Hi Everyone--

I'm wondering if anybody out there has found a natural or herbal product that helps with night sweats. I know about Black Cohosh, but was told not to use it due to my family history with breast cancer. I really need something as I've been dating this guy for awhile and I'm putting off having a "sleep over" due to my night sweats. It is so gross and I get them almost every night. In fact, I go through two pair of pjs or whatever per night as I wake in the middle of the night freezing and dripping wet. Any suggestions anyone?

Thanks.


Connie

Connie,
I am having the same problem. It is awful considering i wake up like every 2hrs.sweating, Then freezing. Then it starts all over again, and i could take a towel and dry off. I have not found no OTC stuff, That worked yet for them.
Maybe someone will come along with some ideals. I do know how you feel.
Teresa

Connie,

Who told you not to take the black cohosh because of your family history of breast cancer? I would like to know because that is what I take and it has really worked for me. Was this a Dr or did you read something on the internet? Please let me know. I am trying to find as much info as possible because no long term studies have been done as far as I know about the long term effects of using black cohosh.

Hi, Connie - welcome to Power Surge! Check out the Power Surge Recommendations page that Dearest has provided for us. There's info about black cohosh and much more on there.

There's so much valuable information on the rest of this vast site. For example, there are some basic introductory articles, such as Power Surge's Menopause Survival Tips, and What's A Hot Flash? and About Your Hormones and a simple explanation of menopause in the Menopause Primer, Midlife Sexuality, Relationships / Vaginal Dryness and many, many others.

Best of luck to you!

Thanks everyone for your responses. I will check out the places at PS that were suggested.

Dee, I do a lot of my "checking out" of herbal remedies at Dr. Andrew Weil's website. He is a renowned physician and founder of the philosophy called Integrated Medicine. Integrated Medicine is the combining of Eastern and Western medical philosophies to achieve optimal health and treatment for medical conditions. He believes highly in the use of natural and herbal products and the mind-body-spirit connection. I checked out black cohosh at his website and that is where I learned that it is not best for people with a family history of breast cancer. My mother is a breast cancer survivor and so I decided not to try black cohosh.

Thanks again, everyone.

Connie

I have a friend that takes "Red Clover"
She swears by it!
I take Black Cohosh Myself & it works for me.
I quit taking it after my night sweats quit but
they returnd so i started it again.

Good Luck
Angel

Thanks, Angel. I'll check into Red Clover.

Connie

I take 500 mg of evening primrose oil, 3 times a day, with meals, and that by itself pretty much stopped the flashes and sweats. Still had a few light night sweats at the beginning of my cycle every month, but when I started using Revival Soy, those went away, too. Everyone's different, but I bet you will find something that helps. Good luck!

hp

Hi everyone. I'm brand new here. What a wonderful site! When I complained to my P.A. about night sweats....I usually get them the week before my period... she suggested I try avoiding red wine, spicy food, and garlic. It worked for me. Unfortunately, I love red wine, spicy food, and garlic!

Hi Bev, I also can't give up red wine, spicy food or garlic! Those things are good for you too, after all What helped me was getting on bioidentical estrogen, Estrogel. I gave into that and have kept my red wine etc. I also take Prometrium to balance the estrogen. No more hot flashes, night sweats.

Welcome to P-S!

Shel

I am new here and to nite sweats as well, so have limited experience to share. I am taking Evening Primrose Oil twice a day, vitamin E, black cohosh and using progresterone cream. I had been doing fine on the first two for quite a while then the nite sweats came on with a vengeance so I checked with the lady who runs a natural foods/health type store and she said black cohosh and the cream are her suggestions so I added them. The first day I used the cream I had some relief! It's only been 3 days and things are much better for me, the nite sweats have tapered off by about 90%! I think I've had just 3 of them. I am delighted at how fast this has worked for me, hope I dont jinx myself by talking about it! I also hope the good results continue.

Funkynassau

I had the night sweats, too, also mostly the week before my period (IF I get a period....sometimes I just get the PMS <_< _)

Avoiding spicy food and wine definately helps...I find I can't drink wine anymore, it gives me hot flashes and palpitations - which is a total bummer, because I love wine.

