Please anyone respond. At the end of May I stopped HRT cold turkey (Yaz). On Aug. 21st I woke up at 2am. broke out in horrible sweat, shaky and vomited. Of course, I was sure I had the flu. Happily, I fell right back to sleep. Woke up in the morning hungry so I ate and went on with my day. August 27th I was driving to our vacation home with hubby as a passenger. We were laughing and joking and then all of a sudden I was having another very intense hot flash and quickly pulled the car over b/c I started to faint. Again, broke out in a horrible sweat and was very shaky. When he finished the drive to the house I was fine and out mowing the lawn. I decided to go immediately back on HRT and everyday gets alittle better. Has anyone ever had hot flashes that severe and what were your experiences. Can't wait to hear from you!

Thanks,
Wendy

I can't say I've ever experienced a reaction that severe, but I can be feeling "fine" (relative term in meno of course) and literally start to feel a rush sensation, my heart start pounding, my vision blur, major anxiety kick in, fever and a raging hot flash comes on... it passes in a bit but leaves a lingering sense of the anxiety with it - hideous.

I've opted out of the HRT synth or bio because of family history and I don't take any AD's either so I'm roughing it on my own... your experience seems very scary - I would have completely freaked out. If the hormones have you feeling better than stick with it - its the side affects like these that I'm terrified of! Bravo you can deal with it all.

Hi Wendy,
I never actually vomited during a hot flash but my flashes were very severe. Mine would start with a feeling of strange apprehension, almost as if something terrible were about to happen. I would feel a sort of tingling especially in my hands and then whoosh! if I did not sit down or get into a cool atmosphere I would just feel the floor coming up to meet me. The worst part would last for about five minutes. I did feel very nauseous. At one stage, I felt afraid to venture out alone just in case I had one and just blacked out. the heat produced by my body was astounding. My hubby very quickly learnt to recognise when one was coming on and always went into action to help me. I needed a fan everywhere I went and had a handbag fan for going out.
They seemed to go on for a long time but they have now gone and I am almost back to normal.


Cheers,


XIII

Well, the doctor gave me a severe tongue lashing for stopping cold turkey. It is safest to taper off. She also said you can absolutely have hot flashes that severe.

Wendy

Hi Wendy:

I have been having hot flashes on and off for about 2 years but now they are getting more and more sever, I am awake most of the night with them. I opted out of HRT for health reasons, family history etc. I too have felt a tingling in my shoulders and back, it is really wierd. Anyway I am writing to ask you did your hot flashes get more sever before they stopped completely I am just hoping I am almost through with this.

Cindy

just wanted to ask you ladies on this site if this is corret.I as making my bed when my face went really red i felt ike i was burning up al over and then after bout 5 mns its gone but my back was left dripping infact if i touch it my hand was wet...not so much the front top half sweating, as my back and top of my head crown was hot and clammy to touch

Dear 'Laxgirl'
What you are describing is definitely hot flashes.They can come anytime and anyplace and on different parts of the body.You might want to check on BHRT as this will probably stop them or at least make them less severe.
Also ask Health Store about Primrose Oil and other Herbal remedies that are supposed to be useful for this very annoying Menopausal symptom.
All the Best
Elizabeth

Hi Wendy:

I have been having hot flashes on and off for about 2 years but now they are getting more and more sever, I am awake most of the night with them. I opted out of HRT for health reasons, family history etc. I too have felt a tingling in my shoulders and back, it is really wierd. Anyway I am writing to ask you did your hot flashes get more sever before they stopped completely I am just hoping I am almost through with this.

Cindy

Hi Cindy, you're into it two years now? i'm in total menopause, no period for 4 years now. I'm not on HRT either. although i must admit i just received my first prescription. haven't started taking them yet though.

I still have hot flashes - no relief yet and they're still severe. I dont know quite how to explain it - but the hot flash sensation will morph for time to time. for instance, i used to know i was going into a hotflash because it would be preceded by a momentary rush of severe agitation. that doesn't happen anymore, the flash now builds more slowly but stays longer.

and twice now i've had phantom menses. where it felt like i was ovulating, and a day or so later I would get a mild cramping sensations but no blood. But what was so great about that was for two weeks after that happened i had no hot flashes, that was pure heaven for me.
Nellie~

The best way to beat a hot flash is naturally. Hot flashes have a lot to do with the low levels of estrogen in your body, but other factors can cause your temperature control to go out of whack. Studies show that medication is not always helpful. Instead of estrogen therapy, look at less drastic measures first, partly because estrogen therapy is not known to be safe for women with a history of breast cancer—but also because you should always begin with the least aggressive approach to treating your menopausal symptoms.

I'm sorry to disagree but loss of estrogen is the cause of hot flushes - so using hormones is the natural way of dealing with them. The breast cancer scare has been aggressively promoted by the media and a couple of flawed studies. Can anyone offer all women who don't use hormones a breast cancer free existence?
No they can't and recently I read that a damaged gene could be the cause of most breast cancers apart from the BCRA genes.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthne...r-20-years.html
Logically it doesn't make sense that a major hormone should be programmed by nature to cause cancer. It is more likely to be a genetic problem coupled with lifestyles.
Only recently I read that many everyday items such as plastics contain estrogen mimics that have been found to cause femminisation in boys and men.
There is also an increase in male breast development and the guys in general are sure not taking estrogen products voluntarily. Cancer is an age related disease in many cases. As for menopausal symptoms - well considering the long term health implications of untreated menopause I expect most women are healthier using the hormones in carefully tailored balanced doses.
Louise

Hey Jack,

Seem Sherrylouz is a troll looking for business.......3 links at bottom of post. ALL promoting products AND she just joined today. Regards, JZZ

Thanks for the heads up JZZ
Jacks

Possible I could be wrong but.......just seems very suspicious. Either way, I don't care for the scare tactics. JZZ

All i know is I feel so horrible today .. hot flashes have me ragged the last 3 days .. then yesterday had to get a cortizone injection into my left hip socket .. was up most of the night in pain ..and my body aches are back .. I feel just awful waaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I'm 3 years into menopause and still have the hot flashes. They're NOT as severe as when I was in peri. THOSE were killers, especially the ones that came at night. They would wake me up several times a night and I had to get out from under the covers. If I DIDN'T wake up in time to throw the covers off, I would be drenched in my own sweat like I'd taken a bath and got into bed! The really intense ones created a tingling sensation, raised my heart rate and created negative (dark lines, not bright lines) lightening-type jagged patterns behind my eyelids at night!

