hi again, full blown menopause due to total hyster. chose no synthetic HRT. On advice of friend for hot flashes AND THEY WERE MAJOR AND CONSTANT I went to health food store and got this stuff called "Hot Flash." Label said take 3 or 4pr day; and it would work in about 3 weeks. IT TOOK ONLY FOUR DAYS.! Of course, for me , for something to actually work at all, and faster than a speeding bullet, was a miracle. If they don't have they can order it for you. i forget name of company but will check with store asap. Also , one time was there and they were out, so i tried "Phytoestrogen" from Solgar. Same result and a few bucks cheaper. I think between$21 and $28 pr month... but to actually be able to keep your clothes on and not want to run out of the room naked... WHAT A RELIEF. They are all natural and it is the combo of the formula that works . Some people say just take soy, or black cohohosh or don quoi and theres something else, but you need the whole mixture to make the stuff stop the flashes. (I have no stock in either company.) I haven't had any for months, but know that they can pop up again, so i will be on the ready. Discovered i didn't need them when i accidently left them home while away on a trip. I am starting to experiencin "HEAT" again so i may start up again, gratefully. but am also looking into Natural Hormones as am experiencing other problems as well. further info on that can be found under" "ANybody got the itchy/bitchies;" and a "reply to Flossie about leg pain." Have not experienced the panic feeling prior to the flash, but maybe if this stuff takes the flash away that would go away too? Please read my other entries, maybe you have heard of something i missed as this site is new to me. Well, we are all in this together.....here's hoping we can help each other out...Best to all Oona

I'm flashing all the time, but there's 3 distinct types. 1. Heat from within my chest that radiates up my head and down my arms -- I get clammy on my arms and chest and hairline. 2. "You're taking all my O2 -- I can't breathe!" stuffy feeling. 3. 1 & 2 combine and my head and chest start to drip sweat I'm taking soy and black cohash and progestrone. What else can I do????? I've also limited my coffee to one cup a day and I'm cutting down on sugar (dieting) and trying to keep an exercise routine going. It's a nusiance during the day, but I can handle it -- The problem is at night -- I haven't slept more than 45 minutes at a time over night -- that's what's killing me -- lack of sleep!!! I'm also sucking ice cubes and drinking cold water all evening -- so part of the "wake up" problem is running to the bathroom! I AM Hydrated!

Did anyone else see the article about hot flashes in the Washington Post's Health section on Tuesday? They quote some recent research that says there aren't any remedies that have held up under scientific testing EXCEPT FOR PLACEBOS. Supposedly they work 50% of the time. How can that be? You can check it out on-line. Really interesting (and funny, too). Otter

OH MY GAWD! I have been menopausal for about 9 months. No hormones, just soy flax seed and black cohosh. I have been having hot flashes regularly. Or I think I have. I get very hot and sweaty, as if it were hot outside. This morning I was sitting here in front of the computer and I got a surge of heat flowing through my body. From feet up. My skin was hot it felt like a bad sunburn. I turned red. I didn't sweat until it had almost subsided. My skin is still tingling. It was the most horrible feeling I have ever had! So does anyone think those things I thought were hot flashes wen't really and this "THING" I had this morning was one? Does anyone elses skin feel hot like it was sunburned? It felt tight. I f they are, I hope that was it or they are far apart and few. Thanks

khazen,I have had the hot flashes that feel like a sunburn....i have alot of different types of flashes,some mild,just feel warm,some that have an adreneline rush first ,then a rush of heat,some just weird tingling throughout my arms,face,chest,etc along with some heat. I'd guess the other things you had were hot flashes too,just different types or milder ones.They don't always have to be the same,i wish they were though so i could get used to them.Some of them feel so weird that i almost(well,sometimes do)panic. Sometimes i get the ones that start with an adreneline rush,then my face feels SO hot and tingly and my head feels like it's gonna explode and i feel shaky and dizzy.Those are the ones that freak me out the most.