But what really seems to have helped a LOT is magnesium...after reading several posts on it here, I went and bought some. I'm only taking, like, 300 mgs a day, but it seems to have helped with the headaches, palpitations, insomnia, and night sweats.

Your mileage may vary, but it's worth a shot.

- Kes

Try cutting down on your caffeine intake - coffee, tea, chocolate, soda...it worked for me...cut out the 2 cups of regular in the morning and within 3 days they quit;) I drink decaf coffee, herbal tea However, I still drink diet sodas - not Mt Dew;) Maybe this will help, hope it does

I got relief within 2 weeks of starting "healthy Woman" Soy Menopause supplement. It is from the makers of Monistat. I had been taking Estroven and wasn't getting much relief although it used to seem to help when I was in peri menopause. But since full blown menopause hit in April I was miserable. Hope it hels someone else. (I got mine on clearance at CVS pharmacy- I sure hope I can get more of it!

Hi, I found that red clover actually made my sweats a lot, lot worse! Just goes to show that not everyone will get the same response. I would give anyone a million pounds to get relief from night sweats etc etc. They are the pits.

hi I am so having night sweats I had a historectomy a few weeks ago and as I had a tumour I cant take HRT , I am expermenting at the moment with sage tea I have three cups a day one before bed mainly half a hour to a hour before i go to bed . it is a nice drink when its made right. I normally make up a jug on a afternoon I use three sage tea bags, put boiling water over them then add half of lemon jucie, and two spoons of huney.let it stand for 10 or more minutes when its cooled place it in the fridge , then when you fancy a cold drink its ready make sure to save some for the evening . if its not to your taste ad a little fresh orange juice. I find it not to bad .I have been taking it for nearly two weeks now it does make a difference , night sweats are not as intense at the moment . I also am trying this incase you might be interested , I use a pillow at the side of my bed place it so it is right at the side of your body on the outside not inbetween you and another person ,put your quilt over you but make sure it goes over the top of the pillow which is at the side of you a bit like a little tent not to low or to high . from the edge of the pillow leave a gap between it and the pillow you rest your head on . you will have a gap which will let fresh air under your quilt , you can still feel cosy if you find you are cold then close the gap alittle or if you are still waking up hot make the gap bigger, its all about getting air to flow under your quilt , I am trying it and it works I am not waking up as I was before . I hope you can understand me .I will not give up trying different things ,yes there are herbal ,lots to choose from though . good luck with what ever you try ,

I suffer from night sweats very regularly. They don't wake me up but if I am awake it is the pits. I feel like I am Nuclear Woman (I can feel the heat radiating off me). I have often had to strip off during the night because I am drenched. I bought a bunch of cheap t-shirts so I can change if I need to. I have found that it is better if I don't eat anything sugary from about midafternoon. Same with coffee too. I also have increased the amount of water I drink which helps a great deal.

Hi
I have suffered with day sweats and night sweats which have kept me awake most of the night, after I came off of my HRT that I had been on for 6 years. I decided to take a range of vitamins and just recently have been taking evening primprose oil with wild yam - it has certainly made a lot of difference for me. It is the evening primrose oil by Vega. I am now coming up to nearly 3 months off of HRT and I am 59 by the way. It does get better, really, trust me......

Chris

Hi Connie:
I started getting day and night sweats about 3 years ago and they were very hot and frequent. I started taking a product by A. Vogel called "Menopause Feminine" which is simply 100% sage. I took one in the morning and one at night and after 3 weeks the flashes disappeared or at least 95% gone. I was thrilled. I continued to take the product for a couple of years after investigating that it was safe to use long term as it is just sage. About 6 months ago it quite working and the flashes came back in full force. However, I just started taking the product again and feel confident that it may work. I will keep you posted. You can check this product out on the A. Vogel website at avogel.com or bioforce.ca (if you are Canadian). I too am nervous about taking Black Cohosh as I read there are too many possible side effects.