I've heard/read many times that alcohol and caffeine cause/worsen hot flashes. But, is that true! I drink a vodka nightcap each night to relax after my day, and I drink 2 cups of coffee in the morning. I think that is very moderate. I don't think that little bit is going to worsen my hot flashes but if they are the culprits, I'll stop.
Do any of you never have alcohol or caffeine but still get hot flashes?

Barbara, I do not drink alcohol or anything with caffeine >>>NEVER!

Mostly plain water once in awhile juice but that is it.

I have horrid night sweats & hot flashes around my period!

I used to have an evening cocktail every night, but rarely anymore because it triggers a hot flash within seconds. I really miss my evening drink...

I have one small latte every morning and don't feel it contributes to my hot flashes (however I don't enjoy it much if it is really hot outside.)

I have coffee in the morning, usually one cup. I use estrogel. I still get flashes. In the late evening and mornings. I am generally spared during the day. I drink no alcohol. Before the estrogel I was flashing all day and night. These few are little more than an annoyance.

My hot flashes seem to be related to my wacky hormones and not anything else. I only drink 1 or 2 sodas a day......I can go months without any hot flashes and now that I have skipped a period, I am having very intense hot flashes and night sweats. And lately alcohol makes me feel sick, so I am avoiding that.

I neither drink alcohol nor coffee and I am a world champion hot flasher!
I say enjoy your alcohol and coffee in moderation, we ladies suffer enough without taking away little pleasures like those.
My hot flashes are hormonally driven and are a force unto themselves. People have tried to come up with solutions to the problem, just to try and make us feel better. Stuff and nonsense! The truth is that we have no idea about the origin and control of hot flashes. Replacing oestrogen has been proven to attenuate the situation but unless you are at melt down I think that it is best to just get through it, if possible.
On a positive note, I went through a period where my hot flashes were so severe I had difficulty leaving the house for fear of fainting during each surge. It reached a real crescendo and is now really improving. Unless I am mistaken I have been through the eye of the hot flash storm and I am emerging on the other side. I have no doubt that I will suffer the occasional hot flash when I am much older. We have all be frightened by the horror stories of ladies in their nineties still getting hot flashes. However, for most ladies I think that we should be optimistic that it will eventually settle down to a mild inconvenience rather than a life destroying horror!


XIII

Hi X111,
It's encouraging to hear your hot flashes are improving! It's only a month since I've been off bioidenticals and the flashes and sweats come regularly every 40 -60 mins. How often do you get them now and how severe are they? My body also feels like it's been run over by a bus (although am just getting over a cold virus so this could be making me feel worse than normal) I SO want to perservere and get through this without going back on the hormones but can feel myself weakening today as I sit here wet, uncomfortable, achy and despondent, and not looking forward to another interrupted nights sleep.
I believe the body has to rewire itself, but there is no way of knowing just how long it will take for each one of us. I felt so positive a few days ago, but am frustrated by the fact that there is no crystal ball. I could handle a few moderate flushes a day that would be peanuts compared to these severe ones at the moment. They are so draining. Okay enough, you get the picture!!
Some encouragement needed!

Take Care,
Rehma

Hi there Rehma,
At their worst I was getting hot flashes every 10 minutes and they didn't even leave me alone when I tried to sleep. This left me feeling so fatigued and brain foggy that life just seemed to be passing me by. I can't tell you how many appointments I missed during this period which was out of character, because I am normally a stickler for punctuality and organisation.
I agree with you completely, I think that we must endure the process of rewiring, which takes time and endurance. I think that we are all guilty of minimizing the transition. Just think of all the grotty symptoms we endured during pregnancy. YUK! The difference then was that those around us fussed and told us to rest and "look after ourselves." In one way the symptoms were easier to bear because we knew that the outcome was going to be so positive - A new life. As we grapple with hot flashes all we can think of is aging and our own mortality. This gives us a very negative frame of mind which doesn't help matters at all.
My hot flashes used to start with a strange aura. A sort of OMG, impending doom thing. Strangely, anything scary or slightly shocking like the sudden ringing of the phone would start me off. I would experience wierd pins and needles in my extremities and then the flaming heat would start causing a mixture of panic and faintness. I needed a fan in my handbag and one in every room. The AC in the car was a life saver. My hubby was a great ally in all this and learnt to tell when one was coming on. He would rush round and organise the nearest fan to cool me down.
I had the very severe ones for about 6 months but I can report that, as I sit here today, I have only had one slight episode that washed over me in seconds leaving me feeling just slightly warm and the constant fatigue is abating.
Keep battling, there really is light at the end of this tunnel. Go back and read some of my desperate posts on this subject, from the past. If I can make it, so too can you!!


Hugs,

XIII

Barbara, hot flashes have been a problem for me on and off for the last six years.

I gave up caffeine about 3 years ago apart from the odd cup of caffeinated tea here and there and now usually limit myself to one glass of wine. I say usually because occassionally I think surely having two glasses of wine will be okay. I thought this last night. I was enjoying a glass of wine and thought I'll have two. At 3.00am this morning I woke up with such a start. I knew immediately that I was having a pretty bad flush and stripped off my nightie to try and prevent it getting any worse and lay there . The last few bad ones have made me feel really awful. I nudged my hubby and said 'I'm hot, open another window.......quick' - we already sleep with one window open. He woke up and saw me lying there without my nightie trying to minimise the flush. Then it took me TWO hours of tossing and turning to get back to sleep.


I do get flushes without alcohol and caffeine though.

For me that second glass of wine does seem to cause a problem.

A warm night is also enough to set them off despite using the thinnest duvet I can find.

Thanks X111,
This is so encouraging, hope you continue to improve. Will read back on some of your posts.
Sometimes I worry that the ladies that are doing well don't necessarily visit this site very often as it would not be a priority to them and they are enjoying their wellness. But I hope that those that are having problems now and then improve consistently remember us and come back and tell us the good news as it's great to know there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Rehma

Dear 'Rehma'
May I ask why you came off your bio-identicals.To be strictly honest when I weaned off my HRT the flashes and sweats were unbearable so got right back on again.However,I do believe each of us has his own biological clock and have many friends who had intensive sweats for about 6-9 months and then they started to improve.

So yes,cutie pie there is a big light at the end of the Tunnel and its not flasing either!Rehma,honestly I did find that cutting out caffeine and sugar really did help.

Keep Posting
God Bless
Elizabeth-Warm in Jordan!about 110 degrees today and I used to love hot weather now cannot bear it!

I quit all caffeine years ago except for a cup or two in the afternoon. I have not noticed a difference except that my breasts dont hurt as much.

From all the replies here I've decided not to cut out the alcohol or the caffeine. I really don't think I drink enough of either one to make any difference in the hot flashes!
Thank you all for your input!

Barbara, you will know if and when caffeine and and alcohol trigger the flashes and low simmers. Good luck.