The hot flashes I have now are tolerable. They usually hit at random, but I can count on one happening just as I try to fall asleep, during one of the couple times I wake up during the night and upon waking in the morning. They'll happen in the day too, but are usually triggered by warm conditions or exercise. They're worse in the summer when nighttime temps are higher in the room. I get the impression they are winding down, so I'll see what happens as time passes. What my new problems are that I'm TOO COLD a lot of the time and I sweat like a guy anymore!

I was on HRT for only 2 years to get through the worst of the symptoms, headaches, hot flashes and lack of sleep mostly, but the general feeling of sickness too. Taking HRT DID get rid of the hot flashes. However, I'm not going on hormones any more. The risks of breast cancer are just too great to relieve some minor hot flashes now. It's interesting to note that since the WHI study was stopped in 2002, breast cancer rates have been dropping steadily.

http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/statistics/trends.htm

Could it be that doctors were GIVING us women breast cancer in our desire to get through peri all those years before 2002? Especially the Premarin and Prempro synthetic posions they were perscribing like candy? Were we fools to trust them? Granted there are still risk factors for breast cancer, namely genetics, excess body fat and yes, even using bioidentical HRT. Bioidentical estrogen is still estrogen and it will stimulate the breast tissue, also the uterus as well.

What about mammograms? The government just came out with new guidelines for mammograms and are recommending doing it less, especially before age 40 and every OTHER year after 50. Were they looking at the lower breast cancer rates since the WHI study? One other thing, every time you have a mammogram, you are irradiating your breast with X-rays, a form of ionizing radiation that if given to too frequently can GIVE you cancer. Was the government looking at that too? Just some reflection to think about.

I too am entering the third year in full menopause. I still get the hot flashes but they are now very mild and I can actually stop them in their tracks by taking steps to lower my temperature. I think that HRT taken at the lowest dose for 18 months is fairly safe but my worry is that it prolongs the inability of the body to readjust in the temperature department. I just wonder if the oestrogen levels need to 'bottom out' before negative feedback mechanisms can activate the necessary adjustments. There was certainly a statistically significant fall in cases of breast cancer, when uptake of HRT fell dramatically after recommendations in 2002. Those who are very pro supplimentation will say that those figures are a coincidence. On a personal level I find the statistical probability that I will get breast cancer anyway, very scary and would not have the courage to increase that risk, no matter how small the effect. My hot flashes were particularly severe but I regarded them as an inconvenience; not a disease that required aggressive or 'risky' treatment. We are all different and some women are very happy to take the risk. I just think that it is a great pity that definitive advice still does not exist and we find ourselves very short on information when making these important decisions. At the height of my menopausal symptoms my GP had no hesitation in prescribing HRT for me and yet I heard that he had advised his own wife against taking oestrogen. Mmmmmmm............ Sorry, but that made me a tad suspicious of his true motivation.
I am rather suspicious of mamograms. The way the breast tissue is squashed mercilessly, (ouch!) might cause inflammation, scarring and eventually problems. They are certainly not foolproof. Still, I suppose that it is all we have at present. In the UK we have them every 3 years.


XIII

Hi,

I've read some interesting things that have said maybe the breast cancer rates have dropped due to early mammogram screening. (Not from less use of HRT.) Scarey now that mammo's are going to be done less frequently. What are the "experts" going to say in a few years when the breast cancer numbers rise again? Who or What are they going to blame then?????

Personally, I've been battling my own docs on my all too frequent mammo's. I don't like being exposed to so much radiation. And, I feel that the radiation from mammo's might contribute to breast cancer in some individuals. (jmo).... Anyway, it's a very personal decision that I feel should be made between a woman and her doctor (not by bureaucrats intent on saving money.) Ironically, I told my gyn and breast surgeon that I would be boycotting future mammo's just this past year. lol NOW, the new guidelines come out....ya just can't win. Regards, JZZ

I find it hard to believe that termination of HRT would IMMEDIATELY cause the incidences of breast cancer to fall. It doesn't make sense. Regarding mammograms I dislike the idea of the radiation and would opt for ultra sound. In London we have a hospital called The Princess Grace which uses state of the art screening with far less radiation exposure and results are available the same day. Also the majority of breast cancers in women using hormones has been localised less aggressive tumours as compared to non using HRT women who have larger more aggressive cancers.

hello,
It is important to understand that ultrasound is most of the time used as an added tool to the mammogram. It cannot replace a mammogram. Ultrasound is used in most cases after something suspicious is found on an x-ray. I too, go reluctanctly to my mammogram screening but when I had my first finding, the ultrasound would not have helped to detect the issue.
This being said, I do agree that there might be too much screeening done to younger women but i believe that it has to be a decision made after discussing the pros and cons with your physician.
MrsBuff

Yes, thats what I was saying......lol (and I've read this too. It's too soon to say the drop in breast cancer is due to the discontinuation of hrt/or bhrt). Like I said......what will they blame the breast cancers on next???? JZZ