i've been having hot flashes for over a month now and they are not letting up...the closer it is getting to my period the worse they seem to be....

then i don't even know if my period will come anyway, and if it does if that will relieve the flashes????anyway, i can't take estrogen cause of family history of breast/uterine cancers...

so what can i take over the counter and what works the fastes!!!???any one ever try or hear of arginine?if so i'd be interested in knowing if it helps or not...

any suggestions for quickest relief is what i need...please help!!!and thank you....jen

thank you all for the info...i also found out that 600 is the max after that it may cause an increase in blood pressure...i have reverted back to the progesterone cream now for three days...am awaiting a miracle...hah!

thanks for the adivce....jen

Hi -I don't know if this will help you or not.  I've had hot flashes on and off for awhile. I've had some relief with a herb I purchased at GNC (General Nutrition Center) that's called Soy Max.  It's a Soy supplement with Natural plant estrogens and they recommend that you take 1-2 caplets before you go to bed and that does seem to help....actually it eliminated the night hot flashes for me.  The majority of my hot flashes is in the morning. Some of our "friends" in another post said that coffee and chocolate will affect the hot flashes.   So I've cut back with the coffee and  that has helped.  As far as eliminating or cutting back  the chocolate.....well, I'm a chocoholic so I couldn't let it go.  I hope this info. helps you.  At the very least you should feel better to know that your not alone...and that is a wonderful relief.

                                    Stacy

i'm not going to say i used to get flashes..because then i might get them again hehe..lets say not for awhile..i've not had one..since i've started vitamins regularly and revival soy..none..i used to get those at night..and sometimes in the morning..and after that first cup of coffee..caffeine..and i haven't had any chocolate (except for revival bars/shakes) in just about 2 weeks..if anyone can stop chocolate (and believe me..i was/am a huge chocoholic)..you can if you want to..i tapered..off the chocolate for a few weeks..then stopped...the craving for a brownie still lingers once in awhile..but i'm fighting it...i'm not the kind that can just eat one..well maybe one a day...but am trying to see how long i can go...sorta of like an inner contest i guess..

Well Ladies,

I am starting my 3rd year of hot flashes and I am about to lose my mind.  It seems that I get them always at this time of the year and they last about 6 months or more then they stop for a while and then start up again.

I am definitely losing my mind.

Hugggssss

Hi Aunt B...You can count me in along with you...I'm starting on my 3rd year of hot flashes too...It just seems never ending doesn't it ?????...Well maybe this year will be the last year...I hope !!!!Take Care,Sweetface

Just the other day i was "bragging" how I don't get hot flashes yet..LOL. Well the last week or so,  I have been feeling hot. out of the blue..Not like my face feels red or that it is just the top of my head it is more like I am really just feeling hot. Then it passes. Is this how the flashes start.?? I have read that wine is not good for hot flashes. I have to say that I do drink wine on occassion. Could that be contributing to it? So is this another one of the peri symptoms I will have to get used to?? Clue me in ladies..thanx Pudge

Pudge...yep. I sometimes get very hot...not really a hot flash, just really hot all over. I've only had two REAL hot flashes so far (within the last month, so this might be a trend!) They are not so bad, but I get suddenly hot, sweat starts running down my body. It lasts about 10 minutes, then I get the chills. Both happened in the morning. I assume these are hot flashes. I'm almost 44 and have been having various peri symptoms for about 5 years.

I hope for it not to be a problem...I eat lots of soy products (have for years, I adore edemame beans!) and gets plenty of vit E naturally, plus I take a couple of supplements.

I dopn't know about wine, but anything that opens up vascular channels I guess will do it. Mine have been in the morning, and I drink lots of coffee. Strap in for the ride, girl!

Pudge...Sounds like a flash to me....I get them about 2 weeks out of a month...They are awful, to say the least..It seems like they come around the same time every month like clock work...Probably around the time my period would have started if I still had one...Thank God I don't have those anymore....(periods) on top of everything else, that would be hell to pay !!!..And yes, hot flashes are another wonderful symptom to meno..From what I understand the soy products that Babylon mentioned can be alot of help for some people...I myself haven't tried any of it yet, but I should....I think I'm a glutton for punishment...Anyway, good luck !!!Sweetface

Aunt B, mine act like that too.

They always seem to come during the winter.  During the summer, I hardly notice them at all...which doesn't make sense, really.  I would think all that summer heat would only aggravate them.

I've been taking soy supplements for about three years or so.  And every time I hear something negative about them I stop....that's when the hot flashes (and severe night sweats last month!) start up again.   I take the soy and the flashes and sweats go away.  Very strange....I mean, I still find it hard to believe that a simple soy supplement could do that.

Anyway, I haven't been able to find any information on why the hot flashes would only come during the winter....

Do you, by any chance, have Seasonal Affective Disorder?  That's the only connection I can think of....:confused:

In reply to the original topic, What REALLY works for hot flashes?" after trying every conceivable herb, continuing all the vitamins and minerals I'd taken for years, trying naturally compounded, bio-identical hormones (which help, but tend to give me headaches when I use the orally ingested form. The bi-est in a transdermal gel doesn't cause headaches), I still stand by the one thing that stopped my hot flashes within one week after starting it back in June of '98 and that's Revival Soy Protein. You can read about my discovery of Revival at the above link and I can't praise it enough. When I first mentioned it in Power Surge over 3 1/2 years ago, many women began E.mailing me for more information, so, rather than reply to so many E.mails, I decided it would be easier to put a page up on the Web site.

I've always been a great believer in soy -- watched my nutrition-conscious mother use it to lower her menopause-related cholesterol (which climbed to 400 over 40 years ago) because she didn't want to take cholesterol-lowering medication. I've personally used it in various modalities over the years, and although the other forms of soy I was using may have helped internally, *nothing* relieved the hot flashes, night sweats, depression, fatigue, vaginal dryness and many other symptoms of menopause.

Power Surge doesn't endorse anything unless it's something I've personally used and had good results with. All I can say is if you want to find out how well it works, try it yourself. I believe they have samples available to try before getting a month's supply.

Dearest