for it to flare-up right before my period starts. this has been the absolutely best information that i've found over the years on managing the problem.

good luck.

Hi Resam

An adrenal rush is what is knows as the fight/flight instinct. Think what happens with animals when they've been threatened, they either stay and fight or they run away, but their body instinctively prepares them for either. This means a number of symptoms, adrenalin rushing through the body giving energy to the limbs to go into action, breathing is quickened, heart starts pumping, and yes there could be a feeling of sweating/clamminess. The only difference in humans is that we often don't have to run away or fight because there is no threat, but we still get this adrenalin rush, which the adrenal glands cause, and we get all those sensations and more for no reason. This is also how panic attacks get started. But anyway, you definitely get the palps, the sweaty/clammy feeling, dry mouth, the energy in your limbs can turn your limbs to jelly because you're not using your limbs to fight or fly. This can put a lot of stress on the adrenals as well and that is why some people end up with chronic fatigue too. Now, with fluctuating hormones all this can be part and parcel of the meno transition. And by the way, it definitely sounds to me like you're in peri. My periods went down to nothing over a time phase of about 3 months. It was crazy, I had periods that were getting slightly lighter, but still they were what I would call proper periods and then one day "woof" I just had the slightest bit of spotting and that was the end. I went to have my bloods checked and my hormones all came up in the "postmenopausal" range. I had one more bit of spotting four months after I had my hormones tested and so far that's where I'm up to. Still get some hot flashes, but not many as I use natural progesterone cream and sometimes I get the clamminess as well. Hope this helps. RP

greanise2000,
it looks more like anxiety/panic attack to me, than just hot flash. I have all the same symptoms except I get cold flashes and chills, not hot.
otherwise, it is all hormonal and you are not alone. Once you figure that it is all wicked hormones, you no longer be scared of it, and it will get better, it did for me. Nothing is wrong with you, we all been there, perimenopause is like a brick wall, when it approaches fast enough.
hang in there and I hope this helps. Most important at this stage- take care of your body, give it all TLC you can, it is going though the CHANGE, so it desperately needs your help. Eat right, try to be active daily, and control your stress, and it will get better over time.
best wishes
I.

Hi Simba-

You mentioned something in your post about your IBS which makes me feel a bit better (in that this may be IBS and I am not dying of a deadly illness). You mentioned that when you had an attack your intestines churned and you felt as if your period was coming but it doesn't.

That decribes my severe IBS symptoms in a nutshell. I will have a sudden need to go to the bathroom and then I will feel something more like a menstrual cramp than true stomach pain. It is an ache like when my period is starting but it doesn't. Of course this is accompanied with an attack of belching (gas) and it can last around 20 minutes. I actually feel quite shakey after the attack, like I need to sit down and take deep breaths for awhile.

I have never experienced anything like this except when I had my period when I was younger but this is more intense. I am getting a phobia with regard to bowel movements. I know this sounds silly but this is how I feel.

I hope that this is nothing more than IBS and that it goes away soon as it is quite uncomfortable.

My IBS appears to be tiggered with the start or end of my period. In May, I had 3 periods and I am still suffering with this stuff although my period stopped a few days back. The more periods I have in a month, the more severe the IBS becomes.

I can't eat lettuce, gassy foods or spicy foods right now but often I have times when I feel quite normal ( no gas, no menstrual crampy feeling when I have a bowel movement, and I can eat all my old favorite foods including lettuce).

What is going on? Any suggestions on how to stop this?

Sandy

Adair and Rose Purple.....thanks so much for the info, it really calmed my nerves just reading it, Had another episode today of racing heart, didn't last as long, but still made me feel so tired and weak afterwards. But I know I am not alone now, and coming on this site is such inspiration. Again, you both made my day alot better. Teri

Hey Sandy,
I did have a doctor tell me that diarrhea and/or constipation can be triggered by hormones during latter part of your cycle. For me it would be horrible constipation (trigger I think by progesterone) and then bouts of diarrhea in conjunction with period cramps at the beginning). I'm sure there's lots of info out there on handling it better than I did, but at least we know we're not dieing.
Adair

It may well be a hot flash/flush, but you should see your doctor before just accepting that 'diagnosis'.

I have been having these for a VERY long time now and they were only haulted for the 5 years I was on Premarin, returning after HRT was removed. The feeling IS like a sudden surge of 'energy' or adrenalin that feels VERY like a rush that we sometimes associated with other (almost narcotic) medications we might take for pain etc. when those suddenly take effect. This is how it feels for me, MOST uncomfortable of course, heart speeding up suddenly, butterfly romping sensation almost like 'fight or flight' alarm/surprise, followed by heat. Seldom is there perspiration, at least not in pouring quantities.

This has been going on FAR longer than the 1 or 2 years physicians or health providers suggest-but for nearly 7 years now, though the durations and intensity are not nearly as bad.

I have noted that when these occur and I'm in front of a fan or airconditioner, there is a decided difference in the feel of that cooling air on my skin....the air flowing over during that time feels 'outlined' or icy-frost water over a fry-pan burn (almost painful, but not). Once the flush disapates, that same skin surface registers just gentle flowing air.