Hi, I get all kinds of hot flashes - some are short and brief like an adrenaline rush and others are like prolonged fevers lasting 12+hours - some dry, some drenched. Now I'm waking up at 1am feeling hot all over and dealing with emotional upset. The hot flashes just come and go - is this possibly a new phase? They all scare the peewaddly squat out of me because they have a tendency to uncover and reveal my deep buried emotional wounds. Sometimes they lead to anxiety and panic because I am so wiped out. Wish there was some joy in this. Anybody else deal with the emotional stuff with this or just the physical end?? Good luck to all. Take care, nj

newjourneys, I just started having all these peri symptoms at the beginning of the year and it has been a VERY VERY rough year for me both physically and emotionally.When i had my 1st true hot flash,i happened to be in a doctors office....i was SO roasting hot that i felt like i was gonna passout.I ended up having a panic attack in front of the doctor.He told me it was a "disorder",that he sees it all the time,that it WAS NOT meno,because i am too young.(was 39 at the time).he put me on lexapro,which i had an adverse reaction to and stopped taking.I believed that i had a "disorder" and it rendered me pretty much disabled and i had lots of panic attacks over every little thing,and i seriously considered admitting myself into a stress/coping center.Then i found power surge and it was a life saver.....i realized i was going through peri.I started reading alot about peri and asking alot of questions....i think i even have one thread asking others to describe their hot flashes just so i could see if that's what was happening to me or not.I realize now(it took a long time) that i was freaking out and panicking when i had one.But before i realized that,i was a true basket case,i obsessed about every little thing that happened in my body...if i felt dizzy,i thought i must have a brain tumor,if i felt hot,i must have the flu,etc.etc.etc.I felt sacred,hopeless,like i was seriously ill,mentally ill,and i was SO anxious ALL the time.I spent alot of time depressed and by myself,i didn't want anyone to see that anything was wrong with me.(i wouldn't even visit family cause i was afraid i'd freak out around them) what helped me more than anything(well,besides power-surge) was instead of freaking out when i was experiencing symptoms,i started paying close attention to them.I kept a piece of paper with me and wrote down how i was feeling and i timed them to see how long they would last. After a couple of days,i noticed a pattern to them...i also noticed they lasted between 3-5 minutes.Just realizing that has helped me so much because i know it will be over within 5 minutes.I just started telling myself "this is just a hot flash" or "this is just my hormones".I have just got alot better with dealing with all this stuff within the past month or two and hopefully there will be a day when i will have symptoms or a hot flash and not even think twice about it.So for me,the emotional part of peri has been way worse than the physical.

That's got to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I've read numerous studies (in medical journals passed on to me by my physician brother-in-law) on things that have ended or greatly reduced hot flashes in up to 80% of the participants. How do they come up with these things? Or are they just "lying with statistics" to get attention in their newspaper? (Like twisting the results by interpreting that not *every* single person got relief, stuff like that.)

Oh, nj! You made my day! I feel this way too, but I just could never describe it. Thanks, Sister! Susan

Hey power-meno women- Just hearing your replies has made my day. I've read so much about the physical sensations of hot flashes and I also have been dealing with the intense emotional stuff. Now I'm in a streak of the worst hot flashes in months - I'm now around family - they simply cannot understand my lifestyle or work choices (I love to travel, etc.) and I'm under alot of spoken and unspoken pressure to find a 'real' or 'good' job. I HAVE a REAL job - one that has taken me through the ups and downs of life...and it seems like peri/meno is bringing out the truth of my experience and putting a new, stronger voice to the work. I just can't let it go. It's my child, my inner being calling out, screaming to be heard. Let's face it, when ignored or suppressed - I get the peri symptoms I have now. So that's my wakeup call. I used to be able to stuff it and go on, but now hot flashes,...and sometimes insomnia are my "truth serum and reality check". Kept quiet all these years to keep the peace and now it's a whole new world. Let's face it, I was NEVER good at conforming and I value creativity in the face of enormous change. Clerical jobs ain't going to cut it, honey. Guess the interviewers can read that all over me... Last Saturday morning at 8am I was supposed to be on a plane to my new job - one that would fit with my personal and career interests and finally get paid for it, and at 2am I bagged the whole thing. Fear, gut sweating fear. Since then, and for a couple days beforehand I've had intense, prolonged hot flashes, severe insomnia, alot of anger, and just general frustration. Hot, hot, Hot !! I wake up at 1am burning up and am unable to get back to sleep while processing this stuff... Women are generally invisible in my family - very male dominated and since I've pursued a non-traditional path there's not a whole lot of support. I chose not to have children, however I feel strongly that my 10+ years of formal and non-formal work in my own area of interest IS my child and I have a responsibility to safeguard it - not to hang on, but to go on! So I'm posting this here in case someone else may face this kind of situation and know they are not alone. Peri has brought out so much - and driven me forward, transformed emotions, drives, ambition, goals. It total gals, total... How about you?? Whatsup... Thanks so much for listening. Love ya. Take care, nj

