Hi, I'm new here and I really need some help.

I'm 44 and have been having hot flashes & night sweats for the last 2 months. No period for 12 weeks. I am having flashes/sweats every 45-60 minutes, including during the night. Have not slept for more than an hour at a time for 2 months as the sweats wake me up.

My ob/gyn suggested a soy/black cohosh supplement which I have been on for a month with no relief. Just had bloodwork on Monday and they say my thyroid is normal. I had radiation therapy in the area of my thyroid 23 years ago and I'm wondering if this is infuencing the frequency.

I have an appointment with the ob/gyn in 3 weeks to talk about HRT and other options (I don't want to do HRT) and with my PCP in 4 weeks. In the meantime, neither of them will address my inability to sleep - it's just basically "deal with it".

I'd had flashes/sweats over the last 2-3 years but they only lasted for 2 weeks then stopped. This is ridiculous. I'm exhausted and cranky and my work is suffering. My periods have been irregular for the last 3 or 4 years - skip a few a year.

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hi Miss Dee,

Your hot flashes sound exactly like mine. The same frequency. I have never had any thyroid problems so that might not have anything to do with it. I can not take HRT because my Mom did and she got breast cancer. I have tried everything else under the sun to get some relief, but nothing has helped. So I have to just deal with it. I go months at a time without any quality sleep. But after a year and a half of this, it seems to be getting better. I can sometimes go 2 or maybe 3 hours between flashes and that makes sleeping a lot better. So I guess I don't really have any suggestions for you, other than I feel your pain and hopefully it will get better as time goes on.

Sally