Thanks you guys. Knowing what it is makes it easier to withstand. I am keeping a journal like someone suggested. I found since Monday when I had my first whopper hot flash (I have been flashing for 9 months but not like this!) I have had them every morning. I hope this passes soon. Like they say..."I'm still hot, it just comes in flashes!":)

Khazan. I read your post about having a hot flash while sitting in front of your computer.... (This morning I was sitting here in front of the computer and I got a surge of heat flowing through my body. From feet up. My skin was hot it felt like a bad sunburn. I turned red. I didn't sweat until it had almost subsided. My skin is still tingling. It was the most horrible feeling I have ever had! So does anyone think those things I thought were hot flashes wen't really and this "THING" I had this morning was one? Does anyone elses skin feel hot like it was sunburned? It felt tight. I f they are, I hope that was it or they are far apart and few.) I get those TOO! It IS just like like that!!! PHEW..I thought that I was going mad! I also thought that I was having an anxiety attack, but had no idea, until I read your post. I TOO, hope that I don't have it happen again. My husband was anxious..but now I think I have found a great source in this site.. We all know that we are not alone..but it's sure nice to have it re afirmed.. Take care..

[quote=oona,Jul 5 2004, 11:08 PM]
hi again,
full blown menopause due to total hyster.
chose no synthetic HRT. On advice of friend for hot flashes AND THEY WERE
MAJOR AND CONSTANT I went to health food store and got this stuff called "Hot Flash." Label said take 3 or 4pr day; and it
would work in about 3 weeks. IT TOOK ONLY FOUR DAYS.! Of course, for me , for something to actually work at all, and
faster than a speeding bullet, was a miracle.


Hi Oona!

I just found your post. Last week I purchased "Hot Flash" from a health food store. This is my third day, and I can't say I've seen any real change yet, but your message gives me hope. I've been going through really bad peri-m for three years, and just started the hot flashes in June. They were starting to interfere with sleep, plus I'm on an emotional roller coaster.

I see it's been over a year since your original post. Could you tell me how long you used it?

Thanks. Best wishes to you,
Libbett

My 70 year old mother told me that when she was little girl, her grandmother used to put a pan of water under the bed to keep the hot flashes away. I had my uterus removed 17 years ago and have experienced night sweats from time to time since my surgery. I have tried the pan under the bed with some sucess. Maybe it's mental, but WHO CARES as long as it works! I understand that there is no scientific proof that a pan of water under the bed might diminish hot flashes but surely this old wives tale can't hurt and it costs nothing!

louann, you sure she wasnt really talking about a "goesunda" ? .. The old bedpans that "goes under" the bed.? My great-granny useta call it her pee pot... heh

Hi Libbett. I'm REALLY a newbie here, but I have found, after trying the recommendations of others, the only thing that helps me consistently is to have soy. I normally have capsules around, but being on Social Security, the budget has been thin and I've been without for about a month now. A doctor gave me a sample of soy milk (not Silk) that she'd brought with her, bought it from Trader Joe's, someplace I can't get to due to having no car. But anyway, that worked for me, too. Soy - Soy - Soy I can't emphasize it enough.

But know that everyone's body chemistry is different, and what works for one may not work for the other.

I just wonder, after reading what sorts of "cures" are about, that we may in fact be prolonging the agony by supplementing the hormones with artificial ones. The plant hormones in particular. They may work for some or for a short time but I believe my hot flashes have become worse since going off the cohosh, which only worked for a few months anyway.What did our mothers use ..if anything?
Is it that our lives are more stressful and I truly believe that stress is one of the main triggers. I know that coffee is too, so I have switched to tea. Has anyone had success with high doses of Vit E and B6?